100% Flax Breakfast Cookies {vegan, oil-free, keto option}

5-ingredient, 100% flax breakfast cookies are a perfect, portable choice, year-round! Vegan, oil-free and grain-free, they are  crispy, chewy, nutty, and made with ease in a muffin tin. A keto option is available, too!

I was enjoying a stint of green breakfast smoothies to celebrate several sunny mornings (spring comes early to East Texas), but it all came to a screeching halt. The arrival of a cold weather front this week had me pulling out various bins of hot cereals—multigrain, buckwheat, quinoa, and my ubiquitous oats– to fill me up and take away the morning chill.

Healthy Cookies for Breakfast

But shall I tell you what I want, what I really really want? Cookies.

I have no problem justifying an occasional oatmeal cookie at breakfast for myself, but I decided to come up with one that I felt equally at ease serving to my 7-year-old at the start of the day.

I used flaxseed meal as my inspiration because…after cleaned out the refrigerator, I discovered I had three bags-full! Just like bah bah blacksheep, except these have imminent expiration dates. It was time to throw caution to the wind caution to the wind and figure out an all-flax, nut butter cookie.

They are so good! 

You need to make—and eat—a batch asap.

How to Make 100% Flaxseed Breakfast Cookies

These cookies are a 1-bowl, super-cinch to make. In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients: flaxseed meal, nut butter (I used almond), nondairy milk, maple syrup, and raisins. 

Next, divide the batter between 12 greased or sprayed muffin cups and bake in a 325F oven for 19 to 22 minutes, until golden brown. This is the result:

The Health Benefits of Flax

Do not hesitate to savor these cookies, often! You have likely heard all about the health benefits of flax, but there’s nothing wrong with a brief recap: they are high Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats, vitamins E and B, and essential minerals such as iron, potassium, zinc and selenium. It also happens to rival SNL’s colon blow cereal in the fiber department.

But what about the benefit to the cookies? It’s an equally interesting, as well as delicious, area of inquiry.

What makes flaxseed meal a welcome variation from flour in these cookies has to do with fat: although the meal has a powdery, flour-like appearance, it is rich in plant oils, all of which translates to a cookie that’s crispy at the edges, but gooey-chewy in the middle. Yes, please!

How to Make Keto 100% Flax Breakfast Cookies

If you are following a ketogenic diet plan, you can easily adapt these cookies for your needs. Simply swap out the maple syrup for an equal amount of keto-friendly liquid sweetener. Additionally, either omit the raisins or swap them our for an equal amount of nuts, seeds, or sugar-free chocolate chips.

Can I Make these Cookies without Nut Butter or Seed Butter?

Yes! In place of the nut butter or seed butter, use an equal amount of coconut butter. You can make it in minutes, with little money, with unsweetened coconut flakes/shredded coconut. Here is the link to my recipe: DIY Coconut Butter.

Coconut butter is not the same thing as coconut oil.

Do I Have to Add Raisins to the Recipe

I get it, not everyone likes raisins as much as I do. So the good news is that you do not have to follow a keto diet to leave out the raisins :). Omit them, or sub in some other dried fruit (that you do like), chopped nuts or seeds, or chocolate chips.

Happy baking!

More Easy & Delicious Vegan Flax Baked Goods:

• Almond Flour Flax Biscuits
• 2-Ingredient Flax Sandwich Bread
• Oat Flax Skillet Bread
• Banana Flax Almond Mini Muffins (4 ingredients)
• 100% Flax Chocolate Cookies
• 4-Ingredient Vegan Flax Muffins
• 2-Ingredient Quinoa Flax Bread
• 2-Ingredient Lentil Flax Bread
• White Bean Flax Biscuits