Healthy Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
Soft, chewy, naturally sweetened, and done before you've even found your keys. My kids have never once asked to trade these for the sugary cereal aisle.
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Fork or potato masher
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Baking sheet (half-sheet size)
- Parchment paper or silicone baking mat
- Cookie scoop (optional)
Ingredients
- 2 spotty bananas, mashed
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter (or almond/sunflower butter)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 large egg (or flax egg)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup oat flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (or other mix-ins like dried fruit, nuts, coconut)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher until mostly smooth with a few tiny lumps remaining. Over-mashing makes them gummy, so stop while there's still a little texture.
- Add the peanut butter, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla to the mashed bananas. Stir until the mixture is thick, glossy, and no streaks of peanut butter remain. It should look like a thick, pourable pancake batter.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the rolled oats, oat flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and fold with a spatula until no dry streaks remain. The batter will be thick — scoopable, not runny.
- Fold in the chocolate chips (or your chosen mix-ins) until just distributed. Do not overmix.
- Using a cookie scoop (about 1.5 tablespoons), scoop dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each. Press each scoop down slightly with the back of a spoon or your fingers to flatten to about 1/2-inch thickness.
- Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the centers still look slightly underdone. The bottoms should be golden when lifted with a spatula.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes — they are fragile when hot and firm up as they rest. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or freeze.
Notes
Tips for success: Use very ripe spotty bananas — yellow ones won't provide enough sweetness or moisture. Do not overbake; pull cookies out when centers look slightly underdone. Let them cool on the pan for 5 minutes; moving them too early will cause them to fall apart. If you prefer flatter cookies, press the dough balls down more before baking.
Storage & Freezing: Baked cookies keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months. For unbaked dough, scoop onto a parchment-lined sheet, freeze solid, then transfer to a zip-top bag. Bake from frozen, adding 2–3 minutes.
Variations: See the article for nut-free, egg-free, blueberry-lemon, apple-cinnamon, and extra protein versions.