Since these cookies aren’t really “treats” I told my daughters (a.k.a. my taste testers) they could have as many as they wanted. As soon as they heard me say that they seriously went to town. I was thrilled they liked them so much, but I was starting to get worried about tummy
aches! These “breakfast cookies” are perfect for those mornings when you’re racing out the door or for a quick and easy afternoon snack. If you have a nut allergy (or go to a nut-free school like us) you could easily substitute pumpkin seeds for the pecans. You could also add some cinnamon if you want to spice things up. Apparently my family likes them just the way they are though…so enjoy!
Pecan Maple Breakfast Cookies
Since these cookies aren't really "treats" I told my daughters (a.k.a. my taste testers) they could have as many as they wanted.
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- ¾ cup oats, rolled
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup applesauce
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened but not melted
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and grease a cookie sheet.
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Whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt.
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In a separate bowl using an electric mixer beat the applesauce, maple syrup, butter, egg, and vanilla.
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While beating the mixture on a low speed add the dry ingredients until well blended.
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Fold in the nuts with a spatula.
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Drop onto prepared cookie sheet with a spoon. Bake for 8 - 9 minutes or until they start to brown.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition Facts
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Can you substitute honey for the maple syrup?
Hi Em. I think that will work but the consistency will be a bit different. ~Amy
How many cookies for 1 person (me) do you suggest as serving size for the meal plan downloads??
Hi Kayla. We do not provide nutrition/serving size/calorie information. These posts will help explain our philosophy: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/23/portion-size-matters/ and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/. ~Amy
My son can’t have oats right now. Is there something I can substitute instead? Thanks
Hi Tera. I know that some gluten free folks swear by brown rice flakes but I have not tried them. ~Amy
Try Buckwheat Tera
Can these be made without the egg for a child who is allergic?
Sorry for the duplicate question!! I should have posted with my computer instead of my phone :-)
Hi there. Have you used a “flax egg” as a substitution? It works really well. Here is more information: http://www.veganbaking.net/egg-replacers/198-flax-seed-egg-replacer. ~Amy
Thanks for another delicious recipe! This is now my family’s go-to cookie recipe when we feel like baking something sweet. Just love your blog!!
Can one just omit the nuts? I don’t have any substitute on hand and the bank account is telling me no I cannot buy any.
Hi Ashley. You can omit them but if you have any seeds (sunflower, pumpkin) that would work, too. ~Amy
Made these for an after school snack yesterday. My kids finished them off this morning before school. They go to a school that understands how sugar effects behavior, attention, thinking and performance, thus the school has a no sugar policy from 8-3. Since they have no sugar from 8-3. I do have to confess to throwing in a handful of chocolate chips. Everything in moderation! We changed our diet last January and my four kids finally do consider this a cookie and are begging for me to make more. I’m going to make a bunch of these and freeze them to take with us to disney in a couple of weeks. Thanks for providing recipes like this!
Thank you so much this is my new go to camping food it keeps great on our trips and my 3 year old loves them! I’m making them now for our thanksgiving trip to Yosemite. Thank you
These are just right and very easy to make!
These are delish, I never knew a cookie could taste so good without all that junk in it.
I love these! What is the best wAy to store them? Do they freeze well? Will they get soggy in a Tupperware?
Hi Terri. Let them cool completely and keep them in an airtight container. They freeze very well for longer term storage. ~Amy
Hi! About soacking the wheat flour and oats. How much liquid should I use? From what I can find, I’m supposed to use half the liquid from what the recipe calls for. But there’s not much liquid so I just don’t know where to start. Any help would be appreciated.
Hi Mandy. Were you posting this question to another reader? We do not have instructions in this recipe (or any other) for soaking the grains. ~Amy
I just am learning about soaking grains so I thought I’d try with this recipe. Just wasn’t sure of where to go for help with amounts.
Hi again. Sorry I spelled Mandi with a y before! :( I asked because we’ve had readers discussing it in certain threads and I thought you might have been trying to respond to one of those comments. Lisa has not practiced soaking grains, so it is not something we have much information about. There is plenty “out there” though if you Google it. Good luck. ~Amy
These were simple (which is great) but it needs some fine tuning. It was begging for moisture and seasoning. Next time, I will add a bit of milk (they were so dry) and a pinch of cinnamon to add to the breakfast. Unfortunately my three-year-old wouldn’t eat it, so hopefully re-doing it will make her a fan. I am always desperate for quick, healthy breakfasts.
Do you have the nutritional info for the cookies?
