Throughout my childhood, I looked forward to Easter almost as much as Christmas. Although the holiday came with far fewer presents, the Easter Bunny still stopped by while my brother and I slept and left Easter baskets filled with goodies… Just like how Santa stuffed our stockings!
So early Easter morning, typically before the sun started peeking out over the horizon, my brother and I dashed downstairs and skidded to a stop at the kitchen table. Once Mom snapped our picture for her photo albums, we began pawing through the shiny plastic grass in our special pink (mine) and blue (my brother’s) baskets.
The Easter Bunny hid most of our treats inside of plastic eggs, so we rattled each one to guess its contents before popping apart the two halves, watching at the candy spilled out. Milk chocolate eggs, a few peanut butter cups, plenty of Starburst-flavored jelly beans (our favorite!), some chocolate kisses… And if we behaved, Mom even let us have a piece or two before church!
To make sure the Easter Bunny remembered our house (and gave us the best candy!), we always set out something for him the night before, just like with Santa. But instead of milk and cookies, we left a plate of carrots and bowl of water on the table. My brother and I thought he’d appreciate that a little more!
Yet now as an adult, I realize my family’s Easter Bunny might have enjoyed Santa’s cookies more than plain carrots… So I’m finally combining the two for our family’s Easter Bunny into these Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies! They have the same chewy texture as classic cookies but the sweetness level of muffins (just in case the Easter Bunny “taste tests” a few too many pieces of the candy meant for the kids!). And with just 74 calories, these cookies come with none of the guilt!
Think your family’s Easter Bunny would like these too? ?
This is the next installment of my clean eating oatmeal cookie recipes series! ← Have you tried any of those others yet? (The apple pie and almond joy ones are two of my more popular recipes!) Just like the other recipes, these contain no butter, refined flour or sugar… But they taste just as chewy and delicious as traditional oatmeal cookies!
To start, you’ll need whole wheat flour (or gluten-free!) and instant oats. Instant oats are also called “quick cooking” or “one-minute” oats. They’re not the same thing as what comes in those individual brown paper packets! Instant oats are sold in canisters right next to the old-fashioned oats at the grocery store.
It’s extremely important to measure the flour and oats correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. Too much of either will dry out your cookie dough and make your cookies taste cakey, rather than chewy. This is especially true of the oats because they act like little sponges and soak up moisture from your cookie dough!
So I highly recommend a kitchen scale. ← That’s the one I own and love. It’s been the best $20 I’ve ever spent! I use it to make every recipe that I share with you here on my blog (and in my Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook!) because it ensures my treats turn out with the perfect taste and texture every time.
Instead of refined sugar, you’ll sweeten your cookies with pure maple syrup. Make sure you buy the real kind! Skip the pancake syrups and sugar-free syrups because those contain corn syrup or artificial ingredients, which we’re avoiding in this healthier recipe. The only ingredient on the label should be “maple syrup,” and it generally comes in thin glass bottles or squat plastic jugs. I’ve also bought it online here for a slightly discounted price!
To make sure these qualify as breakfast cookies (not dessert ones!), you’ll only add half the amount of maple syrup as you’d use in my dessert oatmeal cookies. To compensate for the missing liquid, you’ll stir milk into your cookie dough!
For the classic carrot cake flavor, you’ll mix in cinnamon, a hint of nutmeg, and freshly grated carrots. Don’t substitute the store-bought pre-shredded carrots! Those are too thick and dry, and they don’t soften while baking. You’ll want to grate your own carrots because they’re much juicier and have an infinitely better flavor.
Ready for breakfast? ??? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your breakfast cookies and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies | | Print |
- 1 cup (100g) instant oats (measured like this and gluten-free if necessary)
- ¾ cup (90g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg white, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60mL) pure maple syrup, room temperature
- 5 tbsp (75mL) nonfat milk, room temperature
- ¾ cup (68g) freshly grated carrot (about 1 medium, peeled first!)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg white, and vanilla. Stir in the maple syrup and milk. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Gently fold in the carrots. Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops onto the prepared sheet, and flatten to the desired thickness and width with a spatula. Bake at 325°F for 10-13 minutes. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to 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. To make your own, add the same amount of old-fashioned oats to a food processor, and pulse 10-12 times or until they’re about half of their original size.
For a gluten-free version, use gluten-free instant oats and the following gluten-free flour blend: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) brown rice flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free blends will work as well, if measured like this.
Any milk will work in place of the nonfat milk.
Do not substitute store-bought pre-shredded carrots. They’re too dry and won’t soften during baking, and their flavor is blander compared to freshly grated carrots.
