If you’re looking for quick, healthy morning treat, grab a cookie. Seriously! These breakfast cookies are packed with healthy ingredients for a fast, easy and nutritious breakfast.
A good, healthy morning breakfast can make all the difference in your day, but sometimes you’re rushing out the door and you need something quick to grab. For me and my family, these Breakfast Cookies are the answer, because what’s more portable than a cookie?
What Makes Breakfast Cookies Healthy?
This recipe is packed with whole ingredients, including nuts, seeds and dried fruit. Rolled oats give this recipe texture and some heft, and the addition of walnuts and pepitas add some protein. Throw in the dried fruit, mashed bananas, honey and chocolate chips and you have just enough sweetness without adding too much sugar. It’s a perfect on-the-go snack for a busy morning.
Breakfast Cookies Ingredients
If you follow the recipe below, you’ll get a wonderful cookie, but you can also tweak your ingredients and add-ins with some of these ideas:
- Nuts: chopped walnuts, chopped pecans, chopped almonds
- Seeds: pepitas, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds
- Dried Fruit: raisins, cranberries, currantes dates
Make sure to use a nice, ripe banana that’s easy to mash to add moisture and natural sweetness.
Zoë Bakes Season 3
These are the morning cookies I made on Zoë Bakes Season 3, episode 5, an episode all about small portions. These breakfast cookies are made from a nutritious (and delicious) mixture of bananas, honey, oats, whole wheat, nuts, and dried fruit — ingredients similar to a bowl of muesli, which I grew up eating on the commune in Vermont. Don’t miss my mini tiramisu recipe from the episode as well!
Zoë shares some of her favorite strategies for healthy baking (and eating) by making Morning Cookies, a guilt-free, grab and go nutritious breakfast or snack, and tiramisu in single-serve jars — because sometimes it’s all about portion control.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large banana)
- 2/3 cup coconut oil, melted you can substitute with the same amount of melted butter if you prefer.
- 1/3 cup (126 grams) honey
- 2 cups (180 grams) rolled oats
- 1/2 cup (70 grams) whole-wheat flour
- 1/2 cup (40 grams) finely shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup pepitas
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 2 tbsp dried currants
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Pinch kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the mashed banana, coconut oil, and honey. Stir together with a rubber spatula until well incorporated.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the oats, whole-wheat flour, shredded coconut, and baking soda.
- Pour your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients. Add the chocolate chips, walnuts, pepitas, dried cranberries, currants, vanilla, and salt and stir until well combined. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Scoop cookie dough onto the lined baking sheet using a 2-tablespoon/1-ounce portion scoop. Press down to flatten them slightly (this will encourage the cookies to spread out while they bake). Bake for about 15 minutes or until they are golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool slightly on the baking sheet and then move them to a cooling rack.
Rate and Review!
- If you've made this recipe, please leave a rating and review! I love to hear how you've adapted my recipes to your own tastes, so please share how it went for you. It helps other people find my recipes. Thank you!
Notes
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This is a wonderful morning snack, not overly sweet and packed with delicious bits of nutritious ingredients. It stores well over several days. I might try it as a thumbprint next time with a dab of raspberry jam in the middle.
This was a terrific recipe. I made them for my 15 month old granddaughter. I left out the chocolate and replaced honey w maple syrup. Will be making them again and again. Thank you Zoe!
These are completely amazing. Way better than I thought they’d be, to be honest!
These are so good! My kids devoured them. I used dried cherries instead of currants and all purpose flour and they were delicious.
Made these a few days ago. They are soooo good! And they fit perfectly in my whole food diet. I wouldn’t change a thing!
Delicious cookies. I can’t wait to have one each morning with my coffee. I made these for my Airbnb guest and they absolutely loved them. Thanks again Zoe, for another wonderful treat!
just delicious. of course the Zoe’s homemade vanilla is key to all good flavor!
because of time restraints, i baked this in a 10″ pie plate. baked beautifully. cookies take forever.
we count calories in this house so, i used agave not honey, no chocolate, and just golden raisins.
i think the whole wheat flour and the pepitas just make this so delicious. Thank you!
EXCELLENT and so full of flavor! Thank you for sharing
The first time I baked these cookies, they didn’t stay together because I used a ripe banana that had been frozen and then thawed. They ended up falling apart. The next time I used the ripe banana they were perfect! My grandchildren love them too!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe and tried them again. Thanks for your rating/review!
Can you recommend a substitute for the banana?
Hi Elle, You could try replacing the banana with applesauce, so Zoë hasn’t tried it herself. Or with pureed dates, which will be quite sweet. If you have success with one of these, please let us know!
Dear Zoe, thanks for this wonderful recipe!
I changed it into a glutenfree version. And I absolutely love it.
Hands down, my most favourite cookie ever!! They check all the boxes… I can’t stop at one!! The most amazing recipe…thank you!
I would love to make these for someone who cannot eat gluten. Has anyone tried this with buckwheat flour? Can’t wait to try this!!
Hi Sue,
I haven’t tested these with buckwheat flour but in my experience that flour alone will not have enough structure and the cookies may spread a lot. If you use an all-purpose GF blend it will likely come out more similarly to what you see in the photo. If you try the buckwheat, you may want to do a half batch to make sure you like the results. Report back and let us know how you like them.
Cheers, Zoë
I love the heartiness of these cookies! I had issues with the bottoms burning, but this resolved once I doubled up the baking sheets and lowered the oven temp to 350 F. I suspect these would be yummy as “energy bites” uncooked, but stored in the freezer/fridge.
I modified based on what I had – used almond flour instead of whole wheat flour and substituted chopped dates for the currants and cranberries.
