These Breakfast Cookies are like a bowl of homemade granola in cookie form! They’re healthy oatmeal cookies that taste like your favourite oatmeal raisin cookies – but they’re refined sugar free, gluten free, and will keep you full for ages.
Copycat of the popular Muesli Cookies sold in cafes across Australia, these are a terrific make ahead breakfast. Fill a jar with to grab ‘n run!
Breakfast Cookies
The only 2 ingredients in these Healthy Oatmeal Cookies that I don’t put in homemade granola are almond meal and egg. So I’m not exaggerating when I say these are like a bowl of granola in cookie form!
These are a copycat of muesli breakfast cookies I’ve been eyeing at my local coffee shop for years, wanting to make a version that was actually acceptable to have for breakfast. I’ve tried multiple times and they’ve always been meh – the main problem being too dry and hard to swallow.
Finally, the penny dropped when I was smushing soaked dates for Sticky Date Pudding. MASHED DATES!!!! Thoroughly unappetising and sludge-like as it looks, this is the secret to sweetness, moisture, colour and terrific texture for healthy sugar-free cookies!!!
Customisable!
These Healthy Oatmeal Cookies are great for customising. It’s actually a very forgiving recipe – thanks to the mashed dates that makes a solid batter base. These are the ingredients you can customise:
Flavourings: I’ve used cinnamon and vanilla. Try: orange blossom, almond essence, all spice, cloves – whatever takes your fancy!
Add Ins: I’ve used coconut, almonds and raisins. Use any combination of coconut, nuts and dried fruit that you want… or CHOC CHIPS!!!
Sweet: I use maple syrup or honey. Agave or any other liquid form of sweetness should work fine here. Sweetness can also be controlled – from a range of 1 to 4 tablespoons;
Oil: In the spirit of keeping this healthy, I use coconut oil (most of the time). Any oil will be fine here – or melted butter or margarine;
Almond Meal: Can be substituted with hazelnut meal / flour. I use these two interchangeably. Do not sub with normal flour – it makes the cookies dry and cardboardy.
Quick and easy
Breakfast cookies are so simple to make, you can make them today for a grab ‘n run breakfast tomorrow!! Soak dates, mash (strangely satisfying, despite how unattractive date sludge looks), mix with remaining ingredients, form cookies and bake.
No food processor, no beater – terrifically simple.
Go big or go home!
I’ve made these breakfast cookies hefty instead of wimpy little cookies because they are intended to be a breakfast. I made the mistake of having two of them when I took these photos and I was full for hours. So full for so long, I didn’t even have a full dinner that night.
Self control is a trait I admire from afar. – Nagi x
PS I don’t recommend making them normal cookie size/thickness. They are soft-chewy and lack the crispy edges you find in classic Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, I wasn’t thrilled with the texture. Best chunky and “meaty” – appropriate for breakfast!
More Make Ahead Breakfast – Grab ‘n Go!
And more cookie / cracker copycats
Other recipes I’ve created in the past for the same reason as these Byron Bay cookie copycat recipe (ie because I love ’em but they’re expensive!)
Byron Bay Cookies Copycat White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies – big, thick, buttery cookies loaded with white chocolate and macadamia nuts. Crisp with a tender melt-in-your-mouth texture, just like Byron Bay Cookies!
Gourmet Fruit & Nut Crackers for Cheese – homemade version of the rather expensive fruit and nut crackers to serve with cheese! Homemade is incredible – the flavour is so much better than the store bought. Plus it’s way WAY cheaper!
Breakfast Cookies
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Healthy Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients:
- 100 g / 3.5 oz pitted dates (1 heaped packed cup)
- 1/3 cup / 85 ml boiling water
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp maple syrup or honey (Note 1)
- 3 tbsp coconut oil , melted, or other plain oil (Note 2)
- 1 tsp vanilla essence (Note 5)
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup flaked almonds (Note 3)
- 1/4 cups desiccated coconut (Note 3)
- 1/2 cup raisins or sultanas (Note 3)
- 3/4 cup almond meal (almond flour) (Note 4)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon (Note 5)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F (standard) or 160C/320F (fan/convection). Line a tray with parchment/baking paper.
- Roughly chop dates. Place in bowl, pour over water. Cover and leave to soak for 10 minutes+.
- Mash with potato masher or fork until it becomes a paste.
- Add remaining Wet ingredients. Mix well with wooden spoon.
- Add Dry ingredients. Mix until all flour is incorporated – should be a thick batter (see video).
- Measure out just shy of 1/2 cup (6 cookies) or 1/3 cup flat (8 cookies). Flatten to 1.7cm / 2/3″ thick rounds. (Note 9) Bake 20 minutes until golden.
- Remove from oven, leave to cool on the tray.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published December 2018, updated for housekeeping matters April 2019. No change to recipe!
