Strawberry Coconut Breakfast Bites (Vegan and Gluten-Free)

R and G love our Oatmeal, Apple and Flax Breakfast Cookies, and I love that they can be made ahead and ready for busy mornings.  Except that I don't call them "cookies" to the boys, I don't want to set that precedent!

I was hankering for a new breakfast recipe, and I happened to have strawberries and coconut on hand.  I found inspiration with this recipe from tasty-yummies.com and decided to give it some Sweet Pea twists. 

The result? 

A nutritious, low-added sugar, whole-grain, gluten-free and vegan breakfast bite that the boys l-o-v-e.  That makes for one happy mom.

Strawberry Coconut Breakfast Bites (Vegan and Gluten-Free)

2 cups gluten-free whole oats
1/4 cup oat flour (or any GF flour)--to make oat flour, process oats in coffee grinder or food processor
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup roasted almonds, ground
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup agave nectar or maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons coconut oil (or vegetable oil)
1 cup diced strawberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix the oats, flour, baking powder, coconut and flax. 

Take the almonds and chop them well with a large knife until they go from looking like this:

To this:

Alternatively, you can also process the nuts in the coffee grinder or food processor.

Add the nuts to the oat mixture and stir well.

In a separate bowl, combine the apple sauce, agave, vanilla, coconut oil and strawberries.  Mix well and combine with the oats.

Let the oat mixture sit for 5-10 minutes to allow the oats to absorb the extra moisture.

Place small mounds on a cookie sheet:

 

The batter may be a bit crumbly, but the cookies will bake up just fine.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are slightly browned.

 

Makes 2 - 2 1/2 dozen breakfast bites.

Life is sweet,

SPC