Late in September, my dad and 4 or 5 of his college buddies place their portable stoves, titanium mess kits, down sleeping bags, and a single change of clothes into their ultra-light backpacks. They navigate their 4-wheel drives up narrow mountain roads, driving deep into the heart of the Sierra Nevadas before setting out into the wilderness. Hiking on dusty trails passing between towering evergreens, they eventually reach a lake or stream during the late afternoon and set up their first night’s camp.
Although they usually pack plenty of Clif Bars, trail mix, instant oatmeal, and dehydrated entrées, the guys always schlep in heavy sausages or steak for that first dinner, accompanied by a couple of premade salad kits to sneak in some healthy greens. As they wander through the mountains during the rest of the week, they test their luck at catching fresh fish to grill over their evening fires. And before the last few embers die out and they crawl into their mummy bags, one guy pulls out a deck of cards from his backpack to deal a few rounds of poker, using M&Ms as the chips. (Well, until someone starts craving dessert!)
They generally return home in one piece, a little scruffier than when they left, along with a few extra scrapes or bruises. After a hot shower, shave, and a well-deserved night in his own bed, Dad downloads digital photos of the vivid green trees and rocky scenery, narrating the stories of each shot as we crowd around the laptop on the couch.
The following January or February, Daddy hosts a reunion for the backpackers in his woodworking shop in our backyard. He lights the charcoal barbeque and cooks salmon, sausages, chicken, and veggie kebobs until each earns the perfect kiss of blackened grill marks before serving them buffet-style to the guys on large platters. After everyone piles their plates with meat and homemade gourmet salads—no bagged kits at these parties!—they head into the shop for another night of poker.
Every year, my godmother bakes a batch of her famous oatmeal cookies to send along with her husband. Studded with blueberries and walnuts, the guys rapidly plow through them, loving each sweet bite and even adding the last one as ante for the poker pot. Although she previously worked as a dietitian, I nearly gasped when I read through her recipe. That much butter in healthy cookies?
With this year’s reunion quickly approaching, I created a more nutritious version. My soft Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies are perfectly sweet, extra chewy, and bursting with tangy dried fruit. As you sink your teeth into each moist mouthful, it’s absolutely impossible to tell these skinny treats contain NO butter, refined flour, or refined sugar!
Yup, that’s right. I mixed in whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose. I prefer Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flour for 100% whole wheat baked goods; other brands turn my treats dry and crumbly. Because whole wheat flour is slightly more absorbent that all-purpose, it’s very important that you measure it correctly using the spoon-and-level method. Excess flour results in cakey cookies—exactly opposite of the chewy ones we want.
These low fat cookies require instant oats—and lots of them! I prefer oatmeal cookies, not cookies with a few flakes of oats mixed in, so I added 1 full cup. Regular old-fashioned oats are a little too hearty and refuse to soften during baking. They also fail to absorb liquid as quickly as instant (quick-cook) oats, resulting in tough chewy bits. To make your own instant oats, just add the same amount of old-fashioned oats to a food processor and pulse 5-8 times until they’re coarsely ground.
I opted for coconut oil for this recipe. I’m still learning about its health benefits, but it certainly gained a lot of popularity over the past year! While the cookie dough contains a faint coconut flavor, the finished cookies do not taste like coconut at all. That subtle undertone bakes out in the oven, leaving the cookies saturated with sweet honey flavor instead.
Note: If you don’t have coconut oil, substitute unsalted butter or margarine.
Whether you choose to melt coconut oil, butter, or margarine, you must use a room temperature egg! If you crack an egg straight from the fridge into the bowl, it rapidly chills the melted fat, creating small semi-solid blobs. Not good! To quickly raise the egg’s temperature, place it in a bowl of warm water for about 5 minutes. (I generally do this before preparing the dry ingredients; it’s the perfect amount of time!)
To continue with the clean-eating ingredients for these cookies, I mixed in honey instead of my typical brown sugar. It adds more moisture than regular sugar, which turns the dough rather sticky! Placing the cookie dough in the refrigerator reduces the tackiness and makes it easier to work with. Chilling is mandatory for these cookies.
Be careful: the amount of time you chill the dough greatly affects its texture and how it acts in the oven! We used instant oats, which absorb liquid much faster than regular oats. The longer you chill the cookie dough, the more liquid the oats will absorb and the less the cookies will spread in the oven.
