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These easy breakfast cookies are super soft and filled with peanut butter and oats. With no butter or oil and customizable mix-ins, they’re a tasty treat that kids and adults love, and a quick breakfast on the go!
These peanut butter breakfast cookies taste somewhere in between a warm peanut butter cookie, and a delicious banana oatmeal muffin. They’re thick, moist, extra chewy, and even have a few chocolate chips thrown in for a little extra sweetness. You can easily adapt the recipe by using your favorite kind of nut butter and mix-ins – like dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, raisins, or nuts. They’re so easy to make and perfect for breakfast on the go or a healthier snack.
What’s in Breakfast Cookies?
This recipe uses no butter or oil, flour or white sugar. Let’s talk about what you’ll need, and what each ingredient does.
- 2 very ripe (brown) bananas. The bananas naturally sweeten the cookies and also keep them moist and soft.
- Peanut butter for protein, flavor and to help hold the cookies together. Feel free to use almond butter or sunflower butter if you prefer. Just make sure that if you’re using a natural nut butter you give it a really good stir before measuring so that you don’t end up with just oil.
- Vanilla extract and cinnamon for flavor.
- Maple syrup for natural sweetness. You could also use honey if you prefer.
- Old-fashioned oats to give the cookies structure and texture. You can also get some fiber in for your breakfast. Feel free to use quick oats if that’s all you have on hand, but just make sure not to use instant oats (they behave more like flour and your cookies could get dry).
- Chocolate chips – because a little chocolate doesn’t hurt. If you’re worried about the refined sugar, you could use cacao nibs instead.
How to Make Breakfast Cookies
- The first step is to mash the bananas. I actually do this with my electric stand mixer and it works perfectly (as long as your bananas are very brown). Then beat together the bananas, peanut butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and maple syrup. You could also do this by hand if you want to use a little arm muscle.
- Mix in the oats, and stir in your mix-ins. The dough is very sticky and wet, but this is totally expected.
- Form the cookies into balls that are each about ¼ cup in batter, and place them down on a lined cookie sheet. It’s important that you press down the cookies slightly before baking, because they won’t spread out or flatten as they bake. They’ll bake for about 14-18 minutes, or until the tops look set.
Substitutions & Variations
There are so many easy ways to adapt this recipe. Here are some of my personal favorites:
- Use 1 cup almond butter instead of peanut butter and 1 cup fresh blueberries instead of the chocolate chips.
- Use 1 cup almond butter (or any kind of nut butter), and ½ cup dried cranberries and ½ cup sunflower seeds for your mix-ins.
- Use 1 cup peanut butter and ½ cup M&Ms for an extra special treat.
Make-Ahead & Freezing Tips
These breakfast cookies freeze really well. Make a batch, let them cool fully (this is key) – then pop them in a freezer bag or container with the date. Make sure to always freeze them in a single layer, or with parchment paper in between, otherwise, they can stick together. They’ll freeze for up to 2 months. Then thaw in the fridge. I like to pop them in the microwave for a few minutes before enjoying so they’re warm.
For more make-ahead breakfast ideas, check out these Banana Bran Muffins, Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats, or Lemon Blueberry Muffins. If you like a savory breakfast, try these Breakfast Sandwiches, Freezer Breakfast Burritos or Baked Egg Muffins.
Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 large brown bananas
- 1 cup peanut butter or your favorite nut butter
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 cup old-fashioned oats or quick oats
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips or your favorite mix-ins - like dried cranberries, fresh blueberries or raisins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325F degrees and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mash the bananas.
- Mix together the mashed bananas, peanut butter, vanilla extract and cinnamon until smooth.
- Stir in the oats and chocolate chips. The dough will be very sticky and wet.
- Form the dough into balls with about ⅓ - ¼ cup of batter each and place on the lined cookie sheets. Flatten them down slightly (they won't spread as they bake).
- Bake in the preheated oven for 14-18 minutes, or until the tops are set.
- Cool on the cookie sheets fully.
