Back in July, I asked on Facebook what y’all eat on a family road trip. Surprisingly, many of you snack on cold chicken tenders (which we tried and loved, thanks!) but very few of you take your breakfast to go.
Oh, friends, eating breakfast in the car is one of the main reasons that our road trips with one, three, and five year-old boys are even remotely possible.Years ago, when T-Rex as a mere four months old, we discovered during a torturous and frustrating road trip that driving in the dark was the least stressful way to travel long distances by car with a baby. We rarely drive all night, but we are often setting out in the wee hours of the morning.
The idea is that if the kids are drowsy enough, they’ll snooze several hours under the cover of darkness (works better in winter than in summer, obviously).
When they wake up, we serve breakfast to eek out an extra 30-45 minutes of drive time. By the time they’re littering the backseat with stray crumbs and wayward yogurt drips, we’ve usually arrived at our destination.But, what to give the hungry backseat monsters? Cereal with milk is out; easy-to-eat carbs are in! And bonus points if you can shove some extra fruit, veg, or protein in that package.
Enter cheesy apple cookies. Now, you may think I’ve let 13 kilos of apples affect my better judgement, but have no fear. These sound ridiculous, but we’ve eaten them on the way to Italy, Zurich, and Berchtesgaden (posts coming next week!).
Everyone in our family happily scarfs down these crazy creations. Well, except the grumpy baby… but we love him anyway.So, seriously – don’t knock ’em before you try ’em.
p.s. – These cookies aren’t just for breakfast. They make kids happy at lunch and snack time, too!
Cheesy Apple Cookies
adapted from The Kitchn
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup unrefined sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 T ground flax seed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans*
2 medium-sized apples, preferably Granny Smith or another tart variety
4 ounces cheese, finely chopped (about 1 cup)**
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Whisk the olive oil, egg, and vanilla together in a glass measuring cup until combined.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, oats, flax, and nuts together.
Grate the apples into the flour mixture, stopping at the core. Stir to coat the apple with the dry ingredients, and then add the chopped cheese.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir just until combined. The dough will be loose and lumpy. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cookies are golden and the cheese browns just a bit. Allow the cookies to hang out on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes and then remove them to a rack until completely cool.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for several months.
*The nuts are optional; feel free to substitute dried fruit if you’re a nut-free household. **I’ve made these with regular (young) gouda, smoked gouda, and cheddar. Cheeses with a stronger flavor (sharp cheddar, aged or smoked gouda) work best. Otherwise the cheese flavor literally melts away.
If you want to make these whole grain, try using white whole wheat. Going with 100% whole wheat will give you gummy cookies in this recipe.So, what do you think? Will you give these nutty cookies a try? If not, there’s always bagels!