A little over a year after I finished my chemistry degree, my dad and I planned another one of our baseball vacations. On that particular trip, we arranged to visit three stadiums on the east coast: Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, followed by Camden Yards in Baltimore, and finishing at Nationals Park in Washington, DC.
As usual, we also set aside a few days for sightseeing, so we flew to Philadelphia a full day ahead of our first ballgame to get a taste of the city (starting with classic cheesesteaks, of course!) and soak in some of the historical sights (the Liberty Bell Center and bell itself were huge highlights!). We also tacked on a couple of extra days in the Nation’s Capitol to wander around the National Mall, walk past the White House and Lincoln Monument, and spend a full afternoon at the Air and Space Museum.
As we sat at our gate in the California airport on the morning of our trip, we brainstormed how to fit everything into those five days, and I grew more excited with each passing minute while waiting for our flight. The only downside?
There were very few flights to Philadelphia from our usual airport… So we booked the only one that would arrive before midnight local time, which meant waking up at the crack of dawn back on the west coast because of the time difference and layovers!
As a result, my dad and I both stopped by the coffee shop a few yards away from our gate to grab a little extra caffeine as soon as we passed through the security checkpoint at the airport. While I opted for a simple latte to pair with the soft and chewy granola bar I had brought for breakfast, my dad ordered a large black coffee and…
A chocolate muffin. A really big, supremely moist, extremely chocolaty muffin with lots of large chocolate chunks pressed into the top and studded throughout the inside too.
Knowing how much of a chocoholic I am, Dad generously offered to split his breakfast treat with me. Smiling, I accepted a bite, and as I swallowed, my eyes lit up. That chocolate muffin tasted so good…
…but more like a really sweet cupcake than a breakfast item. To prevent a sugar crash while somewhere over the Midwest, I stopped after that first bite and returned to my chewy oatmeal breakfast bar as I sipped my latte and waited for our plane to arrive.
With the start of the Major League Baseball season right around the corner, Dad and I recently talked about what baseball trips we could potentially plan this year… Which reminded me of that really fun east coast vacation and our early morning airport breakfast!
And now, far too many years later, I combined the two of our breakfasts into one recipe: these healthy chocolate oatmeal breakfast cookies! They’re soft and chewy, exactly the way I love my regular cookies (and my oatmeal-based granola bars!), and they have the same extra rich and chocolaty flavor of Dad’s muffin.
Yet unlike our airport choices on that particular morning, these healthy breakfast cookies are flourless, eggless, dairy-free, and have no refined sugar. They’re also easy to make!
KEY INGREDIENTS TO MAKE HEALTHY CHOCOLATE OATMEAL BREAKFAST COOKIES
Let’s go over what you’ll need to make these healthy flourless double chocolate oatmeal breakfast cookies! They remind me of eating brownies for breakfast, which is definitely a good thing in my {chocoholic} book! 😉
You’ll start with instant oats. They’re also called “quick-cooking” and “one-minute” oats. Contrary to what some people think, they’re not the ones that come in those individual brown paper packets with flavors like “apple cinnamon” and “maple brown sugar!”
Instant oats have the same exact health benefits as traditional old-fashioned rolled oats. The only difference? They’re smaller and thinner! This means they soften faster, which gives your healthy chocolate breakfast cookies the best soft and chewy texture.
Next, you’ll need regular unsweetened cocoa powder, like this! I don’t recommend using Dutched or special dark cocoa powder. These other two have a different acidity level than regular unsweetened cocoa powder, which can affect the taste and texture of your cookies. (You’re also using a full ½ cup of cocoa powder, so your healthy chocolate oatmeal breakfast cookies already taste really rich and decadent!)
Hint: The cocoa powder actually replaces the flour, so if you use gluten-free instant oats, then these healthy chocolate breakfast cookies are gluten-free!
Then comes a bit of coconut oil or dairy-free butter (I love this one and this one!). Just 1 tablespoon! That small amount really helps keep your healthy chocolate oatmeal breakfast cookies low calorie and low fat… Yet they’re still perfectly soft and chewy!
Instead of eggs, you’ll use unsweetened applesauce. I tried that applesauce-for-eggs substitution in this brownie recipe, and it worked so well that I decided to try it with these breakfast cookies too. The result? Absolutely perfect! Nobody could tell that these healthy chocolate breakfast cookies were egg-free!
Tip: I love keeping these single-serving applesauce cups around. They’re so handy for baking recipes where you just need a small amount, like these healthy chocolate breakfast cookies. One container holds just a little more than you need for this recipe!
Bonus: By using coconut oil and unsweetened applesauce, your healthy flourless chocolate breakfast cookies are eggless, dairy-free, and vegan! (Plus gluten-free, if you use gluten-free oats!)
Since these are breakfast cookies, rather than traditional dessert cookies, you’ll only use half as much sweetener as compared to my dessert oatmeal cookie recipes. That gives these healthy double chocolate breakfast cookies the sweetness level of muffins, rather than true cookies. (Or cupcakes, like that particular airport muffin!).
And that sweetener? Pure maple syrup! It’s the kind that comes directly from maple trees. The only ingredient on the label should be “maple syrup,” and it generally comes in thin glass bottles or squat plastic jugs (like this!).
Then to compensate for the “missing” other half of the sweetener, you’ll stir in some milk. Any kind of milk will work! Unsweetened vanilla almond milk is my family’s favorite dairy-free milk, so I know they’ll always have some on hand. (Unsweetened cashew milk is my other favorite non-dairy milk!)
Finally, it’s impossible to make healthy flourless double chocolate oatmeal breakfast cookies without a second chocolate component… So you’ll fold in a generous sprinkling of miniature chocolate chips into your cookie dough! These are my favorite vegan mini chocolate chips. They taste so rich and turn gooey and melty in the oven!
HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY CHOCOLATE OATMEAL BREAKFAST COOKIES
Now that you’ve gathered your ingredients, let’s cover how to make the best healthy chocolate breakfast cookies! This recipe is easy (I promise!), and I also have some tips to make sure your breakfast cookies turn out deliciously chewy and perfectly chocolaty.
First… It’s extremely important to measure the ingredients correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) This is particularly true of the oats and cocoa powder! Too much cocoa powder will make your cookies taste bitter, rather than rich and chocolaty. Too much of either will also dry out the cookie dough and make your cookies taste cakey or dry, instead of soft and chewy. This is especially true of the oats because they act like little sponges and soak up lots of moisture!
So pretty pretty please… Take the few extra moments to properly measure! (And if you use a kitchen scale like I do, then you’ll have fewer measuring cups to wash!)
Next, you’ll chill your cookie dough! It’s rather moist and liquidy when you first mix all of the ingredients together, but chilling helps stiffen the cookie dough. A mere 30 minutes is all it needs!
Almost time to bake! Because the cookie dough will still be somewhat sticky after chilling (just not as wet and liquidy as before!), use a spoon and a spatula to drop it onto your baking sheet, and flatten each one to be about ¼” to ½” thick. These healthy chocolate oatmeal breakfast cookies do not spread at all while baking, so they’ll look exactly the same before and after baking… Just no longer raw! 😉
And because someone always asks… No, I don’t use a cookie scoop or any special tools to shape my cookies! I just use this mini spatula to flatten the cookie dough and smooth out the edges to make them look as round as possible.
It’s time! Slide your baking sheet into the oven, but set a timer and don’t stray too far. These cookies bake relatively quickly! They’re ready to come out of the oven when the centers still look and feel a little soft and underdone. This is my #1 trick for really soft and chewy cookies! The residual heat from the warm baking sheet will continue to cook those centers all the way through (without drying out the edges!) while you let the cookies rest for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
How tempting do these look as a healthy breakfast?? 😉 And when you make your own, would you mind leaving a comment and rating the recipe? (You can also snap a picture and share it with me on Facebook!) I’d love to hear what you think of these healthy chocolate oatmeal breakfast cookies!
Healthy Chocolate Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (115g) instant oats (gluten-free if necessary and measured like this)
- ½ cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) coconut oil or vegan butter, melted and cooled slightly (see Notes!)
- 6 tbsp (92g) unsweetened applesauce (room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60mL) pure maple syrup (room temperature)
- ¼ cup (60mL) unsweetened vanilla almond milk (room temperature)
- 3 tbsp (42g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Whisk together the oats, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together the coconut oil or butter, applesauce, and vanilla. Stir in the maple syrup and milk. Add in the oat mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in 2 ½ tablespoons of miniature chocolate chips. 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 using a spoon and spatula, and flatten to ¼” to ½” thick using a spatula. (These cookies don’t spread, so they’ll look exactly the same before and after baking!) Gently press the remaining miniature chocolate chips into the tops. 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
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Triple Chocolate Scones
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Chocolate Muffins
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Chocolate Waffles
♡ Healthy Chocolate Granola
♡ Healthy Chocolate Oatmeal Cake
♡ Healthy Practically Flourless Chocolate Brownies
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy breakfast cookie recipes!
I’m trying to recreate Granny T’s “nanner oatmeal raisin pooperoos” on page 102 from Lisa Wingate’s “The Book of Lost Friends.” This recipe looks like a good base recipe and I’m willing to give up the bananas if necessary. I also want maple syrup, coconut oil, and white whole wheat flour (if called for) just like you’ve done.
This is my question: Granny T would have used old-fashioned oats which would have changed the texture considerably. If I use a scale to measure, would old fashioned oats work in this recipe?
From the book, Granny T says,
“Child is hungry, he’ll eat them. He’s not bad hungry, he’ll turn up the nose. Long as you don’t use more sugar. No using chocolate chips unless they’re for a party…
“You want pooperoos that’re just good enough for a hungry child to eat. No better. That’s the secret, mmm-hmm?…
“Oatmeal, Butter, Flour, Bit a sugar. Raisin. Old brown bananas. Ones so ripe they’re squishy like mud and smell up the kitchen.”
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Terrie! I’ve actually covered how to substitute old-fashioned oats in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions!). See the “Oats Notes + Alternative” header — I know it can be easy to miss though! 🙂
I haven’t read that book before, so I’m not sure about the flavor of Granny T’s cookies. If they’re meant to be regular oatmeal cookies, rather than ones with chocolate-flavored dough like these, then I’d actually recommend my recipe for banana oatmeal raisin cookies! It’ll probably be easier to follow that instead of modifying this recipe. That banana-based recipe also uses pure maple syrup and coconut oil, and you can easily substitute white whole wheat flour for the regular whole wheat flour in it as well.
I’d love to hear what you think of your oatmeal cookies if you end up making either of my recipes!
On the next page the author notes that Benny (she) is left with banana oatmeal cocoa pooperoos. I considered altering that recipe but was worried it would change too much. If you read at all this is an excellent book! I’m making these for our book club meeting next month. 😊
I appreciate the recommendation, Terrie! I was a bookworm as a little girl and still love to read. 🙂 I’m so honored that you’d consider making my recipe to bring to your book club! If you’re making these cookies as a dessert to share, then I’d probably recommend substituting additional pure maple syrup for the milk. As written, these cookies have the sweetness level of breakfast muffins or scones, rather than true “dessert” cookies. If you replace the milk with pure maple syrup, they’ll taste like regular “dessert” cookies instead!