Carrot-Cherry Breakfast Cookies

Good morning!  Happy Monday!  Oh, I know you're not happy it's Monday.  I'm not terribly happy about it either.  The better the weekend, the sadder it is when it ends.  So I brought you a present to make you feel better.  Cookies for breakfast, jam-packed with healthy vegan stuff!  We are starting this week off on the right foot!

What kind of weekend did you have?  Fun?  Responsible and productive?  Both?  I had the apartment to myself, and I had a whole mental list of things that I wanted to get accomplished, including:

• finally switch my closet from summer to winter
• purge said closet of things that either don't fit me or I hate and never wear
• clean all the things!
• take a yoga class
• buy some new winter clothes
• get the plants in from the porch so that they don't die in the frost

Here's what I actually did:

• drank wine while knitting and watching Cars 2
• danced around the house to Adele and Maroon 5 (I've got the moves like Jagger.  Yes I do.)
• cooked for 8 hours straight
• met friends for drinks at a new-to-me bar in my neighborhood
• brought treats with me everywhere I went

Sometimes you just have to scrap your sensible list and do what feels right.  I mean, obviously you'll get back to the list sometime.  And these cookies are great for that.  They are perfect try, try again cookies.  Yummy, soft, spicy, and so healthy.  Hope you love them as much as I do! 

Carrot-Cherry Breakfast Cookies
adapted from Joy the Baker

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rye flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
3 tablespoons millet, rinsed well
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 heaping cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

Position racks in the upper half of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.  Whisk together oil and maple syrup, carrots, cherries and ginger, and add to the dry ingredients, folding to combine.  Let mixture rest for 5 minutes. 

Spoon mixture by heaping tablespoonful onto pans and bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned.  Allow to cool on pans for about 5 minutes, and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.