In the photo above, I chilled the cookie dough on the left for 3 hours, which resulted in thick cookies that barely spread. I actually flattened the dough balls before baking them so they wouldn’t stay spherical. However, I only chilled the cookie dough on the right for 30 minutes. Although still slightly sticky, I could shape it into a rounded mound with a spoon, which spread easily on its own in the oven.
Less chilling = more spread.
Because honey caramelizes at a lower temperature than regular sugar, these cookies bake at 325°F instead of the usual 350°F. Only leave them in the oven for 13-15 minutes. They may appear underdone, but the centers continue to cook on the warm baking sheet. Pulling the cookies out after the outsides have just barely set ensures they stay extra soft and chewy.
The warm cozy flavors of sweet honey and a hint of cinnamon fill these clean-eating Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies. Dried blueberries provide a bright burst of tangy fruitiness, while the oats add the perfect homey touch. Each treat is incredibly moist, soft, and chewy—completely masking that they’re actually a healthy, skinny dessert!
But with such nutritious ingredients, I’m really tempted to nibble on one for breakfast too…
Aren’t you?
These cookies are so soft and extra chewy! The dried blueberries add a bright tangy burst, while the warm cinnamon and oats provide a comforting backdrop. They’ll stay soft for up to a week if stored in an airtight container—if they last that long!
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the honey until thoroughly incorporated. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the blueberries. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. (If chilling longer, cover with plastic wrap, ensuring it touches the entire surface of the cookie dough.)
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.
- Drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops on the baking sheet. (If chilled longer than 1.5 hours, flatten each slightly.) Bake at 325°F for 13-15 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Notes: It's really important to measure the oats with the spoon-and-level method (like with flour; see link in ingredients). If you scoop the oats into the measuring cup, you end up with 1.5 times as many oats, which will result in very dry cookies.
To make your own instant oats, pulse 1 cup of old-fashioned oats in a food processor 5-8 times.
Melted unsalted butter or melted margarine may be substituted for the coconut oil. Regardless of which is used, be sure that the egg is at room temperature before whisking it in. A cold egg added straight from the fridge would rapidly cool the fat source, resulting in small blobs of semi-solid coconut oil or butter.
For all other questions regarding the recipe, including ingredient substitutions, please see my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ + Video page.
{clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
Amy I am officially obsessed with your recipes. I am dieting and I can actually eat these desserts! I made the blueberry oatmeal last night and they are DELICIOUS!! The first batch I forgot to melt the coconut oil. Second batch I melted it and there is a slight moisture difference. So everyone make sure you follow directions and melt! lol. I added extra cinnamon also. I cannot wait to try more of your recipes! I am sharing your blog with my friends.
I’m really glad you enjoyed the cookies Samantha, and thank you so much for sharing my blog! That really means a lot to me. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you try next!
My next goal is to try the peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. Will let you know!
Those are definitely one of my favorites — I’m excited to hear what you think Samantha!
If I use sugar instead of honey at what temp. Do I use and for what period of time. Thanks a million.
I answer that question on my Oatmeal Cookies FAQ + Video page! I really hope you enjoy the cookies Barbara! 🙂
I want to send these for a school snack for my daughter. Do you think they could be made ahead and frozen?
Yes, these cookies freeze really well! I hope you and your daughter enjoy the cookies Judi!
Hi Amy: I am so sorry that I am just now finding your blog. I made the carrot cake cookie and my hubby and I love them. But I do have a question. I am not sure if they are chewy or unbaked? They don’t fall apart and they look good, but I didn’t flatten them either. Next to try are the blueberry cookie. Thank you for your blog as we are really trying to keep our weight off but sometimes you just need a little sweet treat.
I’m glad you and your husband enjoyed the carrot cake oatmeal cookies, and I hope you like these just as much Cindy! I’m not entirely sure what you’re asking. The cookies are meant to be soft and chewy, not crisp or crunchy. I highly recommend reading my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ page (it’s linked to underneath each oatmeal cookie recipe as well!) and watching the video there; I think that will also help you find the answer to your question. 🙂
Howdy!
When using fresh blueberries instead of the dried, what amount of fresh blueberries should be used in the recipe? As I am not using the smaller wild blueberries, might I assume it would be more than the quarter cup of the dried?
I’d recommend 6-8 tablespoons of fresh blueberries in place of the dried, but no more than that. They’ll release juice while they bake, and more than that would affect the texture of the cookies. I can’t wait to hear what you think of them Vinny! 🙂
Hey Amy.
I want to substitute the coconut oil with margarine. Do you know what the measurement would be for the margarine?
Thanks
Exactly the same! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the cookies Katinka!
