With whole wheat, peanut butter and oatmeal, these healthy Breakfast Cookies are packed with shredded apples and mashed bananas. A breakfast treat you can be proud to serve your little ones!
Cool Moms Make Cookies for Breakfast
I love my Mom! My Mom is cool! But now it’s time for having fun in school! Baker-man and I have been singing this little rap (from Sid the Science Kid, his favorite kids’ show) for several weeks now in prep for the big day! Baker started preschool this morning and he’ll be going 5 mornings a week! Yikes! What’s a mama to do?
He’s going to love it and learn a lot, but the babies and I are sure going to miss him here at home! I like to think Baker thinks I’m cool and I’m pretty sure he thought I was super cool when I served him cookies for breakfast this morning! You should have seen the excitement on his face when he saw that cookie sitting on his breakfast plate!
Deliciously Healthy Cookies
Kids don’t know these cookies are actually pretty healthy. They don’t know they’re full of whole grains, protein and fruit. They only knows they taste amazing and make a great breakfast or snack! They’re dairy free and full of whole grain.
This breakfast cookies recipe has some of our favorite breakfast flavors baked right into them! We quite often eat peanut butter banana apple sandwiches on whole wheat bread for breakfast or a snack so I just baked these goodies into a chewy oatmeal cookie and added some chocolate chips to make them extra special for his first day of school!
Breakfast Cookies Ingredients and Supplies
(see recipe card at the bottom of this post for measurements and details)
Ingredients:
- Whole wheat flour – feel free to substitute with all-purpose flour, almond flour, or a gluten free all-purpose baking flour
- Old-fashioned rolled oats – I like the texture the old-fashioned oats add to these cookies, but you could use quick cooking oats if you’d prefer.
- Baking soda
- Kosher salt
- Cinnamon – this can be omitted if you don’t want the cinnamon flavor
- Creamy peanut butter – you can use crunchy peanut butter or an alternate butter like almond butter, sunflower butter or granola butter, if desired.
- Dark brown sugar – the dark brown sugar adds the perfect amount of rich sweetness, but you could use light brown sugar or omit the sugar all together if you’d prefer a less sweet cookie.
- Egg – you can replace the egg with 1/4 cup applesauce, mashed banana or yogurt, if necessary.
- Vanilla extract
- Mashed banana – the riper the banana, the more natural sweetness and moisture it brings to the cookies. The mashed banana can be substituted with pure pumpkin puree or applesauce, if needed.
- Shredded peeled apple – the apple adds a nice sweetness and texture to the cookies. The shredded apple can be substituted with firm pear or zucchini.
- Chocolate chips – the chocolate is optional, but such a fun and sweet addition. You could add chopped nuts, seeds or dried fruits as well, if desired.
Supplies:
Substitutions and Additions
Substitutions:
- All-purpose flour, almond flour, or a gluten free all-purpose baking flour can be substituted for the whole wheat flour
- Almond butter or sunflower seed butter can be substituted for the peanut butter
- Pure pumpkin purée or applesauce can be substituted fro the mashed banana
- Shredded zucchini or shredded pear can be substituted for the shredded apple
Optional Additions:
- Chopped walnuts, pecan pieces, pumpkin seeds
- Raisins, dried cranberries or other dried fruit
He was all smiles, energized, and ready to go! We had a big time baking these easy breakfast cookies over the weekend so let us show you how simple they are to make! You and your kiddos could easily bake up a batch this afternoon. They’re perfect to grab as an after-school snack!
How to Make Breakfast Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Then, in the bowl of an electric mixer, blend the peanut butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Mix in the mashed banana. Slowly add the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in the shredded apple and chocolate chips.
- Form 3-4 tablespoons of dough into large balls and place a few inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten each ball of dough with a measuring cup that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
- Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until slightly browned. Let cool on cookie sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Make Ahead Directions
To store the prepared cookie dough, make the cookie dough and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. When ready to bake, proceed with scooping the chilled cookie dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets and baking the dough straight from the refrigerator.
To freeze the cookie dough, scoop the dough into balls and placing them in a single layer on a sheet pan in the freezer for one hour to flash freeze them before transferring them to a freezer-safe container or plastic bag, with parchment paper between each layer of cookie dough balls, to store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Frozen cookie dough balls can be defrosted in the refrigerator overnight, defrosted at room temperature for a few hours, or baked straight from frozen. Baking the cookie dough straight from frozen is what I would recommend for the best texture. When baking cookies from frozen, just add 3-5 minutes to the instructed baking time.
