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I make these every year for all of my kids on their birthdays. With just a little bit of fun m & m candies, it brightens up these crispy (healthier) chocolate chip cookies! Note* these are only vegan WITHOUT the m & m’s!
Today is my oldest’s 10th birthday and my middle guy’s 8th birthday. Yes, I am aware that it’s pretty crazy to have two kids born on the same day two years apart. No, it wasn’t planned. Just the opposite actually. I went into labor 2 weeks early and was devastated to leave my son on his 2nd birthday. And just as hormones make you crazy, I was a lunatic leaving for the hospital. Ask my husband, I tried desperately NOT to have him born on his brother’s birthday. But he had different plans. And they were 12 minutes apart. It was just meant to be and I loved him the second I saw him. I knew he was going to be stubborn though! 😉
So to go along with mom overcompensation (I am seriously the queen on that) I have made my kids’ birthdays crazy special. Fancy breakfasts, balloons, presents right when they wake up…you name it. It’s hard when you have to share your one special day. This year, I was so honored to be asked along with a few other bloggers to go to Cascadian Farms in Seattle and visit their organic farm. This sounded like a chance in a lifetime and I was overjoyed. And then I saw the dates. I’d have to miss my kids’s birthday morning. Cue the waterworks. And that awful, terrible mom guilt.
I’ll be back in time for dinner to celebrate, but I will miss them running down in the morning in their pi’s, excited to see what I’ve prepared for breakfast and what surprises I have in store. Of course I still made pumpkin bread (their favorite) and packed a few fun presents (that my husband will give them) but of course, they want me there. And that’s where these cookies come in.
Birthday Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 3/4 cup oats
- 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup unrefined sugar
- 1/4 cup coconut oil softened
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips I used Enjoy Life
- 1/4 cup mini M & M's no longer vegan
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
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Place oats in food processor or blender and blend until powdery.
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Pour into a medium size bowl and add flour, flaxseed, baking soda, baking powder, salt and beat with electric mixer until combined. Add applesauce, sugar , coconut oil and vanilla extract while continuing to beat with the electric mixer.
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Add chocolate chips and M & M's and stir to combine.
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Drop by tablespoonfuls onto undressed cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart.
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bake for about 12-5 minutes until golden brown. Cook on cookie sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack until completely cooled.
I made a double batch and froze a few to have ready for their lunch boxes. I make these EVERY year for them and this year was going to be no different.
So along with my three page list for my husband (yes, 3 pages) he has instructions to take each bag out of the freezer and put into their lunch boxes. I couldn’t let them down. And I know I will make even more when I get home!
I can’t wait to share my Seattle experience with you all. I am so excited to be here at Cascadian Farms. We are HUGE fans of their products! Seattle is gorgeous, but NJ, here I come~
What a great cookie and even better are the little notes included! What a delicious way to brighten up a special day…
You are such a great mom!!! I am same with birthdays, and I don’t even have kids that have the same birthdays! We recently went to Hawaii and the only time we could go was during the week of my 10 year old’s Birthday. I was so upset I had to leave him and tried to plan all these fun things for him to do while I was gone. He didn’t even care that I wasn’t there on his Birthday, lol! It’s hard dealing with that mom-guilt sometimes, though! These cookies look amazing!! Pinned! P.S. World’s longest comment award goes to me! 🙂
What a special bond that they share a birthday, I bet they’ll think that’s pretty cool when they’re older.
Aah! Love that these are 100% whole grain! 🙂 And two kids with the same birthday?! That’s pretty crazy. I hope they have a great birthday!
M & M cookies were always one of my favorites when I was a kid. I don’t know why I don’t make them anymore…I must change that. Yours sound wonderful, I bet the ww pastry flour makes them so tender!
How sweet! Your boys will be all the more appreciative to have a Mom like you who took the time to make the day special, even though you were not there in the AM. Don’t feel guilty and enjoy the day! You are a great Mom!
What lucky kids you have! How crazy that they share the same birthday, but I bet they appreciate the lengths you go to make the day special for each of them. Case in point…these cookies.
What a great mama! These sound amazing and your boys are very lucky for many reasons!
You are a great mom! I love the colorful cookies and your kids are so lucky!
YOU are a good momma !! I love you my friend!
M&M’s in cookies make me happy. I don’t know what it is about them. Love the cookies and want them for MY next birthday 🙂
Happy birthday to your boys! 2 of my boys have the same birthday too…of course, they’re twins 😉 I think that’s awesome! And the cookies look delish!
Ha, that’s awesome Stephanie!! 🙂
Happy birthday to your kids! It’s so cute that they have the same birthday- even though it wasn’t planned!
Thank you Genevieve!
I love that you go super crazy overboard! Also, I want one of these cookies. Loving that ingredient list!
I love my kids’ birthdays, Lauren! 🙂
Well chocolate chips just got a whole lot more exciting!
I have sisters who are exactly a year apart! This is a wonderful way to celebrate!
That’s so funny, Nancy! Mine are two years apart 🙂
I’m sorry you had to miss both of your sons birthdays BUT you totally made up for it with these cookies. You’re such a great mom 🙂
Oh thank you Brandi! XO
Missing birthdays is the pits but, they got some awesome cookies!
That is CRAZY. Cannot believe they are born on the same day. What odds! I’m sure they won’t mind sharing you with Cascadian Farms on their birthday…especially when these cookies are waiting for them!
What a sweet way to make their shared birthday special — even when you weren’t there to pack their lunches. And these cookies? Yum.
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