Breakfast Cookies are wholesome, delicious treats packed with oats, nuts, whole wheat flour, and lightly sweetened with honey...perfect for breakfast-on-the-go or an anytime snack!
Today is an important day at our house. A very special little lady turns two! This baby girl warms our heart and makes us laugh countless times a day. She is adorable, cheerful, headstrong, chatty, and just bursting with sweetness. It's hard to remember what life was like before she joined us. And it just so happens that today's recipe was inspired by her...cute, yummy Breakfast Cookies!
Little Miss has become a bit finicky lately, probably due to her molars coming in. In fact, pretty much the only thing she cares to eat these days is frozen grapes.
Breakfast time can be particularly challenging. She doesn't want oatmeal. She doesn't want muffins. She doesn't want waffles. She doesn't want granola. She doesn't want bananas or strawberries or oranges. And she's even lost interest in her beloved vanilla yogurt. So before she wastes away on frozen grapes, what's a mama to do?
Well, I'll tell you what Mama does. SHE MAKES COOKIES. For breakfast. (Hence, Breakfast Cookies.) And she loads them with all kinds of sneaky, healthy ingredients like oats, protein-packed nuts and nut butter, and whole wheat flour. She sweetens them with a touch of honey. And she tops them with a few mini chocolate chips for good measure.
Now, you could stir some raisins or other dried fruit into your Breakfast Cookies and they'd be perfectly delightful...
...but the cute little toddler in question happens to have a soft spot for chocolate. And how could anyone say no to this kind of enthusiasm?!
These are not your soft, moist, sweet, decadent, dessert-type cookies. They're breakfast cookies, which means that they're oat-y and nutty and, yes, healthier tasting. But that last part is not in a bad way. I promise that these cookies are totally delish and your family will gobble them right up!
Ingredients
The ingredients in these Breakfast Cookies make them simple, wholesome, and customizable! A few notes about some of them:
- Nuts. Pecans, walnuts, almonds, or just about any nut you like will work in this recipe.
- Rolled oats. I prefer using rolled oats in this recipe for a chewier texture. If you only have quick oats on hand, they will work, but you'll want to use slightly less since they pack more densely into a measuring cup.
- Flour. I typically use whole wheat pastry flour, but regular whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour (or even gluten-free flour) also work.
- Cinnamon. You may increase, reduce, or omit the cinnamon...it's a matter of personal taste.
- Nut (or non-nut) butter. Use your favorite variety...peanut butter, almond butter, or sunflower seed butter are all delicious in this recipe.
- Coconut oil. If you're not into coconut oil, you may substitute another type of oil (I've even made these with neutral olive oil) or even butter.
- Honey. For natural sweetness. Sometimes I sub maple syrup instead.
- Optoinal add-ins. You may stir in raisins, dried cranberries, chopped nuts, or mini chocolate chips, if you like.
This particular batch of cookies was made with ground almonds and peanut butter, because that's what I had on hand. But you could use ground walnuts with almond butter, ground pecans with sunflower seed butter...whatever floats your boat!
How to Make Breakfast Cookies
This recipe is quick and simple to make.
- Grind your nuts in a food processor or blender (I usually use my mini food processor). Transfer to a big bowl.
- Stir in the oats, flour, and other dry ingredients.
- In a small saucepan on the stove, melt together the nut butter, honey, and oil. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. (You could also opt to melt the nut butter in a measuring cup in the microwave.)
- Pour the liquid mixture over the nut/oat mixture, crack the egg on top, and stir until all of the ingredients are combined.
- Scoop into balls and, if your dough is on the crumbly side, press a bit to hold together. Space out on a baking sheet, flattening slightly.
- Bake until just golden and...
Enjoy!
So earn a few cool mom points by giving your kids what they really want...cookies for breakfast! Or whip up a batch of these wholesome little Breakfast Cookies for yourself. Not only do they provide fuel for a busy morning, but they're also conveniently portable for breakfast-on-the-go or an anytime snack. They're sure to be a hit, whether you're two or 102!
And they're a nice change of pace from frozen grapes. 😉
More Easy Breakfast Recipes
- Classic Blueberry Muffins
- Banana Baked Oatmeal
- Chewy No-Bake Granola Bars with Coconut Oil
- Easy Strawberry Cream Cheese Pastries
Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup almonds, OR your favorite nut or combo of nuts
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats, NOT instant oats
- ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour, OR regular whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, or gluten-free flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup peanut butter, OR your favorite nut butter
- ¼ cup coconut oil, OR any neutral oil or butter
- ½ cup honey, OR maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips, OR chopped nuts, raisins, or other dried fruit
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place the nuts in a food processor or blender and process until finely ground. Pour into a medium bowl. Mix in rolled oats, flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- In a small pot set over medium-low heat, stir together peanut butter, coconut oil, and honey until just melted and blended. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla (it will bubble up a bit). Allow to slightly cool.
