These banana and oat cookies are round like cookies and they share a few ingredients with cookies, but I am not going to mislead you. They are much closer to granola: chocked full of oats, nuts and seeds, with only a hint of sweetness. They are not a dessert style cookie, and that is exactly the point. They are hearty, genuinely delicious, and a very good way to start the day.

One ripe banana, one egg, a bit of maple syrup and some peanut butter hold the whole thing together. No flour, no butter, no mixer. You stir everything in one bowl, press out six large rounds, and they are out of the oven in about fifteen minutes.

Why You’ll Love These Banana Oat Cookies

• One bowl, one spoon. No mixer, no creaming butter and sugar, nothing to wash afterwards.
• They are breakfast you can hold in one hand. Oats, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and flax, sweetened with a couple of tablespoons of maple syrup across the whole batch.
• They use up the sad banana. The browner and more neglected it is, the better these get.
• They freeze beautifully. Make a batch, freeze them, grab one on the way out the door.
• No flour required. They hold together on banana, egg and peanut butter alone.

Ingredients

Makes 6 large

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp maple syrup (or honey)
• 3 tbsp peanut butter (or another nut butter)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 ¼ cup instant oats (large flaked also works)
• ¼ cup chocolate chips
• ¼ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
• ¼ cup chopped toasted walnuts
• 3 tbsp cracked flax seed

Tips for the Best Banana Oat Cookies

• Use the brownest banana you have. Riper means sweeter, and it mashes into the batter properly instead of sitting in it.
• Mash it really well. Any lumps you leave in the bowl are lumps you will find in the cookie.
• Wet your hand before shaping. The batter is sticky and a damp hand solves it instantly.
• Press them to about a quarter inch. These do not spread in the oven, so the shape you press is the shape you get.
• Pull them at 14 to 16 minutes, when the oats are just starting to brown around the edges. They firm up as they cool.
• Cool them completely before storing, or they will steam inside the container and go soft.

How to Make Banana and Oat “Not Cookies”

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mash the banana really well and stir in the egg, maple syrup and peanut butter.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well to combine.
4. Portion out 6 large cookies on to the prepared baking sheet.
5. Use a damp hand to shape the cookies into rounds and press down into ¼ inch thickness.
6. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until the oats are just starting to brown around the edges.
7. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before storing in an air tight container.

More Easy Breakfasts You’ll Love

If you like the idea of breakfast that is already made before you wake up, these are for you:

• Banana Bread Oatmeal: the same banana and oat combination, in a bowl with a spoon
• BIG BATCH: Apple and Oat Bars: for when six cookies is not going to cover the week
• Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal: make it Sunday, eat it all week
• Small Batch Apricot-Almond Skillet Granola: the loose version of everything happening in these cookies
• Banana Bread Oatmeal Cups with Blueberries: another portable, freezer-friendly breakfast
• Hummingbird Breakfast Cookies: if you have decided breakfast cookies are now your thing

External Resources

• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: Oats: background on oats and the soluble fibre that makes them so filling
• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: Bananas: what the banana is actually bringing beyond sweetness

Frequently Asked Questions

Are these banana oat cookies actually healthy?
They lean much closer to granola than dessert. The batch is built on oats, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and flax, held together with one banana, an egg and peanut butter, with two tablespoons of maple syrup spread across six cookies. They are real food that happens to be shaped like a cookie. Eat them and get on with your day.

Can I make them without the egg?
Yes. Use a flax egg instead: 1 tablespoon of ground flax stirred into 3 tablespoons of water, left to sit for 5 minutes until it thickens. The cookies will be a little softer and slightly more crumbly.

Can I use quick oats or large flake oats?
Both work. Instant or quick oats give you a tighter, more uniform cookie. Large flake oats give you more chew and a looser, more granola-like texture. Use what is in the cupboard.

Are these cookies gluten free?
Oats are naturally gluten free, but they are very often processed on equipment shared with wheat. If that matters for your household, use certified gluten free oats and check the label on your flax.

Can I swap the peanut butter?
Any nut or seed butter works. Almond and cashew butter both slot straight in. For a nut free version, use sunflower seed butter and swap the walnuts for extra pumpkin seeds.

How long do they keep?
Cookies will last 3 days in the cupboard in an airtight container, but they can also be frozen. Freeze them flat on the tray first, then bag them, and they will not stick together.

Can I make them smaller?
Yes. The batch will give you about 12 smaller cookies instead of 6 large. Drop the bake time to 10 to 12 minutes and watch the edges.

Banana and Oat “Not Cookies”

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Banana and oat “not cookies” packed with oats, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and flax. A flourless, one bowl breakfast cookie that freezes well.

• Author: Andrea Buckett
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: Makes 6 large

Ingredients

Units USM

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp maple syrup (or honey)
• 3 tbsp peanut butter (or another nut butter)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cup instant oats (large flaked also works)
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
• 3 tbsp cracked flax seed

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mash the banana really well and stir in the egg, maple syrup and peanut butter.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well to combine.
4. Portion out 6 large cookies on to the prepared baking sheet.
5. Use a damp hand to shape the cookies into rounds and press down into ¼ inch thickness.
6. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until the oats are just starting to brown around the edges.
7. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before storing in an air tight container.

Notes

• Storage. Cookies will last 3 days in the cupboard in an airtight container, but they can also be frozen.
• Shaping. The batter is sticky. Use a damp hand to shape and press the cookies.
• Nut free. Swap the peanut butter for sunflower seed butter and the walnuts for extra pumpkin seeds.