Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

 
A number of years ago, my dad and I flew to the east coast for a whirlwind baseball-themed vacation. We started with the Phillies in Philadelphia, drove to Baltimore to catch an Orioles game the next morning, and finished with the Nationals in Washington, DC.  

Yet during the days and in between games, we scheduled time for plenty of sightseeing in both Philadelphia and DC. We researched ahead of time, picked out a few places for our travel bucket list in each city (like the Liberty Bell, the White House, and the Air and Space Museum!), and took plenty of pictures for my baseball scrapbook.
 

 
Before spending the days wandering around, Dad and I squeezed in workouts right after we woke up in the mornings. He usually headed to the hotel gym, and although I joined him on half of the days, I laced up my running shoes and hit the pavement for the other half. I loved exploring by foot; I felt like I could soak in more of the local culture and vibes by weaving around the city streets in the early hours of the day before most tourists started filling the sidewalks and subways.

While I stretched in the hotel room, I flipped open my laptop and pulled up Google Maps. I glanced through various potential running routes, made mental notes of the major street names I needed to remember, and crossed my fingers as I grabbed my room key and headed out the door. I really didn’t want to get lost, so I memorized as many details about the cities as I could!
 

 
Since I typically picked routes that averaged at least six miles, I usually nibbled on a pre-workout snack before stretching. Because I often got stomach cramps if I ate too much, I stuck with something small — and something that was easy to bring from home and pack in my suitcase since hotels charged so much for their mini-bar options!

During that particular trip, I brought a bunch of soft-baked peanut butter oat bars. They had the same moist and chewy texture as cookies, and they tasted about as sweet too… Probably from the generous amount of sugar they contained!
 

 
In hindsight, these Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies probably would’ve been an even better option. They have that same soft and chewy texture as regular cookies, along with plenty of sweet peanut butter flavor, and they’re perfect for meal prepping, quick grab-and-go snacks, and even pre-workout fuel!

Yet unlike those bars I brought, these contain no eggs, flour, butter, oil, dairy or refined sugar… And they’re also super easy to make. You only need one bowl!
 

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST HEALTHY PEANUT BUTTER BREAKFAST COOKIES

Let’s go over how to make the best ever healthy peanut butter oatmeal breakfast cookies! To make this recipe as easy as possible, you just need one large mixing bowl. I always love how that means fewer dishes to wash!

Hint: You can find more of my easy and healthy one-bowl recipes here!
 

 
To start, you’ll need homemade creamy peanut butter. This is my super simple recipe! You just need 5 minutes to make it, and it tastes just as smooth and creamy as store-bought peanut butter. (Bonus: it’s cheaper too!)

Tip: If you’d rather use store-bought, make sure it’s the natural drippy-style kind that only contains peanuts and salt!

Don’t substitute crunchy peanut butter! Those crunchy bits take up space in your measuring spoons, which means you have less of the creamy peanut butter… And that makes harder to incorporate the other ingredients. So for the best ever peanut butter breakfast cookies, use natural or homemade creamy peanut butter!
 

 
You’ll mix the peanut butter with a splash of vanilla and unsweetened applesauce. That’s right — no eggs in these healthy peanut butter oatmeal breakfast cookies! The applesauce replaces the eggs, and it also helps make your breakfast cookies really moist, soft, and chewy. And since this cookie dough is basically flourless and egg-free, you can easily sneak as much from the mixing bowl as you’d like! 😉

Tip: I keep some of these single-serving unsweetened applesauce cups in my pantry. They’re perfect for baking recipes, like these breakfast cookies and these extra fudgy brownies!

Next, you’ll stir in cinnamon and salt. You add them now, rather than later with the oats, to prevent them from clumping and ensure they’re evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough. I think cinnamon and oats go together like peanut butter and jelly — so it just feels too weird not to use cinnamon in an oatmeal cookie recipe! This is my favorite cinnamon because it tastes stronger, richer, and sweeter than regular cinnamon. It’s the only kind I use in my baking right now!
 

 
To make sure these easy peanut butter oatmeal cookies truly are healthy enough for breakfast, you’ll only use half the amount of sweetener that you typically would in my “dessert” oatmeal cookie recipes. That sweetener? Pure maple syrup! You want the kind that comes directly from maple trees and only contains one ingredient: maple syrup. It usually comes in thin glass bottles or squat plastic jugs, like this!

Tip: Skip the pancake syrup and sugar-free syrup. They behave differently in baking recipes and change the texture of these cookies. (Your cookies will turn out cakey or bready, rather that soft and chewy!)

Then to compensate for the “missing” liquid, you’ll also mix in unsweetened vanilla almond milk. That’s my family’s favorite milk and the one they always keep in the refrigerator, which is why I used it to make these healthy peanut butter oatmeal breakfast cookies. (I also love unsweetened cashew milk!) However, any milk will work, so just use whatever you normally keep on hand!

Hint: By using dairy-free milk and applesauce instead of eggs, your healthy peanut butter oatmeal breakfast cookies are naturally vegan, dairy-free, and egg-free!
 

 
Time for the dry ingredients! And those are instant oats, oat flour, and baking powder.

Instant oats are also called “quick-cooking” or “one-minute” oats. They’re not the kind that come in those individual brown paper packets with flavors like apple cinnamon and maple brown sugar! Instant oats only include one ingredient — oats! — and are smaller and thinner than traditional old-fashioned rolled oats. This smaller size means they soften faster, which gives your healthy peanut butter oatmeal breakfast cookies the best soft and chewy texture imaginable!

Tip: You can find instant oats right next to the old-fashioned rolled oats at the grocery store!
 

 
As for the oat flour, it’s literally just finely ground and really powdery oats… But “powdered oats” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it as “oat flour.” 😉 So I wasn’t entirely sure whether to call these healthy peanut butter oatmeal breakfast cookies flourless or practically flourless… But either way, they’re definitely delicious!