- Pour peanut butter mixture over oat mixture; stir a couple of times. Pour egg over top and stir all ingredients together until combined. Dough will be thick and may be somewhat crumbly.
- Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough and form into balls, lightly squeezing dough together if necessary. Space out balls at least an inch apart on prepared baking sheets and flatten slightly. Sprinkle tops with chocolate chips and press chips down into dough. (Alternatively, if using raisins or dried fruit, stir them directly into dough before forming it into balls. The reason I don't recommend stirring in the chocolate chips is because they will likely melt due to the warm peanut butter mixture.)
- Bake for 8 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Adapted from AllRecipes.com
Kathy
I made these cookies with some modifications. I used almond flour instead of grinding whole almonds and oat flour instead of whole wheat.
I melted the coconut oil, peanut butter and honey in the microwave.
My dough came out somewhat wet. I let the dough sit at room temperature to allow the oats to absorb moisture and soften.
I also added walnuts.
Cookies came out delicious and were a hit.
Thank you for the recipe,
Brooke
How many cookies per serving?
Samantha Skaggs
One. 🙂
Sophie
Hi! Recipe looks yummy! Your daughter is so cute! Was wondering how you used almond flour? Bought a big bag and need recipes to use it up! Would love to try out this recipe on my kids. Easy breakfasts!
Jennifer
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe; it's become a family favorite! We love to make them with almond butter for the nut butter, almond flavoring instead of vanilla, and chopped dried cherries. They are amazing! I also use freshly ground emmer flour since we don't do well with regular modern wheat. I've used emmer or einkorn flour in place of regular or pastry wheat flour in several of your recipes and they have all turned out wonderfully (you do have to adjust the moisture content for einkorn, but emmer seems to do well with a 1:1 substitution ratio). They are older forms of wheat and their protein and gluten contents are rather different than modern wheat (they seem to be more like a pastry or soft spring wheat in terms of how they work in recipes). True Celiacs cannot have them, but we do great with them and I love being able to use them in recipes like yours. 🙂
Ashlyn
These look absolutely amazing, Samantha! And your little girl is so precious. I hope she had a great birthday and that her molars have given her a little break so she can have eat a little more than the frozen grapes! Well and these delicious breakfast cookies. 😉
Samantha at Five Heart Home
You are so sweet, Ashlyn...thank you! Her molars are still bothering her, but hopefully they'll be completely broken through soon. In the meantime, frozen grapes and cookies it is -- ha! 😉 Thanks for hosting SNF and I hope you're having a great weekend!
Janet
These look delicious! Pinned 🙂
Samantha at Five Heart Home
Thanks so much, Janet! I always appreciate you being so generous with your pins. 🙂 Hope these are a hit if you have a chance to try them!
Shannon
Oh my goodness these look delicious! So trying them! And I can totally relate with the recent picky eating... so maybe these will do the trick! Also your photos are GORGEOUS!
Samantha at Five Heart Home
Thank you so much for the sweet comment, Shannon! I hope your picky eater loves these as much as mine does. 😉 And I really appreciate the compliment on your photography...I feel like I'm learning something new every day. 🙂 Hope you are having a fantastic week!
Holly
You're daughter is adorable and looks just like you! 🙂
Samantha at Five Heart Home
You are too sweet, Holly...thank you! I have to admit that she looks eerily like photos of myself at her age... 🙂
Charlotte Moore
If I wasn't so tired I would make these now. YUMMY!!! I love whole wheat and oats in cookies. I would like raisins better though. First time to see your blog. Your baby is a doll.
Samantha at Five Heart Home
Thanks, Charlotte! Maybe you'll have the stamina to make these after a full night's sleep... 😉 The raisin version is definitely yummy, too...my family members are divided on which they like better. I'm so glad you found the blog, and I appreciate your sweet words about my little girl. We think she's a doll, too. 🙂 Hope you're having a great weekend!
Helene
These cookies are incredible! Thanks for sharing.
Samantha at Five Heart Home
Thank you so much, Helene! I appreciate the pin and I hope you love them when you try them. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂
Kristen @ A Mind Full Mom
These look great. I think I may play with recipe to see if I can make a fall edition. My kids (and myself) will love these!
Samantha at Five Heart Home
I love the idea of a fall version of these cookies, Kristen! When I made this batch, my mind was totally spinning about how I could incorporate pumpkin and spices next time. 😉 Enjoy them if you have a chance to try them, and have a great rest of the weekend!
Debbie Caraballo
What a doll! Hope her birthday was happy...mine is tomorrow; actually today, I guess, since it's after 2 am ! The breakfast cookies sound really good too! Thanks a bunch!
Samantha at Five Heart Home
Happy birthday to you, Deb! My daughter's birthday is actually today, too (I publish my posts late at night so that it's ready for people to read first thing in the morning, so I often write them as if it's already the next day)...what a good day to be born! 🙂 Hope you have a fun weekend celebrating!