Sooooooo incredibly delicious!!! I like to make these for my 82-year-old father, but he doesn’t like peanut butter, and it’s so hard to find a breakfast cookie that’s not made with peanut butter. Thanks so much for these, he really enjoys them!
I love, love these cookies! They are especially delicious straight from the freezer with a cup of coffee. The only ingredient I left out was currants simply because I couldn’t find them in any of my grocery stores. I can’t just eat one.
I was worried that these wouldn’t hold together without an egg, especially when I was trying to scoop them onto the pan and they seemed quite loose. I should not have feared! Once baked and cooled they firmed right up. Delicious, just the right amount of sweet, and satisfying. I used sliced almonds in place of the pepitas, melted butter, and no currants since I didn’t have any. I will be making these again!
Hi Tania, We are so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. Cheers!
This is a fabulous recipe! I subbed out oats/nuts for the dregs of my own muesli mix (just used an equal quantity), used butter not coconut oil and the result was fantastic! Moist, not too sweet, a hint of banana but not overpowering. A keeper.
Yummy! Yummy! Yummy
Going to try next time with Pillsbury GF Flour vs. Whole wheat.
Made exactly except used semi-sweet choc chips.
Thanks for sharing a fantastic recipe!!
With love,
From SW MN
I love these cookies so much! I have made them multiple times with various dried fruits. It’s my new favorite recipe!
Love these cookies, not overly sweet!! Perfect with coffee or anytime of the day ☕️ I’ve made them several times now, always great!
I absolutely love these cookies! I’ve added different nuts and fruit based on what I have but kept the proportions the same and they are delish!
Could I use all purpose flour, if so do I need to change the ratio?
Hi Natalie, you can use all purpose flour, but you may need to add a few more teaspoons or a tablespoon of additional flour. Cheers!
What would be the shelf life for these with no refrigeration? Would they be good for travel for a couple of days? Thank you!
These should last just fine for a couple of days! Enjoy!
I made these according to directions and the bottoms burnt on all of them and they did not turn golden brown. Should I lower the tmperature?
Hi Van, Zoë suggests doubling up your baking sheet to insulate the bottom and prevent the bottoms from getting too dark. You could also try using the convection setting on your oven to help give the tops some color. I hope this helps for next time!
I had the same issue. I had success when doubling up the baking sheets as advised and also lowered the oven temp to 350 F. Still a little bit of burning on the bottoms of the cookies, but very minimal.
These were great! Baked a batch to take on a trip so I’d have healthier options on the go.
These are delish. I’ve made several other recipes with healthy ingredients that were barely edible. This is not that! It is just sweet enough, but still feels relatively healthy. Yum! Thanks, Zoe!
Delicious and filling! My tummy and the aroma in my house thank you!
HI,
These cookies look so yummy!! I would like to try them. Can I skip the coconut oil or do you need to have it in the cookies? If so what kind do I buy from the store?
Thank you.
Hugs,
Teresa
Hi Teresa! With the amount called for in the recipe, you wouldn’t want to leave it out. If you have butter, you can substitute the same amount of melted butter. If you’d like to try coconut oil, you can choose from refined or unrefined. Refined coconut oil has a milder flavor while unrefined has a distinct coconut flavor. I hope this helps!
Thank you so much Sweetheart!
It helped! Thank you.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Hugs,
Teresa
Thank you so much, same to you!
Easy to make and very tasty. I really enjoyed them, fourth time making this cookie.
I use vegan chocolate chips to make this completely vegan for my daughter
I made these cookies on vacation with my kindergarten granddaughter. The recipe is perfect for a little one to help make. WOW are they yummy! Everyone loved them-no leftovers.
I am trying this for the first time, it’s delicious raw – even! Can one freeze half of this dough for later?
Hi Irma! Absolutely. Just be sure to portion out the dough before freezing. Happy baking!
The cookies turned out really well! Thank you for sharing the recipe. Are the cooked cookies okay to freeze? Thank you!
Wonderful! So glad to hear it. You can freeze fully baked and cooled cookies for about a month. Zoë actually prefers keeping dough balls in the freezer so she can bake up exactly as many as she’d like, so they’re always fresh! Cheers!
Would it work to subsitute olive oil for the melted coconut oil? I’d like to use an unsaturated fat to make them even healthier.
Hi Sarah, Zoe hasn’t tried it, so she doesn’t know for sure. She suggests testing a half batch that way to make sure they don’t spread too much. Happy baking!
I tried this recipe using olive oil instead of coconut oil. i added a bit more flour and a second banana. They baked perfectly and are beautiful!
I made them with olive oil and 2 extra T flour, and it worked great. I’ve made them multiple times.
Very delicious!
Is there a nutritional content for this cookie? It sounds so good!
Hi Kaki, we do not have a nutrition calculator on ZoeBakes.com. I hope you give them a try!
I did my own because I am counting calories. Had to calculate for each ingredient. Whew! Calories per cookie using the coconut oil (which was 1240 cal for the 2/3 cup and butter was 1060) is 184. The whole cookie is cholesterol free if you use the coconut oil. If you use the butter, there is some cholesterol but I didn’t calculate that. My brain was tired LOL Was surprised protein was so low. Only 3 grams per cookie. I am planning on eating 1 cookie with my yogurt for lunch each day which has 18 grams of protein so I’ll be ok. I also did fat, cholesterol, protein, carbs along with the calories if you are interested. I haven’t made them yet because I don’t have all the ingredients. Maybe mid week.
Would love to know how many carbs.
I also used almond flour.
Great info, thanks Debbie!