One summer while I was in high school, my mom pulled out an old, yellowing recipe card from her manila folder collection. Handwritten in my grandma’s tidy cursive, it neatly spelled out the ingredients and instructions for her special peach pie. With half a dozen humongous ripe peaches sitting on our counter, we immediately started peeling and slicing to make the dessert.
Because I had grown up on just apple, pecan and pumpkin—all made with a classic single crust and nothing on top—Grandma’s recipe for peach pie looked a little different. She called for a special no-roll crust, where we simply patted the dough into the pie plate, and…
A streusel topping. Big, buttery crumbs generously sprinkled all over the fresh fruit, baked until slightly crunchy—the perfect texture complement to the soft, juicy peaches underneath.
Until that day, I had never had anything like it… And I never want to eat a peach pie made any other way. It’s literally the best peach pie I’ve ever tasted in my entire life. My four-member family managed to finish it off—the entire 9” pie—in a single night! We may or may not have skipped dinner that evening…
And ever since then, we’ve baked grandma’s peach pie nearly every week during the following summers.
But because that’s my grandma’s secret recipe (and definitely not healthy!), I created a different treat with the same addictive flavors to share with you instead: these Peach Pie Oatmeal Cookies! Full of juicy fruit, warm cinnamon, and one of Grandma’s special ingredients, I can practically guarantee that these cookies will disappear just as quickly as that first peach pie my family made!
I started with my favorite clean-eating oatmeal cookie base. Have you tried any of my oatmeal cookies yet? They’re the most popular recipes on my blog (especially this carrot cake version!)… And for a good reason! They’re supremely chewy, extra soft, and full of healthy good-for-you ingredients.
The cookies start with whole wheat flour and instant oats. It’s very important that you measure these ingredients correctly, using either the spoon-and-level method or a kitchen scale. I highly recommend a kitchen scale if you have one! (I own and love this one.) They’re fairly inexpensive and are worth their weight in gold. I use mine for every baking recipe I make!
Why is it so important to measure the flour and oats correctly? Because too much of either will dry out your cookies, making them taste cakey or crumbly. That’s especially true of the oats! They act like little sponges and soak up all of the moisture in the cookie dough. So pretty, pretty please, measure these ingredients correctly!
These cookies are sweetened with honey because I love that flavor pairing with peaches. Then again, I also adore maple syrup with peaches too… So that would make a great substitution! As would agave, or brown sugar and milk. Just use whatever you usually stash in your pantry—no need for a special trip to the grocery store!
And now for my grandma’s special ingredient… Almond extract! We’ll only add a little bit because the peaches are the true star of the show, but almond extract’s slightly sweet and sophisticated flavor provides the perfect backdrop for these treats.
We’ll use fresh peaches for these cookies (although canned in 100% juice and thoroughly drained will work too!). Because of the moisture in the juicy fruit and liquid honey, you must chill the cookie dough. Chilling helps thicken the cookie dough and allows the oats time to soak up that moisture. But remember—if you chill the dough for more than an hour or two, the cookies won’t spread as much while baking!
If you’re impatient (like me) and want your cookies ASAP, drop the cookie dough into rounded scoops onto the baking sheet after just 30 minutes of chilling. The dough will still be slightly sticky, so use a spatula! I own these adorable piggy ones, and their small size is perfect for shaping the dough into rounded circles.
Then bake, cool, eat, and repeat!
So much easier than pie, don’t you think?
| Peach Pie Oatmeal Cookies | | Print |
- 1 cup (100g) instant oats (gluten-free if necessary and measured correctly)
- ¾ cup (90g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured correctly)
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp almond extract
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup (100g) diced peaches
- Whisk together the oats, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil or butter, egg, and almond extract. Stir in the honey. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the peaches. Chill for at least 45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Using a spoon and spatula, drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops onto the prepared sheet, ensuring that the mounds are as tall as they are wide. Bake at 325°F for 11-14 minutes. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Vanilla extract may be substituted in place of the almond extract.
Peaches that are fresh, frozen and thawed completely, or canned in 100% juice and thoroughly drained will all work.
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}
I can see how you finished off that pie in a night, it sounds so delicious with the streusel topping. However, these cookies sounds equally as amazing! The almond extract is a great secret ingredient, it must add a lovely “hidden” flavour that adds to the yumminess!
Thanks Eve! Almond extract is my favorite extract for baking. You’re right about the lovely flavor! 🙂
Love how you have only good ingredients in here but they still taste like cookies! 🙂 Guilt free comfort food is the best!
Thank you!
so, if you roasted the peaches for a little bit, that would enhance the flavor and not be quite so juicy. what do you think?
Sounds like a great idea Sabra! I’d love to hear how that turns out!
OMG!! These are amazing! My kids loved making them AND eating them! These are not even going to make it to desert tonight. Love that they are simple, healthy & tasty. The almond extract rocks (I put that in my coffee sometimes!). Thanks for sharing.
I’m so happy that you and your family enjoyed the cookies Alex! That’s the best sort of compliment if they didn’t last long at all. 🙂
Hi there, I just made a double batch of these and they didn’t turn out as I thought they would. The flavor is great, but the cookies never flattened out, were a wrong color, and the texture is chewy but off. Do you have an idea of what I missed in making the cookies and/or how to make them more like your picture?
I have an entire Oatmeal Cookies FAQ Page dedicated to answering questions like this one Abby! I highly recommend you check it out. 🙂 Did you follow the recipe exactly without any substitutions?
These were very tasty. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies!
Can I use dried peaches it is it best to use canned?
Yes, dried peaches will work Kellee! The cookies probably won’t spread as much while baking, but the taste will stay the same. I hope you enjoy them!
These smell amazing and taste even better! I followed your recipe exactly, and I got 21 cookies out of my batch. How big were your cookies? Mine were about an inch and a half in diameter. Regardless, great unique and healthy recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies Jessi! My cookies were closer to 2 inches in diameter, but the size doesn’t matter as much as the taste! 😉
I do use a scale for baking, but mine has ounces. Why do you show your weights in grams?
I want to try your peach cookies because I have a package of frozen peaches in my frig right now thawing out.
Thanks ahead of time for your answer to my question.
Brenda
I find grams to be slightly more accurate than ounces when weighing ingredients. (And I used grams when measuring things in my chemistry lab, which was my job before becoming a full-time baking blogger!) Most digital scales can easily toggle between the two by pressing a button. 🙂 I’m excited to hear what you think of the cookies Brenda!
Delicious! Just baked these this evening and the cobbler last weekend!
I’m so glad you enjoyed both treats Sallyann! I’m truly touched that you’d bake two of my peach recipes. Thank you — that means a lot to me! 🙂