For more tips and answers to ALL other questions {including substitutions and videos!}, see my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ Page.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
View Nutrition Information
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♥ Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Breakfast Cookies
♥ Healthy Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♥ Healthy Carrot Cake Granola
♥ Healthy Carrot Cake Scones
♥ Carrot Cake Protein Muffins
♥ Carrot Cake Bran Muffins
♥ Healthy Carrot Cake Pancakes
♥ Healthy Single-Serving Carrot Cake Mug Cake
♥ …and all of Amy’s other healthy oatmeal cookie recipes!
The rabbit in me is soooo excited about trying these cookies!! 😉 While I’m not a fan of regular carrot cake, I am a fan of carrots and cookies and oatmeal. 😉
I can’t wait to hear what you think of the cookies Marina! 🙂
These look so yummy!
I haven’t tried any baking with carrots but will defiantly give it a go. x
Izzy |https://pinchofdelight.wordpress.com
Thanks Izzy! Carrot cake-flavored treats are some of my all-time favorites. I really hope you enjoy them as well! 🙂
OH BOY The Easter memories!! I miss these days, although truth be told I STILL get an Easter basket. I love them of course, but they will never be as exciting as when I was a kid. These cookies look like a delicious Easter/Christmas combo.
That’s so awesome that you still get Easter baskets Brittany!! I’m a little jealous… The Easter Bunny stopped using baskets ages ago and just sets a stuffed animal or chick-shaped bottle of bubbles at our places at the dinner table now. 😉
Would it be a problem to use the whole egg instead of just the egg white?
You can use a whole egg if you prefer! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the cookies Doris!
Can you freeze these? They look great!
Thanks Margie! Yes, they freeze really well. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cookies!
Do you have to use “quick cooking” oats? Or are the old fashioned kind okay? I have the old fashioned kind that I use to make granola with. Thanks
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Keitha! I’ve actually answered that question already in the Notes section underneath the Instructions. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cookies!
Oh my word!! Not only does my house now smell amazing, my tastebuds are also doing a little dance of joy. These are absolutely heavenly. I think I have now found my go too cookie, especially in the winter when the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg are so warming. Once again I was so happy I have found your blog. I was wondering if there is something I could use instead of honey/maple/ agave. I would love to be able to cook these for my son but at 7 months old he isn’t able to eat any honey etc until at least a year old. Is there something I could use instead? Xx
You’re so sweet Natalie — your kind comment made my entire day! I’m truly touched that you’d call these your go to cookie! 🙂 I’ve actually answered that question on my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ Page, which is linked to in the Notes section underneath the Instructions. (Look for the brown/coconut sugar and stevia options!) 🙂 That means a lot to me that you’d like to share these cookies with your son! I’d love to hear what he thinks of them if you do!
You know how much I love carrot cake flavour-anything, Amy! These look perfect as an on-the-go breakfast, especially for busy days so you’ve got a healthy snack to grab and eat! I’m looking forward to Easter too – it brings back happy memories of Easter egg hunts and unwrapping the silver foil off the chocolate eggs! x
Thanks Katie! I’d love to hear what you think if you try these cookies! 🙂 Those sound like such fun memories. I loved Easter egg hunts too, although we tried to use plastic ones instead of regular hardboiled… Just in case we didn’t find any of them so our house wouldn’t stink! 😉
Yes, that is a good idea – nobody likes the smell of rotten eggs!! My Grandpa used to do Easter egg hunts around the garden for me and my cousins, and he would hide plastic eggs in case any weren’t found (or if they got wet or too hot in the garden). Then once we’d found one of each colour, we could go to our Grandpa and exchange them for real chocolate eggs! It was very exciting to get the chocolate after all our hard work looking for eggs in the huge garden!
Oh my, I absolutely LOVE the sound of exchanging plastic eggs for chocolate ones… You know that’s right up my alley Katie! Worth every minute of searching in the big garden! 😉
Hi Amy.
Hope you are well. So after a few weeks I finally got around to re-making these amazing cookies but with brown sugar so my son could also eat them. Well not only did the brown sugar work amazingly but my sons reaction to them was Incredible. His cookie lasted about 5 mins then the cheeky little man sat with his mouth wide open trying to take mine. As any good parent would I reluctantly shared a bit of mine as well. Thank you so much for this amazing receipe. Xx
Oh my goodness, that means SO much to me Natalie!! I’m truly touched that your son enjoyed the cookies so much. You’re such a great mama to share some of your cookie with him — he’s a lucky boy to have you!! 🙂
What size scoop did you use?
I don’t use a cookie scoop! If you watch the videos on my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ Page (in the Notes section), you’ll see exactly how I make my oatmeal cookies with a spoon and spatula. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these Marg!