Easy Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Name: Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1 Cup Butter (softened); ½ Cup Peanut Butter; 2 Eggs (room temperature); ½ Cup Brown Sugar; ½ Cup Sugar; 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract; 1 ½ Cups Flour; ⅓ Cup Ground Flax seed; 1 Teaspoon Salt; 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder; 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda; 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon; 1 Cup Instant Oats; 1 Cup Chopped Pecans; ½ Cup Dried Cranberries; ½ Cup Dried Apricots (Chopped)

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I'm making my kids' dreams come true by making cookies for breakfast. These sweet, morning treats are made with an oatmeal, peanut butter base and are filled with loads of dried fruit and nuts. Make a nice big batch and have a super fast, filling breakfast or after school snack for those activity filled days.

Plate of breakfast cookies with pitcher or milk, bowl of oats, and spoon of flax

Now before we get too far, I should say that I am not saying this is the healthiest breakfast I've ever fed my family. However, compared to packaged things that you stick in a toaster, these cookies are a cut above. With ingredients like dried apricots, dried cranberries, oats, pecans, and flax seed your kids will be sure to swallow some good nutrients and fiber with their sweet treat.

This is a big batch of breakfast cookies and they last for over a week. I work these into breakfast and snack time throughout the week.

Contents hide

Ingredients

Substitutions

How to make Easy Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

FAQs

Tips for Success

Freezing and Storage

Related Recipes

📖 Recipe

Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Ingredients

Substitutions

Other nut butters like almond butter can easily be swapped for peanut butter. It is important to consider the texture of your substitution. Be sure to choose a good quality no stir nut butter.

Old Fashion oats can be used in place of quick oats. To keep the same texture, simply pulse Old Fashion oats in the food processor briefly.

You can use any of your favorite dried fruits in place of cranberries and apricots. I sometimes add all cranberries or mix in golden raisins.

Chopped almonds and walnuts are delicious alternatives to pecans.

How to make Easy Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Step 1: Cream Butter and Sugar

Start with room temperature butter. Using a hand or stand mixer slowly cream butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and peanut butter. Mix until the butter is completely smooth and sugar is dissolved.

Step 1- collage before and after butter creaming step

Step 2: Add Eggs and Vanilla

Add room temperature eggs and vanilla to the mixing bowl and beat eggs on medium speed. Mix until the eggs are well integrated and the batter starts to lighten in color.

Step 2- collage of eggs mixed into wet ingredients

Step 3: Mix Dry Ingredients

Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground flax seed into a separate bowl and mix with a fork.

Step 4: Mix Wet and Dry Ingredients

Next, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on a low speed until it is well combined.

step 4- collage adding dry ingredients to wet

Step 5: Add Big Flavor

Then, add chopped pecans, dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots, and quick oats to the batter and mix on low speed everything is evenly distributed throughout. You should be left with a thick chunky dough.

Step 5- collage add mix in ingredients fruit oats and nuts

Step 6: Make Cookie Dough Balls

Finally, scoop the cookie dough into one ounce balls and place them on ungreased or parchment lined cookie sheets.

Step 6- formed cookie dough balls on sheet ban

Step 7: Bake

Bake at 350° on the center rack for 15-18 minutes.
Once the cookies are done, remove the sheet pan from the oven and let the cookies rest on the sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Step 7- cookies cooling on cookies sheet

FAQs

How do you bake perfectly soft breakfast cookies?

When you are baking this cookie or any drop cookie, you should let them bake until they are just short of fully cooked. When you take them out of the oven, they should be too soft to handle. Leave the cookies on the hot baking sheet for five minutes. There, they will continue to bake just on the bottom giving you a solid foundation and a perfectly soft top.

After five minutes, move them to a baking rack to cool. Voila, perfectly cooked Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies.

Tips for Success

Creaming the butter is one of the most crucial steps. Be sure to start with softened, room temperature butter and mix very well. It should be free of clumps of butter. Butter pieces will not mix in well later and will run out of the cookie dough during baking and cause burned edges.
Add dry ingredients a little at a time. Not only will you avoid large clouds of flour flying out of your bowl, but the dry ingredients will be easier to integrate into the wet and you will avoid overmixing.
The breakfast cookie dough should be very stiff. If the dough is sticky and soft, the butter may have gotten too warm. Avoid flat cookies by putting the dough in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. I only need to do this in the heat of the summer when it is hard to keep my kitchen cool.
Bake on the middle rack of the oven for the most consistent results.

Freezing and Storage

Breakfast cookies can be frozen fully baked, as individual raw dough balls, or as a large ball of dough. They can be kept in the freezer in a food storage bag for up to three months.

Defrost the ball of dough in the refrigerator overnight. You can take dough balls out and leave on the counter for 20-30 minutes before baking.

Defrost baked cookies by taking them out of the freezer and leaving them on the counter with a storage bag open to avoid moisture collection. Transfer to a plate or dry storage back after defrosting.