Breakfast Cookies
Posted Aug 28, 2023, Updated Feb 12, 2024
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This healthy breakfast cookies recipe is loaded with nutritious ingredients! They are easy to make in 20 minutes and one bowl, and are hearty enough to keep you full until lunch!
My 6th baby is a cookie fiend. He calls them “go gos” and it’s the cutest thing in the world. So, with my sole motivation being wanting him to wake up ecstatic that he gets to eat “go gos” for breakfast, I created these healthy breakfast cookies.
In this breakfast cookie recipe, bananas, peanut butter, oats and your favorite mix-ins create a hearty cookie that will keep you full until lunch.
They’re naturally sweetened with applesauce and honey so you can feel great about starting your day with cookies for breakfast!
Breakfast Cookies: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Overripe bananas. The bananas need to be ripe and sweet. If using bananas that have been previously frozen, thaw them in the microwave or at room temperature before using in this recipe.
- Creamy Peanut Butter. Any nut or seed butter works well in these cookies.
- Applesauce. You can substitute sweet potato puree or pumpkin for the applesauce, you may just need to adjust the amount of honey in the recipe.
- Honey. maple syrup is a great substitute for honey.
- Egg. you can use a flax egg or egg replacer to make these vegan/egg-free.
- Quick-cooking oats. Rolled/old fashioned oats can be used, however the texture will be chewier. You can also pulse old fashioned oats in the blender to turn them into quick cooking oats.
- Dried cranberries. Any dried fruit tastes great in these breakfast cookies: dried cherries, raisins, etc.
- Mini chocolate chips. I prefer mini chips because they distribute more evenly throughout the cookies. Regular-sized chips work well too.
How to Make Breakfast Cookies
Let’s walk through how to make breakfast cookies step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video.
Begin by mashing the bananas in a large mixing bowl. I like to do this first to ensure there are no large lumps of banana in the batter.
Then, stir in the peanut butter, applesauce honey, egg and vanilla.
Next, add the oats, cinnamon and sea salt and stir until combined.
Fold in the dried cranberries and chocolate chips.
If cranberries and chocolate aren’t your think, were are some additional mix-in suggestions:
- Cinnamon Chips
- White chocolate chips
- Shredded, unsweetened coconut
- Peanut butter chips
- Chopped nuts like pecans, slivered almonds or walnuts
- Dried cherries, blueberries, or raisins
Next, use a 1 tablespoon measuring spoon or a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop to measure portions of the dough and place them on the prepared baking sheet spaced about 2” apart.
Gently flatten the tops of each cookie (they do not change shape or flatten when they bake).
Then, bake the breakfast cookies in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, or until the tops are just set and the bottoms are very lightly browned. Do not over bake!
Remove the breakfast cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Serve
Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. I love serving them alongside our favorite smoothie recipes – especially this green smoothie.
They also make a great snack, and you’ll score major “cool mom’ points for letting your kids have cookies for a healthy snack! 🙂
Store/freeze
Once cooled, store these healthy breakfast cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Reheat gently in the microwave or oven set to warm to restore their fresh-from-the-oven taste and texture.
Breakfast Cookies Recipe FAQs
They last for up to 1 week in the refrigerator, and 2 months in the freezer.
Yes, you can use an egg replacer, chia egg or flax egg (1 TBS chia/flax mixed with 2.5 TBS warm water).
Yes, but you might need to add 1-2 TBS more oats.
Yes, you can double the recipe to make 32 cookies.
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Healthy Breakfast Cookies Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 bananas overripe (about 1 cup mashed banana)
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup applesauce
- 2 Tablespoons honey (or pure maple syrup)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups quick cooking oats
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside
- In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas.
- Add peanut butter, applesauce honey, egg and vanilla and stir to combine.
- Add oats, cinnamon and sea salt and stir until combined.
- If desired, add mix-ins and stir until evenly distributed.
- Use a 1 tablespoon measuring spoon or a 1 ½ TBS cookie scoop to measure portions of the dough and place them on the prepared baking sheet spaced about 2” apart. Gently flatten the tops of each cookie (they do not change shape or flatten when they bake).
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, or until the tops are just set and the bottoms are very lightly browned.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Video
Notes
It holds its shape in the oven so make sure to shape the cookies by flattening them before baking. Ingredient Substitutions
- Overripe bananas. The bananas need to be ripe and sweet. If using bananas that have been previously frozen, thaw them in the microwave or at room temperature before using in this recipe.
- Creamy Peanut Butter. Any nut or seed butter works well in these cookies. You can choose a natural variety as well. Crunchy peanut butter tastes great if you like little bits of peanuts in your cookies.
- Applesauce. You can substitute sweet potato puree or pumpkin for the applesauce, you may just need to adjust the amount of honey in the recipe.
- Honey. maple syrup is a great substitute for honey.
- Egg. you can use a flax egg or egg replacer to make these vegan/egg-free.
- Quick-cooking oats. Rolled/old fashioned oats can be used, however the texture will be chewier. You can also pulse old fashioned oats in the blender to turn them into quick cooking oats.
- Dried cranberries. Any dried fruit tastes great in these breakfast cookies: dried cherries, raisins, etc.
- Mini chocolate chips. I prefer mini chips because they distribute more evenly throughout the cookies. Regular-sized chips work well too.
- Cinnamon Chips
- White chocolate chips
- Shredded, unsweetened coconut
- Peanut butter chips
- Chopped nuts like pecans, slivered almonds or walnuts
- Dried cherries, blueberries, or raisins
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What can I substitute for the nut butter? I am allergic to all nuts AND seeds. Thank you