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!!”
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.
So tasty and simple! As well as healthy. Thanks Nagi 🙂
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
I made double quantity and froze half the raw dough. Used sunflower seeds and petites instead of dried fruit. Worked well!
Breakfast cookies are ahhhmazing … sensational with a coffee … I used lemon essence and cardamom … delish … love you Nagi 😊
For nut free can I use anything to substitute the almond flour
Finely ground sunflower seeds are usually used as a nut-free alternative to almond flour. It will change the hue of your cookies a little.
I make two batches every week for the freezer and there are none left by Friday. So many flavour options! I buy different fruits and nuts from the bulk food shop.
Just trying to work out how to make them carrot cake flavour 🥕
Note to oneself….read the recipe, get the ingredients ready…retread the recipe!!
I forgot to add the rolled oats…but the cookies still great…quite moist, very eatable, great flavour!!
Only made mine about a quarter cup size – plenty big enough..
Will make again, to the recipe!!
Nagi, i just made these cookies and they are terrific! Thank you so much for sharing your awesome recipes!
Very filling biscuits great energy
beautiful
What kind of dates should be used for this recipe – fresh or dried?
made them for a breakfast brunch and it was a hit! I happened to like eating dates.. wanted to do something different with them other than eating them from the container…
I don’t know what has taken me so long to remark on the absolute perfection of these cookies. I have been baking these weekly since I discovered this gem 8 mos. ago. These are w/out a doubt the best breakfast cookies out there. For me 75g dates and 2 tbsps of honey are my go to. I also use walnuts, dried cherries and 2 tbsp of chia seeds and a heaping tbsp of hemp hearts for added protein and fiber. These are scrumptious!
These cookies are a favourite on the go brekkie for my boys (although my teen likes to have it like a crunchy cereal with milk). They are delicious and I make them big & chunky. Such a great brekkie to take to school with a hot chocolate for after an early morning session of sport
I love how nutritious these are for snacking on while also being so tasty! Second time around making them, made 18 smaller cookies, probably could have only cooked for 15 minutes instead of 20 but oh well. Reduced the honey to 1 tbsp and next time might increase the dates slightly to compensate for the less moisture
Thanks again Nagi!
Wanted to remove snack bars from my fiancé’s lunch box but still needed something healthy and easy to make. This is by far a superior recipe!! I love that whatever I have left in the pantry can go in. Thanks!