Banana Oatmeal Cookies {Healthy Breakfast Cookies}
Made with oats, applesauce, bananas, and dates, these healthy breakfast cookies are packed with fiber, nutrients, and free from added sugar.
Servings: 18
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole pitted dried dates
- 3 medium ripe bananas ~ 1 cups mashed bananas
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups rolled oats quick or old fashioned + more as needed
Instructions
- Place the dates in a heat-safe dish. Cover with boiling water and let soak for 10 minutes to soften. After 10 minutes, drain the dates, reserving the soaking liquid.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the bananas, applesauce, dates, cinnamon, and vanilla into a food processor with the metal S-blade. Pulse until everything is smooth and mixed together. Add the oats and pulse just until combined. If the mixture seems too thick or hard to blend, add a little of the reserved liquid (about ½ tablespoon at a time) and pulse again until it comes together. If the mixture seems too loose, add additional oats, ¼ cup at a time.
- Scoop about 1 ½ tablespoons of dough for each cookie. Roll the dough into a ball and place it on the baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch of space between each cookie. Then, gently press down on each ball to flatten it into a cookie shape.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes or until just golden.
- Remove cookies from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheet on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Remove cookies from the tray and cool completely.
Notes
Dates: Both dried pitted Deglet Nour Dates and dried Medjool dates work, just be sure they are pitted before processing. Avoid purchasing chopped dates, which are coated with sugar.
Oats: Be sure to use rolled oats, not steel-cut oats. And if needed, ensure your oats are certified gluten-free.
Bananas: Use ripe bananas for sweet flavor and ease of blending. 2 large or 3 medium bananas is about 1 cup of mashed bananas, which is what you need for this recipe.
Storage: Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours or up to 5 days if refrigerated. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Breakfast Cookie Variations:
- Add Chocolate Chips: Stir in up to 1 cup of chocolate chips to the batter after processing
- Add Nuts: Stir in up to ½ cup of chopped walnuts or almonds after processing.
- Swap out Dates for Raisins: Be sure to soak the raisins as well! And keep in mind that the cookies won't be as sweet, but still delicious.
- Add Sweet Potato or Pumpkin Puree: Swap out the applesauce for sweet potato puree or pumpkin puree and instead of cinnamon use pumpkin pie spice. After processing, stir in ⅓ cup of dried cranberries if desired.
Nutrition
Calories: 61kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 1g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 145mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 15IU | Vitamin C: 1.7mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 0.4mg
