When I was 9 years old, my grandma moved from Ohio to California to live in the same town as my parents so we could see her more often. As she settled into her new house, I was giddy with joy. Before, she only visited once or twice a year, but she always brought baked goodies like zucchini or banana bread. With her only 10 minutes away, I thought she’d make those for us at least once a week!
My mom quickly explained that no, it was not Grandma’s job to feed us, but Grandma would still bring over homemade goodies every so often. The one I looked forward to the most was, hands-down, her apple pie.
She always made a double-crusted apple pie with the flakiest texture on both the top and bottom. The crusts were perfectly golden, without a burned patch in sight, and concealed the tender fruit hiding inside.
Grandma usually chose tart Granny Smiths, the traditional option she grew up with. She thoroughly doused them in cinnamon and sugar, then baked the pie until the sliced fruit was supremely soft and nearly falling apart.
She usually brought over one of her apple pies on the 4th of July and my dad’s birthday in September, and sometimes when I asked nicely, she would bake one around my birthday too.
This past week, in an effort to get back on the healthy track after the holidays, I bought a big bag of apples, but as I stared at them, willing myself to snack on a crisp and juicy one, all I could think of were Grandma’s pies. Because I didn’t have the patience for crusts or waiting for hours while it baked and cooled, I made these Apple Pie Oatmeal Cookies instead!
Over the past few years, I’ve realized just how much you love cookies. They were your top three choices in the Readers’ Favorite Recipes of 2014! So a new clean-eating recipe for healthy January sounded perfect. Diets shouldn’t be about deprivation, after all!
Like my other clean-eating oatmeal cookies, these ones are made with 100% whole wheat flour and lots of instant oats. (They’re also called quick-cooking or minute oats and are sold in big canisters next to the old-fashioned oats. They aren’t the ones in the little flavored packets for breakfast!)
I love my oatmeal cookies to be chock-full of oats, so I actually use more oats than flour. Be sure to use the instant kind because they provide a better chewy texture. And even more importantly, measure them correctly using the spoon-and-level method like with flour! Too many oats will dry out your cookies and make them much less chewy.
These cookies are sweetened with agave, but I also included other options in the recipe notes below. Because of the liquid sweetener, chilling is mandatory! If all of the ingredients were measured correctly, the cookie dough should look more like thick muffin batter. Chilling helps prevent the cookies from spreading into thin, flat discs on the baking sheet.
Hint: Check out my video for visuals and more tips!
Just like their namesake, these Apple Pie Oatmeal Cookies are full of fruit and lots of warm spices. With this easy, no-fuss recipe, they’re ready much sooner than pie, which makes them a little dangerous! I can’t stop eating them… But at only 97 calories each, I still feel on track for a healthy New Year!
My newly released Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook is full of sweet and healthy recipes like these oatmeal cookies! Reserve your copy here today!
| Apple Pie Oatmeal Cookies | | Print |
- 1 cup (100g) instant oats (measured correctly & gluten-free if necessary)
- ¾ cup (90g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured correctly)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120mL) agave
- 1 cup (125g) finely diced red apple (about 1 medium)
- Whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil or butter, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the agave. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the apple. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops onto the prepared sheet, and flatten slightly. Bake at 325°F for 13-15 minutes. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Instant oats are also known as quick-cooking or minute oats. They come in large canisters, just like old-fashioned oats. They are not the ones in the small flavored packets of oatmeal.
For the best results, dice the apples very finely. The larger the chunks, the crisper and less soft they’ll be. Finely diced apples will not completely soften while baking, but they won’t be quite as crunchy as larger chunks. If the cookies are stored in an airtight container for a few days, the apple pieces will naturally soften over time as well. I prefer Fuji apples, but any red apple will work. If you prefer a tarter taste, green apples would be fine too.
Honey or pure maple syrup may be substituted for the agave. Alternatively, ½ cup (105g) brown sugar + 5 tablespoons (75mL) milk may be substituted as well. The chilling and baking times stay the same.
For a gluten-free version, use gluten-free instant oats and a gluten-free flour blend. I recommend the following blend: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, 2 tablespoons (17g) brown rice flour, and ½ teaspoon (2g) xanthan gum.
For all other questions regarding the recipe, including ingredient substitutions, please see my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ + Video page.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
More apple oatmeal cookie recipes from other bloggers…
♥ Dulce de Leche Apple Caramel Oatmeal Cookies by Will Cook for Smiles
♥ Spiced Apple Oatmeal Cookies by Texanerin
♥ Oatmeal Cookies with Apples, Raisins, and Pecans by A Farmgirl’s Dabbles
♥ Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies by Love From The Oven
Hello Amy, I just made this recepy and read the comments while waiting for them…..Now I have eaten 2 peaces and they are delicious!!
I used normal oats, chufa flower (tiger nut) a banana (no egg) and ahornsirup and it all worked well. It has kind of a bread/cake texture.
I had no patience for letting it cool in the fridge,so I pit it right away op de bakingpaper and made a circel shape. Then I cut it in 10 peaces, like a star. Like scones.
Baking…..eating……mmmmmm!
(Excuse me my frenche 🙂 )
Regards Ina, The Netherlands
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies, Ina! That’s the best kind of compliment, if you’ve already eaten two of them. 😉 Thank you for taking the time to let me know! I appreciate you sharing your recipe modifications too. I always love hearing what tweaks work!
I was thinking of making a double batch and freezing half. Do you think these would freeze well?
