Morning Cookies for the Backpack

Zoe Francois’ new book Zoe bakes cookies Looks like we arrived just in time…

As the days get shorter and the air gets cooler, it’s hard to say goodbye to summer, but I can’t help but look forward to turning on the oven and whipping up some homemade stews and baked goods. And Minnesota-based pastry chef and instructor Zoe François is exactly who I want standing next to me in the kitchen when those moments come.

Zoe bakes cookies It’s as warm and personal as her previous work. Zoe bakes a caketracing her love story with cookies from Brooklyn (where she would visit a Jewish bakery on the boardwalk in Brighton Beach with her two great-aunts), to her sweet-loving Grandmas Bubbe and Neal, to the “carob-filled” commune in Vermont where she grew up craving the forbidden Oreos in her friends’ lunchboxes, to the cookie stand she started in Vermont in the 1980s. The book is a tribute to nostalgia, and because every recipe is comforting, and Zoe’s recipe, it’s also the best version. Think Black & White Cookies, Zoe’s Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cocoa Nutella Brownies, and this morning cookie that Zoe describes as “all the flavor of a muesli breakfast cereal” and “perfect to pack in your backpack on the way to soccer practice.” I make this one first thing.

Morning Cookies
from Zoe bakes cookies, Zoe Francois
Vegan, Dairy Free

2 cups/200g oatmeal
1/2 cup/70g whole wheat flour
1/3 cup/40g unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 pinch kosher salt
1/2 cup/90g carob or bittersweet chocolate chips (mini is best)
1/2 cup/60g lightly toasted walnuts, pecans, or cashews
1/4 cup/35 g pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds), lightly toasted
1/4 cup/35g raisins or craisins
2 tablespoons of currants
3/4 cup/180g mashed ripe banana
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup/126g honey (or pure maple syrup if vegan)
2/3 cup/150g coconut oil (melted)

Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine oats, whole wheat flour, coconut, baking soda, and salt. Using a stiff rubber spatula, mix in carob, nuts, chickpeas, dried fruit, banana, vanilla, honey, and coconut oil until well combined. Set aside for 15 minutes. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a 3 tablespoon measuring scoop, scoop the cookie dough into approximately 7 pieces and arrange evenly onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving enough room to spread out and flatten slightly. You can make the cookies larger or smaller but this will affect the bake time.

Bake, one at a time, in centre of oven until golden brown on bottoms, about 12 to 14 minutes.

Cool on the baking sheet until the cookies are firm to the touch, then transfer to a cooling rack.

PS Zucchini muffins are the perfect back-to-school breakfast and 5 ways to turn a rotisserie chicken into dinner.

(Recipe text copyright Zoë François. Photographs copyright Zoë François. Published in the U.S. by Ten Speed ​​Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.)