I’m partnering with Bob’s Red Mill® to bring you today’s recipe! I absolutely love their healthy, top-quality products (flours, oats, protein powder, and more!). They ensure my recipes turn out perfectly and taste delicious every time I make them!
During the winter quarter of my first year of graduate school, I ended up with one class that started at 8 am three days a week, plus a spectroscopy lab at 7:30 am on a fourth day. Around twenty other organic chemistry grad students suffered through the same schedule, and we regularly headed to the closest coffee shop on campus for a caffeine boost as soon as the professors let us out of lecture.
For those four days each week, I set my alarm for 5:30 am (or o’dark thirty, as one of my close friends calls it!) to squeeze in a yoga session, shower, and blow dry my hair. But as a result, I barely ended up with enough time to boil water for tea before dashing out the door… Let alone make a decent breakfast. Staying warm was a much higher priority that winter!
So instead, I usually grabbed a banana to tuck into my backpack. Although a healthier option than the Pop-Tarts and bite-sized powdered sugar donuts that my classmates brought, the banana never kept me full all the way until lunch.
But these Healthy Apple Pie Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies totally would’ve done the trick! They’re full of hearty oats and plenty of cozy cinnamon—but no refined flour or sugar—and perfect for quick grab-and-go breakfasts!
And I’m always a huge fan of wholesome breakfast foods that taste like dessert!
This easy recipe is the next installment in my oatmeal breakfast cookies recipe series. ← Have you tried any of those other ones yet? They have the sweetness level of muffins yet the same chewy texture as traditional “dessert-style” oatmeal cookies. An irresistible combination in my book!
These wholesome breakfast cookies begin with Bob’s Red Mill quick cooking oats (these!) and Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat flour (this kind!). I’m completely obsessed with Bob’s Red Mill products and keep dozens of them in my pantry! Everything from whole wheat flour and oats to coconut flour and protein powder to almond meal and oat flour. All of the Bob’s Red Mill products that I’ve tried have been truly dependable and top-quality—and that makes my baked treats taste even better!
Tip: Quick cooking oats are also called instant or one-minute oats, and they’re smaller and thinner than old-fashioned oats. This means they soften a bit more while baking, which makes your cookies perfectly soft and chewy!
Tip 2: Use Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free quick cooking oats (these!) and Bob’s Red Mill gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour (this one!) to make your breakfast cookies gluten-free!
It’s extremely important to measure the flour and oats correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much of either will dry out your dough and make your cookies cakey or crumbly, especially the oats. They act like little sponges and soak up lots of moisture from your cookie dough!
You’ll sweeten your healthy breakfast cookies with pure maple syrup (like this!) instead of refined sugar. Make sure your maple syrup is the kind that comes directly from maple trees, not the fake pancake syrups! Because we’re only adding half the amount of sweetener compared to traditional “dessert-style” oatmeal cookies, you’ll also mix in some milk to compensate for the missing liquid and keep your cookies perfectly chewy.
Of course, we can’t forget the apples and spices that make these cookies taste like apple pie! I prefer red Fuji apples because they’re naturally sweet and have a great firm texture for baking. Plus they taste really comforting when paired with cozy cinnamon and nutmeg!
One final thing! These cookies do not spread while baking, so you must flatten the cookie dough before popping your tray in the oven. I just use a little spatula (like this!) to do so because the dough is usually too sticky to touch with my hands.
Quick, healthy, yummy… All of my breakfast problems are solved! ?? 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!
| Healthy Apple Pie Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies | | Print |
- 1 cup (100g) Bob’s Red Mill quick cooking oats (measured like this)
- ¾ cup (90g) Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp (21g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg white
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60mL) pure maple syrup
- 5 tbsp (75mL) nonfat milk
- ¾ cup (94g) finely diced red apple
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter or coconut oil, egg white, and vanilla. Stir in the maple syrup and milk. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the apple. 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.
- Using a spoon and spatula, drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops onto the prepared sheet, and flatten to the desired thickness and width using a spatula. Bake at 325°F for 9-11 minutes. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Quick cooking oats are also known as instant 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 a gluten-free version, use Bob's Red Mill gluten-free quick cooking oats and Bob’s Red Mill gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
I use Fuji apples because they’re naturally sweet and have a great texture for baking. Make sure the apples are diced to be no larger than the size of mini chocolate chips to ensure they bake all the way through!
For answers to all other questions regarding substitutions and tips, see my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ page.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat}
This post was sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. As always, all text, photographs, recipes, and opinions are my own.
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy oatmeal cookie recipes!
Thank you for this recipe! These cookies were really yummy! I used granny smith apples because that’s what I had, and whole oats as well but everything else the same. Even my husband likes them and I have already made another batch! How long do you think they will keep for?
I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed these cookies Betsy! That means so much to me that you’ve already made another batch — that’s the best kind of compliment! 😉 I’ve already included how long they’ll keep in the text directly beneath the recipe title in the recipe box. It can be easy to miss! 🙂
Have you tried to make these with a flax egg or applesauce as egg replacement? I may have to try them.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Diane! My brother is allergic to eggs, and Ener-G is my favorite egg replacer. It works perfectly in nearly all of my recipes, including this one! (It performs better than any other egg replacer that I’ve tried!) In my recipes, you’ll need 1 ½ teaspoons of Ener-G + 2 tablespoons of warm water for each egg white, and you’ll need an additional ½ tablespoon of butter or coconut oil for each egg yolk. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these cookies!
My HS cooking class made these today. We did not have maple syrup, so we doubled the brown sugar. The students loved them, THANKS!
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed these cookies Becky! That means a lot to me! 🙂
These look amazing! Can I use old fashioned oats instead of quick cooking oats? and also if I use chewy dried red apples instead of fresh green apple would it change the taste and texture alot? I just wish to use what i’ve got in hands! Pleast let me know thank you!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Laura! I’ve actually covered the answer to your first question on my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ Page, which is linked to in the Notes section of the recipe directly underneath the Instructions. It can be easy to miss! And yes, you can definitely use your dried apple instead! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these breakfast cookies!
Hi,
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. What happens if I put the whole egg in? You’ve worked hard to perfect the recipe and here I am asking about using a whole egg.
Thanks,
Jen
You can definitely use the whole egg! It shouldn’t have any negative effects in this particular recipe. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these breakfast cookies, Jen!
Hi Amy I’m so glad I found your site!
Just wondering how I could make the cookies a bit more crunchy on the outside? I used butter rather than coconut oil as I have found things fall apart more with the coconut oil and thought they might go slightly crunchier with butter. I tried cooking them for longer but that’s just dried them out.
Thanks,
Elise in Australia 😝
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Elise! This recipe is specifically designed to be soft and chewy, not crunchy, as you’ve discovered. If you’d like a crunchy cookie recipe, then I recommend using this recipe of mine instead. I also cover lots of “crunchy cookie science” in the blog post above that recipe, if you’re interested in what makes cookies crunchy! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think if you decide to try those crunchy cookies!