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 definitely would’ve done the trick! They’re full of hearty oats and plenty of cozy cinnamon — but no refined flour or refined sugar! — and perfect for quick grab-and-go breakfasts. (Snacks too!)
And I’m always a huge fan of wholesome breakfast foods that taste like dessert!
QUICK OVERVIEW – HEALTHY APPLE PIE OATMEAL BREAKFAST COOKIES
Difficulty: Fairly easy, including for many beginner bakers.
Taste: Lightly sweetened with plenty of cozy oats, warm spices, and juicy apples filling every bite.
Texture: Soft, moist, and chewy.
HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY APPLE PIE OATMEAL BREAKFAST COOKIES
This easy recipe is the next installment in my oatmeal breakfast cookies recipe series. ← Have you tried any of those other ones? They have the sweetness level of muffins or scones and the same chewy texture as traditional “dessert-style” oatmeal cookies. An irresistible combination in my book!
These healthy apple oatmeal 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 so reliable and truly top-quality — and that makes my baked treats taste even better!
Hint: Quick cooking oats are also called instant or one-minute oats, and they’re smaller and thinner than traditional old-fashioned rolled oats. This size difference means they soften faster while baking, which makes your cookies perfectly soft and chewy!
Tip: If you’d like to make your healthy apple pie oatmeal breakfast cookies gluten-free, then 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!). They work perfectly as substitutes!
It’s extremely important to measure the flour and oats correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much of either will dry out your dough and make your cookies cakey, bready, or crumbly. This is especially true of 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 pancake syrup or sugar-free syrup! Those contain other added ingredients, which often changes the way they behave in baking recipes.
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. Just about any type will work, so feel free to use whatever is in your fridge right now!
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 texture for baking. They also taste really comforting when paired with the cozy cinnamon and nutmeg!
It’s really important to dice the apples finely. See how small mine are in these photos, especially the one of the mixing bowl? The pieces should be no larger than the size of standard chocolate chips! This ensures they soften while baking. These breakfast cookies don’t spend very long in the oven, so if your apple chunks are larger, they’ll stay crisp and firm. Also, because someone always asks… I leave the skin on my apples — but you’re welcome to peel yours, if you prefer!
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 too sticky to touch with your 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 healthy apple pie oatmeal breakfast cookies!
Healthy Apple Pie Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 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 (room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60mL) pure maple syrup (room temperature)
- 5 tbsp (75mL) nonfat milk (room temperature)
- ¾ cup (94g) finely diced red apple
Instructions
- 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 ⅜”-thick 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.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
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 Carrot Cake Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Gingerbread Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy breakfast cookie recipes and 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!
I LOVE them. I know it’s February, but these cookies just taste like absolute fall heaven. If you want to try this recipe, keep in mind they’re gonna turn out really chewy! Anyway, they’re perfect, and I love that this recipe doesn’t need fancy healthy (expensive) ingredients like almond flour/nut butter, things we never have at home and I didn’t wanna spend the money on. 11/10, thanks!!
Oh my goodness Nina — 11/10?? That’s the best compliment ever! I’m truly honored and so glad you loved these breakfast cookies! It means a lot to me that you’d call them perfect and take the time to let me know. Thank you SO much!! 🙂
Hi Amy,
This recipe looks amazing. Can I bake these as a cake instead? In a loaf pan? And if so, how long do I leave them in the oven for?
Thanks!!! 🙂
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Sylvie! Do you want to make cookie bars, rather than individual cookies? Or do you want to make more of a cake-like breakfast loaf (something like zucchini bread or banana bread, just with apples and oats instead)? My answer depends on which one you’d prefer, so I just want to understand what you’re craving and hoping to make! 🙂
Thank you Amy. Basically I want to do this exact recipe but instead of making cookies, I’d like to make a cake using a pan loaf. Would that work? Maybe not?
It’s my pleasure, Sylvie! I’m always happy to help! 🙂 This recipe won’t yield a cake. It can yield cookie bars (soft, chewy, and dense) using a cake pan, but it won’t actually make a cake (something that rises and has a lighter texture). If you’d like to make an loaf-style oatmeal bread, then I’d actually recommend this recipe of mine instead, and substitute diced apples for the blueberries. You could also increase the cinnamon by ½ teaspoon or so for a spice flavor that’s closer to these cookies.
Also, just a quick reminder that these are breakfast cookies, with the same sweetness level as muffins, rather than “dessert” cookies… So these breakfast cookies are much less sweet than traditional “dessert” cookies, and therefore, the oatmeal bread recipe that I just linked to above also has the same sweetness level as muffins, rather than a traditional “dessert” cake. If you’d really prefer a loaf-style true dessert cake, then I’d recommend this recipe of mine instead!
Does all of that make sense? 🙂
Makes a lot of sense! Thank you so much for taking the time to help. So happy for the many options I have now ????
Thank you!!
You’re welcome Sylvie! I’m really excited to hear which option you decide to try! 🙂
These cookies were awful. I followed it exactly and it didn’t look like this. It was dry and the texture was very weird. Wouldn’t remake again.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Catherine! That sounds disappointing and not like how these cookies should turn out at all, so I’d love to work with you to figure out what happened. 🙂 Did you make any modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section? How did you measure the oats and flour? Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups? If the latter, can you describe how you used them to measure?