Tip: This is my favorite store-bought oat flour (or this for the gluten-free version), and I also show you how to make your own at home here!
 

 
Wait! Before mixing in these dry ingredients, sprinkle the baking powder evenly over the top of the oats and oat flour. Sprinkling the baking powder, instead of simply dumping it into the bowl, helps prevent clumps — and that gives your healthy peanut butter oatmeal breakfast cookies the best soft and chewy texture!

Tip: You wait to add the baking powder until now, rather than with the cinnamon and salt, because it starts to react once it comes into contact with the wet ingredients. You don’t want it to react too soon by adding it earlier!
 

 
This cookie dough is fairly wet and sticky, so chilling is mandatory. Chilling helps stiffen the cookie dough so it’s easier to work with. A quick 20-minute trip to the fridge is all it needs!

Before baking your healthy peanut butter oatmeal breakfast cookies, you must flatten the cookie dough. It doesn’t spread while baking, so it’ll look exactly the same after baking as before — just no longer raw! 😉 And because people always ask, I don’t use a cookie scoop or any special tools to flatten and shape my cookie dough into circles. I just use a spoon and this mini spatula. Isn’t it cute??

Then after a quick trip to the oven…
 

 
Time to enjoy your delicious and healthy breakfast cookies! 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 peanut butter oatmeal breakfast cookies!

Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

© Amy's Healthy Baking

Yields: 15 cookies

These breakfast cookies are always a huge hit! They’re supremely soft and chewy with lots of delicious peanut butter flavor, and they’re great for meal prepping or quick grab-and-go breakfasts and snacks. Leftovers will keep for at least one week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator (if they last that long!), and they freeze really well, too!

4.90 from 39 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients 

• ¼ cup (64g) homemade creamy peanut butter (see Notes!)
• ¼ cup (56g) unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp salt
• ¼ cup (60mL) pure maple syrup
• 5 tbsp (75mL) unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 cup (100g) instant oats (gluten-free if necessary and measured like this)
• ¾ cup (90g) oat flour (gluten-free if necessary and measured like this – and see Notes!)
• 1 tsp baking powder

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, stir together the peanut butter and applesauce until smooth and creamy. Stir in the vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until fully incorporated. Stir in the maple syrup. Stir in the almond milk. Pour the oats and oat flour into the bowl, and sprinkle the baking powder evenly over the top of the oats and oat flour (to prevent clumping!). Stir all three ingredients in together until just incorporated. Chill the cookie dough for 20 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. Flatten to ⅜”-thick using a spatula. Bake at 325°F for 8-10 minutes. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Notes

IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It’s extremely important to measure both the oats and flour correctly using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much of either will dry out the cookies and leave them cakey, bready, or dry, instead of soft and chewy.

 

IMPORTANT BAKING NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: These cookies don’t spread. They’ll look exactly the same before and after baking (just no longer raw!), so it’s important to flatten the cookie dough before baking.

 

Do not over-bake these cookies! They’re ready to come out of the oven when the centers still feel slightly soft and underdone. The heat from the warm baking sheet will continue to cook the centers all the way through while you let the cookies rest for 10 minutes after pulling the pan from the oven.

 

PEANUT BUTTER NOTES: This is my homemade creamy peanut butter recipe. You just need 5 minutes to make it! If using store-bought creamy peanut butter, make sure it only contains peanuts and salt — no other ingredients. It should be liquidy at room temperature. Do not substitute crunchy peanut butter.

 

UNSWEETENED APPLESAUCE NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: Unsweetened applesauce can also be called “no sugar added” applesauce. I love using these single-serving unsweetened applesauce cups for baking. They’re so handy!

 

Sweetened applesauce may be substituted for the unsweetened applesauce. Other flavors of applesauce (ie cinnamon, strawberry, blueberry, etc) should also work. I don’t recommend Granny Smith unsweetened applesauce though; it often has a noticeable tart taste that can change the flavor of your cookies.

 

SWEETENER ALTERNATIVES: Honey or agave may be substituted for the pure maple syrup. I generally don't recommend substituting sugar free maple syrup. It's often water-based, which makes your oatmeal cookies turn out more cakey or bready. (For more sweetener options, see my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ Page.)

 

MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

 

OATS NOTES + ALTERNATIVE: Instant oats are also known as “quick cooking” or “one-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 rolled oats to a food processor, and pulse 10-12 times or until the oats are about ¼ to ⅛ of their original size.

 

OAT FLOUR NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: This is my favorite store-bought oat flour (or this for the gluten-free version!), and I also show you how to make your own at home here.

 

Regular whole wheat flour, white whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the oat flour. (For more flour options, see my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ Page.)

 

GLUTEN-FREE VERSION: Use certified gluten-free instant oats (like these) and certified gluten-free oat flour (like this).

 

Alternatively, for a non-oat-flour version, use the following: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) brown rice flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will also work, if measured like this.

 

DAIRY-FREE, EGG-FREE + VEGAN VERSION: No modifications necessary!

 

HOW TO STORE: Store leftover cookies in an airtight container. If left at room temperature, they’ll keep for a couple of days. If refrigerated, they’ll last closer to a week (if not longer!). Once baked and fully cooled, these oatmeal cookies also freeze really well!

 

For answers to all other questions regarding substitutions and tips, see my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ Page.

 

{gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, egg-free, clean eating, low fat}

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.

View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
 
 
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡  Healthy Almond Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡  Healthy Flourless Double Chocolate Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡  Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡  Healthy Apple Pie Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡  Healthy Peach Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡  Healthy Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡  Healthy Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡  …and the rest of Amy’s healthy oatmeal cookie recipes!