Carrot Millet Breakfast Cookies

I have a confession. I reward myself with food. Finished a chapter of reading? Must be time for popcorn! Got out of a long meeting? That calls for pasta! It’s no surprise then that on the morning after my last final I decided that a trip to Metropolitan Bakery was well deserved. My ultimate reward: Metropolitan’s power muffin.

The first time I tried a power muffin, it was because the choices of the day were down to power muffins and rather boring looking blueberry muffins. I really had no idea what a power muffin was, and it was a bit funky looking with lots of tiny yellow spheres (I later figured out they were millet) scattered across the top. But I’m partial to whole grains and like to think I’m adventurous eater, so the power muffin won out over blueberry. I guess karma was on my side that day. The power muffin is completely unlike a typical cakey bakery muffin. It’s dense in the best possible way and just a little sweet with a rich, nutty flavor. Best of all, the toasted millet, which resides not only on top but also inside the muffin, gives the muffin a great crunch. Basically, Metropolitan’s power muffins are the best muffins ever. I’d turn down double chocolate, streusel topping, and cinnamon swirl for their uglier cousin any day.

Now that I’ve left Philadelphia for the summer, the power muffins are out of reach, but I’ve developed a new respect for millet as an ingredient in baked goods. When I saw that Joy the Baker had a recipe for carrot breakfast cookies with millet, I couldn’t resist. Carrot cake plus power muffins plus healthy enough to eat for breakfast: perfection! Luckily, the cookies (almost) lived up to my very high expectations. Their texture is more cake-like than a traditional chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookie, and they’re bursting with good stuff: oats, millet, shredded carrots, and dried fruit (Joy used dried cherries and I used dried cranberries). Fresh ginger, maple syrup, cinnamon, and coconut oil also contribute to the flavor. I don’t like my baked goods to be too sweet, so I reduced the amount of maple syrup a little from Joy’s original recipe, but I’m sure the original is delicious as well. Since the cookies are vegan, cook time is pretty flexible. Joy recommends 10 minutes so that the cookies are slightly undercooked. I found that I liked the cookies a little more well done. Also, the batter doesn’t spread so after making my first batch using an ice cream scooper (cookie dough scooper in my house) and getting spherical cookies, I flattened my second batch before putting them in the over. I liked the flatter ones a bit better. You can find the recipe on Joy’s blog here.

Next time you’ve made it through a long day, conquered a to-do list, or just been awesome in general, consider making yourself a batch. And if you start feeling even a little guilty, remember that these are breakfast cookies – whole grains and veggies all the way.