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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
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
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and grease a cookie sheet.
- Whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl using an electric mixer beat the applesauce, maple syrup, butter, egg, and vanilla.
- While beating the mixture on a low speed add the dry ingredients until well blended.
- Fold in the nuts with a spatula.
- Drop onto prepared cookie sheet with a spoon. Bake for 8 – 9 minutes or until they start to brown.
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 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!
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 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 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 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!
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 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!
I found these dry, despite having added extra applesauce. Suggestions for future attempts?
Hi Courtney. You might add another tablespoon of butter. :)
What is the serving size for these for me? ( My kids are grown and married).
Hi Jeannie. Two cookies. :)
Can you use quick oats instead?
Hi Emilie. I have. The texture was a little more soft. ~Amy
Oh! I Love Maple. I am Making these!. Thinking about adding raisins. (Amd maybe Chia seeds. Hmm….
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
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 only have steel cut oats. Can I use those instead of rolled oats?
Hi Sally. You can.
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
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!!
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!
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!
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 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.
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
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
These are delish, I never knew a cookie could taste so good without all that junk in it.
These are just right and very easy to make!
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
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!
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
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 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
Try Buckwheat Tera
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
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
Can you substitute honey for the maple syrup?
Hi Em. I think that will work but the consistency will be a bit different. ~Amy
These were a huge hit! I love how flexible the recipe is. We used pumpkin in place of the applesauce. We substituted palm shortening for the butter and used sunflower seeds instead of nuts. We did throw in chocolate chips. Yum!
I made this recipie for breakfast this morning with no changes to recipe. Both my 12 year old son and I really liked the breakfast cookies. I believe he described the taste and consistency right when he called them “Muffin Tops”.
I made these this morning and loved them. I did not have any applesauce so I used apricot All-Fruit jelly instead. It was delicious. I may eat the whole batch. Next time, I want to add raisins.
I made this but with a variation. Prepared just as stated, but instead of making them into cookies, I spread the dough onto a square pyrex pan and spread organic strawberry jam on half of the dough. I cooked it as directed…maybe 10 minutes. And then when it was cool, I cut the square in half and placed the non-jam side on top of the jam side. Then I cut them into bars. My 3 boys love the store bought Nutri Grain bars, and it’s one of the only processed foods we still purchase, so I was searching for an alternative. Just thought I would share!
THESE ARE AMAZING!!!!! I made them without the nuts so my 18 month old could take them to day care (it is a nut-free school). He and I had them for breakfast every morning this past week and my husband took one as a mid-morning snack for work. These are going to become a staple in our house! AND-they freeze really well! I wasn’t sure how many we would eat so I froze half and then had to defrost the rest. THANK YOU for another excellent real food recipe!
LOVE! Ate two this morning in lieu of my usual protein bar. Felt nicely full until snack time.
Subbed in 1/4 cup coconut oil + 1 TBSP brown sugar since I was out of applesauce and used cashews (on hand) in place of pecans.