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Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

June 4, 2021 by Catherine Perez 10 Comments

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These chocolate cherry oatmeal breakfast cookies are easy to make and use only 10 ingredients. The perfect grab and go vegan breakfast that tastes like dessert.

Close up of one breakfast cookie with dried cherries and coconut flakes shattered around it.

Hi! I’m Catherine and I love desserts! And if I can convince myself I am having dessert for breakfast, then all the better in my opinion. So hear me out. What if we infuse a lot of wholesome goodness into let’s say…a batch of cookies. That you could eat these cookies and feel energized and satisfied?

Well…these Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies are loaded with fiber, iron, healthy fats, and whole grains. Also easy to customize to your preference and can be allergy friendly with a few swaps? Okay then, let’s dive in, shall we?

Cookies on a piece of parchment paper with dried cherries and coconut flakes scattered around.

Key Ingredients

  • Oats: I used sprouted rolled oats for this recipe for a little extra nutrition, but you can feel free to use regular rolled oats.
  • Coconut: Shredded and unsweetened works best.
  • Ground Flaxseed: To help keep everything together.
  • Peanut Butter: Make sure it is natural and runny especially since we are not using oil.
  • Maple Syrup: Our main source of sweetness.
  • Plant Based Milk: I used almond milk, but feel free to use what you prefer here.
  • Mix-Ins: I used vegan dark chocolate chips and some dried cherries, but feel free to swap in with other nuts, seeds and dried fruit of your preference.

How to Make these Breakfast Cookies

Place your dry ingredients in a food processor and blend until some of the oats break down to a flour (leave as many pieces of whole oats as you prefer).

  • Dry ingredients for the cookies added to a food processor to blend.
  • Wet ingredients mixed in with the dry ingredients in a food processor.

Add your wet ingredients and pulse to form a dough. At this point, fold in your cherries and chocolate and then take 1-2 tablespoons of dough and form into a cookie shape.

  • Cookie dough formed after pulsing it together in a food processor.
  • Cookie dough shaped into cookies and placed on a lined baking sheet.

Place on a lined baking sheet and either place in the oven to bake. Make sure to cool slightly before enjoying.

Main Tip for the Perfect Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Adjust to your preference! The nice thing about these cookies is that they are really forgiving even if you make some adjustments to them.

  • Dough not sticking together. If the dough is not sticking together, just add a little more peanut butter or maple syrup to the mix until it starts to form a workable dough.
  • Replacing coconut. If not a fan, just replace the coconut with more oats.
  • Allergic to nut butter. Swap out for a seed butter like tahini. I love making this same recipe with tahini. It balances really well with the sweetness from the cherries and maple syrup.
  • Swapping the dried cherries. You can use any dried fruit you like. You can use frozen fruit, but I would make sure to thaw it and drain before using and roughly chop before folding it in to your batter.
Cookies right out of the oven on a baking tray to cool.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make these cookies without a nut or seed butter?

You can make these breakfast cookies with banana! Just swap out the nut or seed butter of your choice in with mashed banana. I would recommend at least 2 mashed bananas. Note, these cookies will be softer and have more of a muffin like consistency. Regardless, still delicious!

Are breakfast cookies healthy?

When developing this recipe, there was attention made to focus on adding as much nutrition into each cookie bite as possible. These cookies are made with oats which are a great source of fiber and provide minerals like iron. There are healthy fats in the form of the peanut butter, omega 3s from the ground flax seeds, and additional fiber from the dried fruit. And less maple syrup was used to help control the sweetness of these cookies.

Can you freeze these cookies?

Yes! These cookies are perfect for freezing. Just place these cookies in a Tupperware container, making sure to separate the cookies with a line of parchment paper to prevent them from sticking together. You can freeze these cookies for up to 3 months.

What to Pair Your Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies With

For the ultimate level of satisfaction at breakfast, I like to enjoy one of these cookies along with some fresh berries and sometimes even vegan yogurt. Since these cookies are oat based, sometimes I will crumble one of these cookies over top some vegan yogurt to make a quick parfait or if I am looking for some additional protein, I might enjoy it along with a small vegan protein shake or smoothie.