Hello. We do not provide nutrition information on our recipes. Our focus is on helping people cut out processed food while replacing them with real/whole foods. These posts help explain our philosophy: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/, https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/23/portion-size-matters/, and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/10-reasons-to-cut-out-processed-food/. ~Amy
These are amazing! So filling, easy to make, and something really tasty for breakfast! They seem to get better each day – Lisa, thanks for such a wonderful recipe!!! This website, and your journey, is changing the way I eat and feed my family – thank you!
I just made a modified version of these and they are scrumptious! I omitted pecans and replaced them with walnuts and raisins. I also added about a teaspoon of cinnamon to compliment these and wow! They are delicious! Thank you! My kids (and husband) will love these tomorrow!
Made these today and the entire family loved them! (picky spouse, and 2 and 4 year old boys) Will definitely be making them again and doing a double batch next time!!
Do you think this would work with almond flour, as my daughter and I are gluten free?
Hi Jennifer. We’ve not tried. I know that a 1:1 swap is unlikely to work. If you experiment, please share your results. ~Amy
I only have steel cut oats. Can I use those instead of rolled oats?
Hi Sally. You can.
Just tried these for the first time and they are a hit. I was curious if you had tried adding a dried fruit to them?
Hi Erica. No, but I think that would be fine. If you do, let us know.~Amy
I am not a fan of maple syrup. Does it really make a difference? I know it is not much, but just don’t like the maple too strong.
Hi there. You can use honey instead. ~Amy
Oh! I Love Maple. I am Making these!. Thinking about adding raisins. (Amd maybe Chia seeds. Hmm….
Can you use quick oats instead?
Hi Emilie. I have. The texture was a little more soft. ~Amy
What is the serving size for these for me? ( My kids are grown and married).
Hi Jeannie. Two cookies. :)
I found these dry, despite having added extra applesauce. Suggestions for future attempts?
Hi Courtney. You might add another tablespoon of butter. :)
I made these a couple weeks ago with sunflower seeds because that was what I had on hand. I froze them. I took a couple out of the freezer today and the sunflower seeds are green. Has anyone else had that happen before? I’ve never cooked anything but bread with sunflower seeds. I wonder if it’s ok to eat now.
I found the answer to my questions.
Now, about that green thing. All plants contain chlorogenic acid, mostly in the stems and leaves, but sunflowers also have it in the seeds. A spokeswoman for Red River Commodities says that SunButter does indeed turn cookies and other baked products green as they cool. The solution, she says, is to reduce the amount of baking soda or baking powder in your recipe by almost half, which balances the acidity of the ingredients and keeps them from changing color. Whether your cookies will rise adequately with half the leaven is a good question, but she says some people who have gotten in touch with the company say they don’t notice any difference. Adding a bit of lemon juice to your dough or batter can also help maintain expected colors.
When sunflower seeds oxidize they turn green! Totally fine to eat!
My husband and I just made these. We were hoping for something a little sweeter. Any recommendations on how to sweeten them up a bit? Add chocolate chips? Add more maple syrup? Any frosting suggestions?
note: we can’t have raisins or dried cranberries :(
Hi Justine. You could add chocolate chips or a bit more syrup. However, once you tone down the sweetness of things, you get to a point pretty quickly when you are satisfied with less sugars. :) ~Amy
I love these! I’m addicted! I found adding a small amount of diced apple gives them a bit more moisture. But really, just drink a bit of milk with them and you’re satisfied for a few hours!
I have one kid who doesn’t like dried fruit, so I tried this with fresh apple. I used one small Granny Smith – peeled and chopped fine. It might have been just a little too much since they had trouble sticking together. I think they turned out very well though and I will make them again.
We tried with apple too and with chopped apple they didn’t stick together well. But with grated apple they were perfect and sooo good! It added a lot of moisture, which was great.
i asked back in June about adding dried fruit. Well I did it and, oh my gosh! I used dried blueberries and the moisture in the batter plumped them back up and they were so good. It was like little bursts of juicy goodness punctuated with the crunch of the nuts. I used a 50/50 mix of pecans and almonds for fun too. Thank you so much for this recipe. My husband really likes them too!
I wonder if I could replace the whole wheat flour for gf oat flour? I can’t have wheat but I really want to try these!
Hi Krista. You can’t typically replace oat flour for wheat flour 1:1 and I am not sure what the right combo would be. If you experiment, we love when people share their results. ;)
I tried them this weekend. They were delicious. I replaced all of the wheat with homemade oat flour and I added a generous splash of almond milk in there too. They turned out very good!