How to Store Breakfast Cookies
Store breakfast cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
To freeze, wrap with plastic wrap and freeze them for up to three months.
Let cookies come to room temperature or heat in the microwave for 10-15 seconds if you don’t like cold cookies.
More Breakfasts Treats They’ll Love
- Start the day off right with hearty, delicious Breakfast Brownies! Made with bananas, oats, and peanut butter, these breakfast treats are as healthy as they are tasty!
- A cake mix, bananas, applesauce and sprinkles are all it takes to make these fun and yummy Birthday Breakfast Muffins for a special birthday breakfast! It’s nacho average breakfast, y’all!
- These Breakfast Nachos take ordinary tortilla chips and pile them with savory breakfast sausage, scrambled eggs, bacon, and fresh avocado for a deliciously unique breakfast!
If you make these Breakfast Cookies, be sure to snap a picture and share it with me or tag me on Instagram @thebakermama so I can see. 
I love seeing how inspired and creative y’all get with the recipes I share. Enjoy!
xoxo,
Breakfast Cookie Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 20
- Category: Breakfast
Description
Healthy whole wheat peanut butter oatmeal cookies packed with shredded apples and mashed bananas. Breakfast Cookies, friends!
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 and 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup mashed banana (about 2 medium)
- 1 cup shredded peeled apple (about 2 medium)
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend the peanut butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined. Mix in the mashed banana. Slowly add the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in the shredded apple and chocolate chips.
- Form 3-4 tablespoons of dough into large balls and place a few inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten each ball of dough with a cup measurer that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until slightly browned. Let cool on cookie sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Let cookies come to room temperature or heat in the microwave for 10-15 seconds if you don’t like cold cookies.
Mine came out really dry as well. I added close to a cup of almond milk to even get them stirred up & flour mixed in. BUT I did overbake a little…
Sorry to hear that. Overbaking the cookies will definitely dry them out. With all the mashed banana, shredded apple and peanut butter, they should be very chewy cookies.
I was really excited to try these, but for some reason I didn’t like them at all. They tasted really dry. I know I followed the recipe exactly. Any suggestions?
Hi Sarah! They should definitely not be dry with all the banana, apples and peanut butter. Did you happen to over-bake them? What kind of peanut butter did you use? I’m not sure what could have gone wrong if you followed the directions exactly. We bake them all the time and they’re never dry. I wish I could me more help.
Hi, these really came out well. I skipped the peanut butter, coz I not a big fan of it. It still came out nicely.
I added nuts on top… Tastes great and guilt free.
Hi Divya! That’s so great to hear! Enjoy!
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Thank you! Finally a healthy cookie recipe my 18 month old asks for more of!
Is there anything you can use as a substitution for the banana? If not, how strong is the banana taste?
Hi Stephanie! You could use pure pumpkin. The banana flavor does come through, but it’s not super strong because of the peanut butter and all the other flavors going on. Hope this helps! Enjoy!
Are these cookies suitable for freezing? Thanks!
Hi Carly! I’ve never frozen them, but I think they would freeze just fine for several weeks. Just tightly seal them in a baggie or container and when you’re ready to eat them, let them come to room temperature unsealed. Enjoy!
Can’t wait to try these! Any chance maple syrup or honey could be substituted for the brown sugar?
Hi Anna! I think either one would taste and work great as a substitute for the brown sugar. It’s a thicker dough so it should definitely be able to handle the extra moisture. Let me know how they turn out as I might give it a try too next time I bake them. Enjoy!
I made this recipe twice today. First I followed the instructions but found the chemical taste overwhelming, then I realised that the baking soda amount is way off. I was gutted because in NZ good peanut butter is expensive ($7 or so). However, I love that these biscuits have apple and banana in them. I had to try again. So, I didn’t put any baking soda in them, just a little baking powder, and they turned out perfectly.
Keep up the great recipes. I’m keen to try more like this with wholesome ingredients.
My daughter is allergic to bananas so I’m going to try with pumpkin pureé. Thanks. They look yummmy!