With the perfect balance of protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats, these Superfood Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies are the ultimate feel-good breakfast or snack. They’re incredibly easy to make with raisins, cacao nibs and organic peanut butter.
Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies With Peanut Butter
This foolproof recipe levels up your classic oatmeal raisin cookies with creamy peanut butter, rich cacao nibs and your favorite protein powder. It uses clean, healthy ingredients that keep the cookies free of gluten, dairy and refined sugar. Even though these cookies were specially designed as a nutritious breakfast or snack, they’re tasty enough to serve for dessert.
They have a soft, chewy, dense texture that makes each morsel more satisfying than the last. Once your extra cookies are stowed away for safe keeping, they’ll stay nice and fresh all week long. You’ll want to whip up a new batch as soon as you swallow your last bite!
What You’ll Need
Let’s divide our ingredient lineup between the dry ingredients, the wet ingredients and the mix-ins. Scroll down to the recipe card for exact amounts.
Dry Ingredients
- Gluten-Free Instant Oats: Neither rolled oats nor steel-cut oats will work right in this recipe.
- Almond Flour: Not almond meal.
- Tapioca Flour
- Coconut Flour: It may seem excessive to use 3 different kinds of flour, but this combination helps your cookies develop the best possible texture.
- Cinnamon
- Baking Powder
- Kosher Salt
- Vanilla Whey Protein Powder: Use your go-to brand.
Wet Ingredients
- Extra Virgin Coconut Oil: Melt it until it’s smooth, then give it a couple seconds to cool off a bit.
- Creamy Organic Peanut Butter: Most peanut butter cookie recipes are designed to use mainstream peanut butter and won’t work well with an organic alternative. In this case, it’s the opposite.
- Pure Maple Syrup
- Coconut Milk: Or any other kind of milk you’d prefer.
- Vanilla Extract
- Large Egg
Mix-Ins
- Cacao Nibs: These are loaded with antioxidants and full of deep chocolate flavor.
- Raisins
How to Make Superfood Peanut Butter Protein Breakfast Cookies
You only need two bowls, one baking sheet and a few measuring tools to make these wholesome cookies. Let’s go over the process step by step.
- Heat Oven & Line Baking Sheet: Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: Add all of the dry ingredients to a medium-sized bowl and stir them together until well combined.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: Whisk together the melted coconut oil, peanut butter, pure maple syrup, milk and vanilla until smooth, then whisk in the egg.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Stir about 1/4 of the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredients. Once combined, stir in the next fourth, continuing that process until everything is incorporated.
- Add Mix-Ins: Stir in the cacao nibs and raisins until they’re blended throughout the batter.
- Form Cookies: Form the dough into large walnut-sized scoops and spread them out on the lined baking sheet.
- Bake: Gently press down on each cookie to flatten them slightly, then bake them for 15 minutes.
- Let Cool: Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and allow them to cool.
Can I Make the Dough in Advance?
You absolutely can. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for up to 48 hours. When you’re ready to bake the cookies, bring the dough to room temperature, form it into balls and bake as usual.
Freezing the cookie dough is also an option, but you’ll have to form the dough balls first. Place them onto a lined baking sheet and freeze them for 1-2 hours, or until they’re frozen solid. Transfer the frozen dough balls to a heavy-duty freezer bag and store them for up to 3 months. Bake the cookies directly from frozen, adding an extra minute or two to the cook time.
Tips for Success
Check out these helpful tips and tricks so you can make sure your cookies don’t miss the mark.
- Measure the Flours Accurately: All kinds of flour have a habit of overpacking into measuring utensils. To prevent this, fluff up your flour very well before you fill each measuring spoon. Alternatively, use a food scale to weigh out your measurements.
- Mix & Mash: This batter is very thick, so you’ll need to use your muscles when you mix it. You almost have to mash everything together when you combine the wet and dry ingredients. Stick with it and take a break if you get tired – you’ll get there!
- Make Them Pretty: I like to press a few additional raisins and cacao nibs onto the tops of my cookies before I bake them. This allows everyone to see the yumminess that lies within.
Variation Ideas
There are so many different ways you can add some flair to your peanut butter oatmeal cookies. Try making one of the following changes.
- Use Dried Cranberries Instead of Raisins
- Add (Toasted) Coconut Flakes
- Serve Them for Dessert With Mix-Ins Like M&Ms and Chocolate Chips
- Use Maple or Almond Extract Instead of Vanilla
- Add Nutmeg and Any Other Desired Spices
- Mix in Hemp or Chia Seeds
- Use Another Kind of Organic Nut or Seed Butter
- Add Your Favorite Chopped Nuts
How to Store Extras
Extra oatmeal cookies should be kept in an airtight container at room temperature. They will stay good for up to 1 week.
Can I Freeze These?
You can – store the cooled cookies in a freezer-safe container or storage bag and freeze them for up to 2 months. Thaw them out on the counter before you enjoy them.
More Protein-Rich Breakfast Recipes
Superfood Peanut Butter Protein Breakfast Cookies
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup instant gluten free oats
- 6 tablespoons almond flour
- 4 tablespoons tapioca flour
- 1 tablespoon + 1 ½ teaspoon coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons vanilla whey protein powder
Wet Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin coconut oil melted
- 1/2 cup creamy organic peanut butter
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
Mix-Ins
- 1/4 cup cocoa nibs
- ½ cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl stir together dry ingredients
- Whisk together coconut oil, peanut butter, pure maple syrup, milk and vanilla until smooth and then whisk in the egg.
- Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients, adding 1/4 at a time until everything is combined.
- Stir in cocoa nibs and raisins until blended throughout the batter.
- Form into large walnut size scoops and place on baking sheet.
- Gently press down and bake for 15 minutes.
- Transfer cookies to a rack to cool.
Notes
- To Store: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
- To Freeze: Transfer cooled cookies to a freezer-safe container or storage bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw on the counter before enjoying.
Categories:
I used a vegetable based protein powder since it was what I had and following the rest of the recipe to the letter. I plugged all the ingredients/quantities into a nutrition calculator which showed each cookie had 150 calories (5.8 g fat, 23.7 g carbs, 4.3 g protein) . The cookies tasted great and certainly are better than a “sweet” cookie; however, I don’t really consider these to be “high” protein. Will see how the numbers look when I get a whey protein powder. Thanks for the recipe!
These look nice! I don’t have protein powder – can this be left out or substituted? Thanks!
Chris, Yes you can leave out the protein powder with no problem. Enjoy!