I made these tonight and wow they are good! I replaced the applesauce and butter with 2 mashed bananas, replaced the egg with flaxseed and water, and added some cinnamon. Really yummy! I can’t stop eating them. Next time, I’m making a double batch!
In our house we use this recipe as our go to chocolate chip cookie recipe. The texture is a bit more scone like but they’re not too sweet (I’ve even taken out a tablespoon of maple syrup) and the kids love them!
I was making these and when I got to the step where you mix the dry and wet ingredients I realized that my oats had been contaminated with bugs. I tossed the dry ingredients and decided to give it a try with granola substituted for the oats. It worked just fine. :)
Vanilla is confusing me! Your recipes sometimes say vanilla extract and this one just says vanilla. So is that vanilla from a pod? I went to buy vanilla from a health food store and got a bit confused by the different types.
Hi Diane. It is liquid extract. I can’t recall a recipe where Lisa uses the pod other than to make extract.
Can I substitute steel cut oats for the rolled oats? Seems like that would throw if the entire recipe but that’s all I have in my kitchen at the moment :-(
Hi Mira. We’ve not used steel cut oats for this recipe.
Do these freeze well?
Thank you!
Yes they do. ;)
Is there a way I can get the nutritional facts for this and other recipes?
Thanks.
Hi Nicole. We do not provide that information. This post explains our philosophy as to why: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/.
How many calories are these? Per serving?
Hi Joy. We do not provide that information. This post explains our philosophy as to why: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/.
These come together nicely! They worked in high altitude perfectly with another tablespoon of added flour. My kiddos enjoyed another tablespoon of maple syrup in them for just a bit more sweetness. I know that reduces the healthy-ness, but still better than a traditional cookie. Thanks for posting’
Do you use old fashioned oats or quick oats?
Hello Shan. Old fashioned though it works with quick oats, too.
Thank you! I’m looking forward to trying these very soon!
Have you prepared these with a gf flour blend before?
Hi Stacie. I’ve had success with most of Lisa’s recipes using a gf blend. These should work well, too.
I’m guessing the cups measurements are where this goes wrong but I have an American cups measurer and these still came out smelling like and tasting like cardboard.
Mine too. Very dry and almost inedible! Recipes in UK don’t use cups. When I try to convert to grams from the web, almost every site has different calculations.
Any suggestions?
I just prepared this recipe for the first time. I used coconut oil instead of butter and just a little more maple syrup. So delicious. I should have doubled the recipe. Thank you for posting!!!
Do you think slivered almonds would be good in this recipe? My daughter doesn’t care for pecans, yet.
Hi Kelsey. I don’t see why that wouldn’t work. ;)
I am thinking of adding some cinnamon. Has anyone tried this? If so, any advice on the amount of cinnamon that would be appropriate?
Thanks!
I’d add approximately 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, depending how intense you prefer the flavor to be.
Hi. I’m new to this website. I love it so far, but I noticed there isn’t any nutritional information or reccomended serving size for this recipe. Maybe I’m just not seeing it? I know you told your daughters they could have as many as they want, but if I gave myself that rule, then I might eat all 20. So how many cookies makes a complete breakfast? Is there an estimated calorie count? Thanks!!
Hi Ciera. We do not provide nutrition information. This post will help you understand the philosophy behind that decision: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/terms-of-use/.
This recipe makes great granola bars – just double the amounts, press into a 9×13 pan, and bake until they’re however crunchy you want.
We love these! I use 1/2 cup sunflower seeds & 1/2 cup dried cranberries instead of pecans to make them nut free. So delicious–thank you for the recipe! :)
That sounds like a perfect substitution for my son. Thanks for the idea!
I made these for the first time today and all I could smell when I opened the oven was flour and that’s pretty much all you could taste too other than the odd piece of pecan. I followed the recipe exactly, even using the same flour as Lisa says she uses and am surprised at how bland they are based on so many reviews saying they were all gone once they came out of the oven…. did I do something wrong as there are still plenty here left uneaten.
I had the same experience. Did use whole wheat pastry flour since you used the regular. Sorry, they were awful. I hit the stars by accident, would not give this one any.
I LOVE these! I substituted almond flour and added coconut. Delicious!
How do you recommend storing these, and how long would they last stored at room temperature?
Could you freeze them and take out to defrost in the fridge the night before?
Hi there. You can freeze them if you want to store them beyond a week. Yes, and defrosting overnight works great.