Party party party

Since all my kids and myself have birthdays in the first 8 days of the month, I like to throw one big birthday party (and yes, I am very aware that at some point the kids will demand their own separate parties). It's no secret that I LOVE a theme, so the girls picked "rainbows" and the boys picked Minecraft.

PSA: Balloon arches are one thousand times more difficult than you'd think.

OH YES- three different desserts. I made a strawberry cake with white chocolate frosting for the sisters, apple pie (per his request) for my middle, and rainbow cake with chocolate frosting for my oldest.

Because that wasn't enough sweet for the weekend, we did a small Easter egg hunt for the kids in the morning.

We followed that up with church and stops at both of our parents' homes, where there may have been more Easter eggs.

Now that party party party weekend is over, you ever find yourself wanting sweet, but not like SWEET sweet? I created these breakfast cookies to be something with a bit of sweet but since there's no actual added sugar, they're subtle. Not overwhelming. Not it-hurts-my-teeth-they're-so-sugary. Perfect for if you've had a few Cadbury the day prior. Plus they're easy! I am calling them breakfast cookies but really they could be packed in a lunch box or whipped out for an afternoon snack. Store them in the freezer to keep fresh.

Chocolate Chip Banana Breakfast Cookies

-2 ripe bananas

-2 eggs

-1/2 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond milk but any kind will work)

-1/3 cup plain oats (instant/steel cut/old fashioned- doesn't matter)

-2 cups Kodiak buttermilk pancake mix

-2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mash bananas with a fork until smooth-ish. Stir in eggs and milk. Add oats, pancake mix, and chips. Stir until combined, but try to not over-mix.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. I made 12 good-size cookies but you could make yours smaller if you'd like (I had two baking sheets with 6 cookies on each). Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown.

These are cake-like cookies- soft and tender and are best warm so you get melty chocolate in each bite. My kids dug these and I think it's a recipe I'll be making lots of variations on in the future! Freeze any leftovers and microwave ~30 seconds to reheat.

Per cookie: 110 calories, 17 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 2 grams fat, 6 grams protein