Breakfast Take-Alongs

Great for road trips, snacks, or busy mornings, Breakfast Take-Alongs are a sweet, yet savory breakfast cookie with ham, egg, cheese, and oats. With this delicious breakfast recipe, you don’t have to skip the most important meal of the day. 

Breakfast On-The-Go

I’ve packed breakfast take-along cookies for countless vacations, conferences, and other road trips, not to mention busy weekday mornings. I’m a gal whose Mama taught her to be frugal and whose Daddy taught her to be prepared (to be fair, Mama did too). 

Did I forget to mention I also love breakfast? That said, it’s no surprise I don’t want to pay the crazy cost of hotel food on trips or go hungry when I can simply pack something scrumptious like these yummy breakfast cookies. 

My friend Janice reminded me just the other day about an ACFW conference we attended together in Dallas where I shared my breakfast take-alongs with her on our drive home. (We left super early so we could make it back in time for church.)

In a Facebook post, she recently recounted, “we didn’t have time to stop for breakfast on the way home so she shared her cookies with me. I’ve always called these her breakfast cookies, but they are so much more.” 

Honestly, I was surprised she remembered them, but I guess a little kindness goes a long way. So, my challenge to you when you’ve baked this filling, healthy breakfast recipe is to find someone to share it with. 🙂

What Do You Need to Make Breakfast Take Alongs?

Most breakfast cookie recipes you find will call for peanut butter, maple syrup, cream cheese, bananas, and/or chocolate chips. You’ll find no such things here.

No roasted red peppers, protein powder, or chia seeds. Just good ole classic, southern cooking with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand.

Here’s a quick list: 

• Sliced sandwich ham
• Softened butter
• Granulated sugar
• Large egg
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour (or gluten free 1-to-1 flour)
• Salt
• Baking soda
• Rolled oats
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Chopped pecans

You’ll also need a large mixing bowl and cookie sheets. 

A full printable recipe card with measurements and instructions is included at the bottom of this post.

How Do You Make These Savory Breakfast Cookies?

Breakfast take alongs mix up a lot like an oatmeal cookie. First, start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepping your baking sheets. I normally cover them with aluminum foil and then grease them, but the foil is optional. 

Next, in a large bowl, combine your softened butter with your sugar until creamy. I normally do this by hand, but an electric mixer set on high speed works too. 

To the butter mixture, add your egg and vanilla, and mix until blended.

Next, add in your flour, salt, and baking soda. 

On a separate plate or cutting board, cut up your deli-style sandwich ham into small squares. You’ll end up with about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of meat when finished.

If you don’t have ham, approximately 6 slices of fried bacon chopped into bits works too. I prefer the ham because I don’t have to fry it first and it tastes better in this recipe, in my humble opinion.

Lastly, time to add in your dry ingredients — stir in your oats, cheese, ham pieces, and pecans to your batter. (Some folks use wheat germ instead of pecans, but I’m not one of them.)

*Make sure these are well combined and that the ham does not stay in clumps. Otherwise, the cookies will crumble too easily. 

Place rounded spoonfuls of your cookie batter on to your greased pans about 1 to 1 1/2 inches apart. I make the balls of dough about an inch in diameter. 

Finally, bake your breakfast take along cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown and the centers spring back when touched. 

Remove from the oven, and let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for a short minute so they’ll be easier to remove. After that, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. 

These serve up great hot or cold, with fresh fruit or by themselves. So enjoy whether on the go or with a friend!

Breakfast Take Alongs FAQs

“How do you store breakfast take along cookies?”

The best way to store these great Breakfast Take-Alongs is in an airtight container. Sometimes I simply wrap them in the foil I covered my baking sheet with then place them in the fridge.

“How long will these breakfast cookies keep?”

On the counter, breakfast take along cookies will keep about two days in a sealed container. In the refrigerator, they’ll keep about four days. If they stick around that long. 🙂

“Can I freeze breakfast take-alongs?”

Absolutely. Freezing these cookies are a great way to meal prep in advance for any busy weekday morning. You can freeze breakfast take-alongs in sealed containers for about 2-3 months.

Just remember to take them out the night before. They heat up quickly in the microwave, toaster oven, or air fryer, or they taste good at room temperature too. 

“I don’t have any cheddar cheese on hand. What other cheese can I use in breakfast take alongs?”

If you’re out of cheddar or not a fan of it, you can also use colby jack or American cheese. I’ve done that many times. There may be other kinds that would work too, but I haven’t tried them. 

“Can I use something besides ham in this breakfast cookie recipe?”

Sure. I’ve also used bacon before, but I prefer the ham. I don’t have to cook it first, and in my opinion, it tastes better in this recipe. 

If you choose to use bacon, you’ll need about 6 slices, which you’ll need to fry up over medium-high heat until browned and crisp. Then, drain the bacon and chop into small pieces before adding it to your batter in place of the ham.

“Can I use whole wheat flour in this nutritious breakfast cookie?”

Sure thing. That’s an excellent way to make them even more nutritious.

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I hope that answers all your questions and that you enjoy this tasty, quick breakfast treat. You’ll be surprised how fast they disappear. Thanks for dropping by. Be sure to leave a comment to let us know if you have any other questions or tips.

Happy Trails!

Other Easy Breakfast Ideas to Try

• Looking for another excellent grab and go breakfast to prep on the weekends? Try Memaw’s yummy sausage balls.
• Looking for a quick, good breakfast? Try some breakfast burritos or breakfast bowls.
• Need to use up some extra oatmeal and nuts? Try my super moist apple oatmeal muffins.
• Want another easy meal for that sweet tooth? Try my friend Janice’s easy cinnamon roll monkey bread.

Yield: approximately 40 cookies

Breakfast Take Alongs

Print

Great for road trips, snacks, or busy mornings, Breakfast Take-Alongs are a sweet, yet savory breakfast cookie with ham, egg, cheese, and oats.

Prep Time 35 minutes

Cook Time 14 minutes

Total Time 49 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 long slices of sliced sandwich ham or 6 round small slices of deli-style sandwich ham
• 2/3 cup butter (1 1/3 sticks), softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (or gluten free 1-to-1 flour)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Grease cookie sheets
3. In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar until creamy. This can be done by hand or with an electric mixer set on high speed.
4. Blend in egg and vanilla.
5. Add in flour, salt, and baking soda.
6. On a separate plate or cutting board, cut up sandwich ham into small squares, about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of meat.
7. Stir oats, cheese, ham pieces, and pecans into batter. Make sure these are well combined and that the ham does not stay in clumps. Otherwise, the cookies will crumble too easily.
8. Place rounded spoonfuls of cookie batter on to greased pans about 1 to 1 1/2 inches apart. Make the balls of dough about an inch in diameter.
9. Bake breakfast cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 12 to 14 minutes or until lightly brown and the centers spring back when touched.
10. Remove from oven. Let cookies sit on the pan a short minute for easy removal, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
11. These serve up great hot or cold, alongside fresh fruit or by themselves. So enjoy whether on the go or with a friend!

Notes

• Ham can be substituted with approximately 6 slices of fried bacon chopped into bits.
• Pecans can be substituted with wheat germ.
• Easily made gluten free by substituting all-purpose flour with gluten-free measure for measure flour.