More Nutritious Breakfast Recipes

  • Overnight Steel Cut Oats
  • Cinnamon French Toast Sticks
  • Strawberry Crumble Bars
  • Coconut Cardamom Baked Oatmeal
Cookies set on parchment paper after they finish cooling.
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Cookies set on parchment paper after they finish cooling.

Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

★★★★★ 5 from 5 reviews
  • Author: Catherine Perez
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 12 minutes
  • Total Time: 17 minutes
  • Yield: 10–12 cookies 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

These chocolate cherry oatmeal breakfast cookies are easy to make and use only 10 ingredients. The perfect grab and go vegan breakfast that tastes like dessert.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 2 tsp baking powder 
  • 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 2 tbsp of unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/4 cup dried cherries
  • 1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Set oven to 350F. To a food processor add rolled oats, coconut, baking powder, ground flaxseed and salt then pulse together until some of the oats are mostly broken down into a flour (it’s okay if the oats aren’t completely broken down).
  2. Add your peanut butter, maple syrup, and almond milk and pulse to form a dough.
  3. Fold in your cherries and chocolate and then take 1-2 tablespoons of dough and form into a cookie shape or into an energy bite.
  4. Place on a lined baking sheet and bake in the oven for 12 minutes. Allow to cool, then enjoy!

Notes

If the dough is not sticking together, just add a little more peanut butter or maple syrup to the mix until it starts to form a workable dough.

If not a fan of coconut, just replace the coconut with more oats.

Allergic to nut butter? Swap out for a seed butter like tahini. I love making this same recipe with tahini. It balances really well with the sweetness from the cherries and maple syrup.

Keywords: breakfast cookies, vegan breakfast cookies, chocolate chip breakfast cookies, easy vegan breakfast recipes

Did you try this recipe?

Tag @plantbasedrd on Instagram, so I can share your creations!

Did You Try This Recipe?
Then let me know what you thought in the comments below! Share your creations by tagging me on Instagram with the hashtag #plantbasedrdeats

★ Catherine

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nicole

    August 1, 2021 at 8:57 pm

    Perfect snack cookie! Super yummy with Rainer cherries

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Catherine Perez

      August 2, 2021 at 10:06 pm

      Love Rainer cherries! And so glad you enjoyed these Nicole! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Lynn

    August 19, 2021 at 10:21 am

    Your recipes are fabulous, the cookies are delish ….. I say that as eat 2 before they cool 😛

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  3. Elisabeth

    August 29, 2021 at 11:54 pm

    Would the dough keep if I wanted to batch mix and refrigerate so that I can bake fresh, daily?

    Reply
    • Catherine Perez

      October 12, 2021 at 8:24 am

      So sorry for the delayed response! Because these are made with oats, it likely will become too dry if it set in the fridge. You can try rehydrating the mixture before making it with a little bit of plant based milk before forming into cookie shapes. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  4. Rita

    October 9, 2021 at 3:57 pm

    I love these, I made into a cookie so tasty. I can’t stop eating them. My new favorite treat

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Catherine Perez

      October 9, 2021 at 10:08 pm

      I’m so excited you made these and loved them Rita. Truly makes my day to hear. 🙂

      Reply
  5. Rita

    October 15, 2021 at 4:24 pm

    Ok I’ve made these 3 times already as baked cookies. Thank you for this delicious recipe! It’s the first recipe I’ve tried of yours. Can’t wait to try another one… Especially if I can stop making these breakfast/snack cookies.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  6. Leslie Thompson

    October 30, 2021 at 2:35 pm

    Yummy! Made 18 big cookies! I didn’t have coconut and was ready to add oatmeal but didnt need to. I used 1/2 cup “imperfect foods” dark chocolate covered cherries chopped up.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Catherine Perez

      October 30, 2021 at 9:52 pm

      Love the imperfect foods dark chocolate. So glad you enjoyed these cookies. They are such a joy to eat. 🙂

      Reply

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I’m Catherine, registered dietitian and plant based eater. I share tips and recipes for making  balanced plant based meals easier and more delicious. Learn more about me.

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174 shares