A little over a year after I finished my chemistry degree, my dad and I scheduled another one of our baseball vacations. On that particular trip, we planned to visit three stadiums on the east coast: Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, followed by Camden Yards in Baltimore, and finishing at Nationals Park in Washington, DC.
As usual, we also set aside a few days for sightseeing, so we flew to Philadelphia a full day ahead of our first ballgame to get a taste of the city (starting with classic cheesesteaks, of course!) and soak in some of the historical sights (the Liberty Bell Center and bell itself were big highlights!). We also tacked on a couple of extra days in the Nation’s Capitol to wander around the National Mall, walk past the White House and Lincoln Monument, and spend a full afternoon at the Air and Space Museum.
As we sat at our gate in the California airport on the morning of our trip, we brainstormed how to fit everything into those five days, and I grew more excited with each passing minute while waiting for our flight. The only downside?
There were very few flights to Philadelphia from our usual airport… So we booked the only one that would arrive before midnight local time, which meant waking up at the crack of dawn back on the west coast because of the time difference and layovers!
As a result, my dad and I both stopped by the coffee shop a few yards away from our gate to grab a little extra caffeine as soon as we passed through security at the airport. While I opted for a simple latte to pair with the soft and chewy granola bar I had brought for breakfast, my dad ordered a large black coffee and…
A chocolate muffin. A really big, supremely moist, extremely chocolaty muffin with lots of large chocolate chunks pressed into the top and studded throughout the inside too.
Knowing how much of a chocoholic I am, Dad generously offered to give me a taste or even split his breakfast treat with me. Smiling, I accepted a bite, and as I swallowed, my eyes lit up. That chocolate muffin tasted so good…
…but a little more like a really sweet and butter-laden cupcake than a breakfast item. So to keep my sugar cravings in check, I stopped after that first bite and returned to my chewy oatmeal breakfast bar as I sipped my latte and waited for our plane to arrive.
With the start of the Major League Baseball season right around the corner, Dad and I recently talked about what baseball trips we could potentially plan this year… Which reminded me of that really fun east coast vacation and our early morning airport breakfast!
And now, far too many years later, I combined the two of our breakfasts into one recipe: these Healthy Flourless Double Chocolate Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies! They’re soft and chewy, exactly the way I love my regular cookies (and oatmeal-based granola bars!), and they have the same extra rich and chocolaty flavor of Dad’s muffin.
Yet unlike either of our breakfasts on that particular morning, these healthy breakfast cookies are flourless, eggless, dairy-free, and have no refined sugar. They’re also really easy to make and 66 calories!
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