LIFE OF DOZER
“C’mon, let’s play tug-o-war! I swear the rope is totally clean and slobber free!!”
love this recipe! I use 1/4 c instead of 1/2 cups of flaked almonds and sultanas and add in 1/4 cups of choc bits and dried cranberries 🙂
Confirming these freeze exceptionally well. I made a trip batch and vacuum sealed in bags of three. I take a bag out every Sunday night and take one into work on my office days for a filling breakfast with a coffee.
My substitutions: I soaked the dates in hot orange juice (I was using dried cranberries and wanted that cranberry orange profile), so I only used one-third of the maple syrup and they are perfect – a little sweet but not too much. I also subbed the flaked almonds for chopped walnuts and pecans. Will definitely make again
I am winning hearts, making friends and feeding hungry plumbers with these delicious cookies. Note; choc chips are essential!
Exactly what I was looking for! Turned out great. I froze them overnight, and they are still perfect. Soft to eat, just cold lol. Thanks 🙏🏻 Nagi!
Yum! I made these lunchbox-friendly by replacing the nuts with seeds (including grinding sunflower seeds into ‘sunflower meal’ in place of almond meal). Also used pumpkin seeds & hemp seeds as add-ins
Another amazing recipe with easy subs. I subbed prunes for dates, agave for sweetener, pecans for nuts, a bit of chopped dark chocolate, not too sweet, perfect take and go for busy mornings. A repeat recipe for sure
Ran out of dates so used pitted prunes. Used ground sunflower seeds instead of almond meal and pepitas instead of flaked almonds. Have made twice and second batch I used banana instead of coconut oil. Both ways are delicious!!! Thankyou Nagi for a delicious healthy treat!!?
I love these so much!! I have made them many times but the other day decided to experiment with swapping the mushed dates for peanut butter and the almond slivers for crushed peanuts. So so good!! And also really filling. Win, win 😁
Great recipe. Super versatile. I omitted raisins and used dried cranberries. I only half the sliced almonds but added 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds. I also added a Tbsp or so of thawed frozen concentrated orange juice, and finely grated orange rind. I should say, for me, the 100 g / 3.5 oz pitted dates were well under a cup packed so I did use a cup but had to use the blender and add a fair bit more boiling water to get the right consistency (maybe my dates were on the dry side?). I added the frozen juice at the same time. This is an excellent recipe and will make again with different iterations. Will add sesame seeds next time to the above but options are endless. Look forward to hearing what combinations others try. Thanks for another keeper Nagi!
Love these – simple, wholesome, very customisable to use whatever I have, and delicious. Thanks Nagi for doing the research and sharing!
These are really good. I did cardomon and ginger for the spice, half almond flakes and peanuts, half raisins and cranberries. They smell amazing.
Love these! So great to take in the car when driving to work with my coffee.
I just want to say thank you for this recipe. I did tweak a few things as per what I had in the house. Ancient grain oats, dark chocolate chips, I don’t like raisins. Choped peanuts and a wee little bit of almond chunks.
I just had one biscuit with a cup of tea. . Omg, it was still warm. So good on this freezing cold day. I love the way it allows for different nuts or fruits.
So much gratitude.
And the simplicity.
I recently made these Breakfast Cookies and they turned out absolutely delicious! I don’t have a big sweet tooth, so I reduced the maple syrup to just 2 tablespoons, and it was perfect. The natural sweetness from the dates and dried fruit balanced everything beautifully, making them just sweet enough without being overpowering I also add some nutmeg. I’ll definitely be making these again. Thank you for sharing!
Awesome cookies! I made them exactly as the recipe and they are yum! (Don’t know how you ate two at once Nagi!) 😆 Now I’m off to the footy with a full belly…
I love to use cranberries, mixed dried fruit, almonds and choc chips in mine. Adding a bit of cocoa powder gives it a nice chocolate hit without the extra fats and sugars. I use agave syrup because the first time I made these we were out of the alternatives. So yummy!
Made these gluten free cookies many times, always swapping other ingredients – like cranberries instead if sultanas and hazelnut flour instead of almond. Always comes out great. I scale up the recipe as I buy boxes of dates that weigh 700 grams. I roll out the mix then flatted it with a potato masher (thin enough to fit in my toaster) then bake them all and freeze them.
I take a few out of the freezer when needed and toast.
Even used them as a base for a gf cream tea.
Thanks for this! Just made it adding a very ripe banana to the dates, cos I needed to use it. No unroasted almonds so replaced flour with buckwheat flour. !replaced flaked almonds with sunflower and pepitas. Will be great on upcoming camping trip! Smelling very yum. Tip… add the oil/butter to the hot dates to melt before adding the rest.
Didn’t have any dates so used a finely grated apple. Had some fruit Muesli instead of just rolled oats, Mix was a bit dry an crumbly, so added another egg. Used Semolina instead of almond flour. Liked the idea of no sugar in it as hubby is diabetic. They came out ok and will be great as a brecky biscuit with a cup of tea.
Hi Nagi, I made these cookies and love them, but noticed that 100 grams of dates is a 1/2 cup not 1 heaped cup. Could you clarify please? Thanks heaps, Margie