These are SO good!!! Thank you so much for the recipe! I’ve made these twice now and they are delicious. I had been looking for a whole grain and naturally sweetened cookie recipe and these are perfect.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies Lindsay! It means a lot to me that you’ve already made them twice. Thanks for sharing that with me! 🙂 I also have plenty more whole grain, naturally sweetened oatmeal cookie recipes here, if you’re interested in trying different flavors!
Great! I will definitely check out some of your other recipes! Your website is great!
Thank you so much Lindsay — that means the world to me! 🙂 I’m so excited to hear what you try next!
Hi Amy,
I made these after making the raisin cookies, loved these as well. I actually just used the oatmeal raisin recipe and just substituted blueberries for raisins. I used organic frozen thawed blueberries. All turned out well, although I did noticed that the cookies spread a lot more and the batter turned a blueberry color as a mixed in the berries. Perhaps they need a bit longer in the chilling process?
I wanted to tell you that I plan to share a link to your site in my newsletter for my yoga site, if you like I can add you to the list so you can check it out!
Thanks much!
I’m so glad you enjoyed both cookie recipes Kent! The version made with frozen/thawed blueberries would’ve spread more because the blueberries release juice as they’re baking, whereas the raisins do not. When making the oatmeal cookies with fresh or frozen/thawed fruit, it’s generally best not the flatten the cookie dough before baking and leave it in a rounded scoop that’s about as tall as it is wide (for thicker cookies, of course!). 🙂 I’m honored that you’d like to share a link to my recipe in your newsletter — I’d love to see it! To clarify, you’re simply sharing the link and not my full recipe, correct? (My recipes are copyright protected, so I wanted to double check!)
Hi Amy, thanks for the response. I thought the berry juice might have something to do with it, thanks for clarifying.
Yes, I just have a photo of the cookies and a link in the newsletter, there’s no recipe included, the link goes to the specific cookie page on your site. I kept it real simple.
I will add you to the list this time so you can see it, I will be happy to change anything you don’t like in the future if I share other recipes.
Thanks again, I still have to try the Lemon cookies! Let me know what you think of the newsletter post.
You’re welcome, and thank you! That sounds absolutely perfect for your newsletter. I’m so excited to see it! 🙂 And I can’t wait to hear what you think of the lemon cookies too!
Hi Amy,
not sure if you’re still responding, but if you are. I made these cookies twice and both times they turned out like little round cakes instead of chewy biscuits if you know what I mean. I used 1/4 cup of fresh blueberries instead of dried ones so not sure if that affects the texture.
The moisture content is high and the biscuits kind of lose their shape because they’re so soft.
I read your FAQ and weighed all my ingredients using a kitchen scale. I can’t figure out what I am doing wrong.
Anyway, I would just like to thankyou for your site and let you know that the biscuits are amazingly delicious. I will be a happy camper if I can just figure out the consistency issue.
I’m definitely still responding to comments on all recipes, regardless of how long ago I shared them! 🙂 Thanks for all of your information Carine! When you say that they lose their shape, during which step is that? Before or after baking? Did you watch my videos, and can you tell whether the cookie dough is the proper consistency during each step? Lastly, how long are you baking them? We’ll get this sorted out so your cookies turn out perfectly!
Hi Amy,
They didn’t lose their shape, sorry if I was unclear. The shape and taste is perfect. It’s the consistency that seems off. They are more cake like as opposed to chewy biscuits. I baked for 12 mins the first time and 15 mins the second time, and they are still cake like
Thanks for the information Carine! How much did you flatten the cookie dough before baking, and how long did you chill it? Did the cookies spread at all while baking?
Did you watch my oatmeal cookie videos? (This one will be very similar to the classic oatmeal raisin video!) The longer you bake these cookies, the more “cakey” they’ll turn out, so I’d recommend baking no longer than 11 minutes next time. Once you answer my other questions, we can determine what else you can do to make sure they’re chewier! 🙂
Hi Amy,
I didn’t flatten them at all and I was happy with how they flattened themselves in the oven. I chilled for just over 30 mins.
Next time I am going to try using less baking powder and also cooking for less. Will let you know how I go.,
Less baking powder shouldn’t be necessary (as long as you’re using baking powder and not baking soda! I’ve had that mistake happen with other readers before… 😉 ). I really think that if you bake them for 10-11 minutes, rather than 15 minutes, that should really help with their texture. I’m looking forward to hearing how your next batch turns out! 🙂
Great work.. keep it up.