I’ve made these twice now. I think last year when I made them I didn’t have any liquid sweetener and used the milk and brown sugar option. This time I used maple syrup. I think I only ended up chilling them for about ten minutes, but they came out perfect 😀. I also made them with a small cookie scoop, and that way they’re only 60 calories a cookie. I love it! Also, they’re amazing with Granny Smith apples, and it doesn’t compromise the sweetness.
I did add more spice, which is what I almost always do to pumpkin and apple spice recipes. I made some apple pie spice with cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cardamom and added a couple teaspoons of that.
The one minor complaint I have is that if you put them in an airtight container they get sticky/have a somewhat less pleasant texture, but the next time I make them I want to try putting them in a box or paper bag like you would do with donuts and see how that turns out.
Thanks for the recipe, Amy! I’ll be visiting again to check out more of them.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies Mariah! That’s a HUGE compliment, if you think they came out perfectly. Thank you for taking the time to let me know — it really means a lot!
I appreciate you sharing your modifications too. I always love hearing what tweaks work!
That’s strange that yours turned sticky after sealing them in an airtight container. I haven’t had that happen before! Did you leave them at room temperature or chill after sealing them in the airtight container? If you ever get a chance, I’d love to hear whether your idea about a box or paper bag works any better too!
I did let them cool, but putting them in the fridge would probably work better. I hadn’t thought of that. 🙂 I’ll be sure to check back in if I make them again and store them differently.
I’ve found that refrigerating these cookies both helps them keep longer (although that might not be an issue! 😉 ) and makes them a little firmer too. I hope that works for you too, Mariah!
Could you pour the dough into a large pyrex and bake and cut them into bars instead of drop them for cookies? I’ve baked these as cookies years ago but can’t remember if it’d work out as bars.
Yes, you can bake these as bars instead of individual cookies! I’d recommend using the same oven temperature and a square baking pan (8″ for thicker bars, 9″ for thinner bars!). Start checking on them after the same amount of time as with baking the cookies. They’ll be done when the edges look firm and the center feels just a teensy bit soft. You’ll want to let them cool completely to room temperature in the pan before slicing and eating because the center will continue to cook through while the pan cools.
I can’t wait to hear what you think of them as bars, Sandra!
They turned out exactly how I hoped they would! Total baking time was about 20 minutes in an 8×8 pyrex. They’re perfect! ❤️ Thank you Amy!
Fantastic!! I’m so glad they turned out the way you hoped. Thank you for taking the time to let me know — it truly means a lot, Sandra! ♡
I think you mean minute oats not instant. Instant oats are in the little packages you don’t cook. I am going to try these.
I’ve actually covered this exact topic in the Notes section of the recipe, located directly underneath the Instructions. I know it can be easy to miss that detail! 😉 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cookies, Lynn!
These were SO delicious, as far as taste. The texture was a bit off. They were soft and chewy and moist, but they also fell apart as soon as I picked them up. I used honey instead of agave so I’m not sure if that had anything to do with it. Either way, delicious! We went apple picking and have SO many apples. I’m not sure what kind I even used in this recipe because they were all mixed up lol but I’m definitely making more of these cookies.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the flavor of these cookies, Lauren! That’s the best kind of compliment, if you already think you’ll make more. Thank you for taking the time to let me know!
As for the texture, these cookies shouldn’t fall apart once you pick them up, so I’m happy to help solve that. In order to do so, I have some questions for you!
How long did you bake your cookies?
Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups/spoons for the ingredients, especially the oats, flour, and honey?
Did the texture of your cookie dough before and after chilling match mine in the video directly above the recipe? If not, can you describe it in a bit more detail?
(If it did match mine, then you can also bake them for a few extra minutes. I’d recommend somewhere between 2-5 minutes, depending on just how flimsy they were. 🙂 )
I made a double batch today, using steel cut quick cook oats, and whole wheat flour, both weighed on a balance. Also used egg whites, as found in recipe a few days ago, rather than whole eggs. I forgot to cool dough, but since I was using a 9 by 13 baking dish for making bars, it didn’t seem to affect the finished cake.
It did take about 30 minutes for a toothpick to come out clean. I haven’t cut them yet, so will report later about taste and texture
It means a lot that you tried my recipe, Carl! I’m really looking forward to hearing how your cookie bars turned out. 🙂
The steel cut oats, even though quick cooking, did not provide the right consistency in the final bar. Do not recommend using it. Taste was pretty good, but was disappointed in the final product. They were edible, but not for company!😓
I’m glad you at least enjoyed their flavor, Carl! If you’re able to use regular quick cooking oats (or old-fashioned oats that you’ve treated using the process that I’ve outlined on my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ Page!), then your cookie bars should have a much better texture.
I’d also recommend baking them for less time, which should improve the texture as well. When I’ve made these as bars, they’ve actually finished baking in about the same amount of time as the individual cookies. They’re done baking when the sides look firm and done but the center still looks a little soft and underdone. If you let the bars cool completely to room temperature in the pan (and then rest for a few hours once at room temperature before slicing!), the heat from the pan will continue to cook the center all the way through — but without drying out the bars — and result in the best soft and chewy texture! If the edges of the cookies pull away from the edges of the pan within 10 minutes of removing them from the oven, then you’ve baked them long enough. 🙂
Hi there – do you think these would work with grated apples, too, or recommend only doing the small dice? Thx!
Yes, grated apples should work. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these oatmeal cookies if you end up making them, Kate!
Hello!
I just made these cookies…
Wowza, they are so delicious.
I used Rolled oats and for flour, I used almond.
I stuck to the rest of the recipe.
I will be making these again, and again and again.
Thanks for sharing
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies, Sarah! That’s the best kind of compliment, if you already think you’ll make them again and again. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know — that really means a lot! 🙂