Dirty Chai Breakfast Cookies

A chai latte has always been one of my favourite drinks to order at coffee shops, but most of the time when I go Starbucks or other places, I'm in need of a bit more of a caffeine kick so I end up ordering some kind of latte (for those of you in Canada, I recommend the new maple macchiato!).

For those times when you're craving a chai latte but also want a bit more caffeine, a "dirty chai" - chai latte with a shot of espresso - should do the trick!  Or if don't feel like going out to a coffee shop, you could make these cookies inspired by that drink (and by these caffeinated cookies from Healthy Food for Living) instead!

The original recipe was for healthier oat cookies with a dose of both brewed coffee and instant espresso in them. For my version, I used strong brewed chai tea for the liquid, with both instant chai and instant coffee added to the dry ingredients. And for even more chai flavour, I added some spices like cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cardamom.

The first time I made these, I found them a bit too dry and not quite strong enough in the coffee flavour, so I adjusted the recipe a bit by reducing the flour and increasing the amount of coffee, and they came out just how I wanted - a soft and cakey cookie with a mix of both chai and coffee flavours!

I also replaced the oil with coconut oil and reduced the amount a bit to keep these cookies healthy enough to eat for breakfast, or any time of the day when you need a bit of an energy boost!

Dirty Chai Breakfast Cookies
Inspired by Healthy Food For Living

3/4 cup whole wheat flour 

1 cup rolled oats

1 tbsp instant coffee 

1 tsp dry chai mix powder (optional)

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1/8 tsp allspice

Dash of cardamom

1/2 cup strong chai tea (I steeped one bag in ½ cup boiling water for about 5 minutes)

2 tbsp pure maple syrup

2 tbsp brown sugar 

2 tbsp melted coconut oil

1/2 tbsp ground flax

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp finely chopped dates (about 3 dates)

2 tbsp cacao nibs

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour to cardamom).

In a separate bowl, stir together the chai tea, maple syrup, brown sugar, coconut oil, flax, and vanilla. Let cool a bit, then pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Mix in the dates and cacao nibs.

Drop spoonfuls of the cookie mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and press down slightly to form a cookie shape. Since the dough will still be a bit warm (from the tea), place the baking sheet in the freezer for about 5 minutes so the cookies firm up. Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes. Let sit on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 12-13 cookies.

Coffee Banana Muffins

On a snowy, chilly day like today, nothing sounds better than sitting down with a warm mug of coffee and a freshly baked treat like banana bread. And with these muffins, you can have both coffee and banana bread combined into one!

I discovered my love for the combination of coffee + bananas a few years ago when I got into making my own smoothies. In the summertime when it was just too hot to fathom drinking a hot coffee in the morning, I started making cold coffee smoothies by blending up a frozen banana with milk and instant coffee.

I've been wanting to try this combination in baked form for a while, and now I can say that it lived up to my expectations!

I thought both the banana and coffee flavours came through pretty strongly in these muffins, and in perfect balance with each other. 

Besides those two ingredients, these muffins have a couple of other special additions that take them beyond regular banana bread. First, instead of using chocolate chips, I added raw cacao nibs for a bit of crunch and a hint of chocolate flavour, while still keeping them healthy enough to eat for breakfast.

Second, I replaced half of the flour with ground up cinnamon cereal.  This idea came from a muffin recipe I had seen on Diet, Dessert & Dogs, and I was curious to try it out for myself. I was a bit worried that the cereal would make the muffins too dry, but it seemed to do just the opposite - the muffins had such a nice texture and were super moist. 

I have to say, these are some of my favourite muffins that I've made lately - they're vegan and pretty healthy overall, but without tasting too healthy. I also think the recipe would work well turned into a loaf instead of muffins, so I'll have to give that a try the next time I have a bunch of ripe bananas to use up!

Vegan Coffee Banana Muffins
Inspired by Flavor in Spades and Diet, Dessert & Dogs

1/2 tbsp ground flax

3 tbsp water

2/3-1 cup flake cereal* 

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 medium ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 tbsp instant coffee mixed with 3 tbsp soy milk

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp melted coconut oil

2 tbsp cacao nibs

*Note: A cinnamon flavoured cereal works well in this recipe. I would also recommend choosing a brand with low sugar, so that your muffins don’t end up too sweet. I used a homemade cinnamon flavoured cereal with very low sugar. 
Update: If you don't have cereal, I made this recipe again with 1/2 cup oat flour (from rolled oats that I ground myself) instead of the ground cereal and it worked well too!

Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a muffin pan by spraying the muffin cups with cooking spray or lining with paper liners.

Mix the flax with the water and set aside to thicken for at least 5 minutes.

To make the ground cereal, start with about 2/3 cup to 1 cup of cereal (the amount you will need depends on the size of the flakes – use more with larger flakes and less with smaller flakes). Place the cereal in a blender or food processor and grind until it resembles a flour.

Place 1/2 cup of the ground cereal, along with the whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Whisk to mix thoroughly.

In a separate bowl, mix the mashed bananas, coffee-milk mixture, maple syrup and vanilla. Add this wet mixture to the dry ingredients and give it a stir. Add the flax mixture and the melted coconut oil. Use a spatula or a wooden spoon to mix all the ingredients gently, just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Fold in the cacao nibs.

Divide batter evenly into six prepared muffin cups. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (mine took about 28 minutes).

Remove muffins from pan and let cool on a wire rack.

Makes 6 muffins.

This was submitted to Wellness Weekend at Diet, Dessert & Dogs.