These Vegan Breakfast Cookies are chockfull of flavor and sustenance. Filled with oats, seeds, spices, tahini and dried fruit these healthy, vegan breakfast cookies are like granola, but in a cookie form. A fast and easy recipe that can be made in under 30 minutes! Perfect for a snack or breakfast on-the-go. Gluten-free adaptable. Video!
We shake with joy, we shake with grief. What a time they have, these two housed as they are in the same body. ~ Mary Oliver
The secret is out! First time ever released…here is our “legendary” Mizuna Breakfast Cookie recipe. Not too sweet, chewy, and subtly spiced, with a delightful combination of flavors that keep you coming back for more. Beware, they are a bit addicting.
Well ok, no claims for world-renowned famous, but in our corner of the world, these cookies were highly sought after.
The recipe was created shortly after we opened Mizuna Restaurant, a vegetarian eatery in the heart of a meat and potatoes town, in the mid 90’s. Ya… forever ago! Today there are still people asking for the recipe. We thought we’d just get the goodness out there and we are delighted to share with you today.
Vegan Breakfast Cookies| 60-sec Video!
For a while, in the midst of the chaos of starting a restaurant, there was no recipe for this Breakfast Cookie, so it was just thrown together each time hoping that it was close enough. When we started to get breakfast cookie regulars, as well as requests from a few stores and coffee shops in the area wanting to sell the cookie, it seemed a recipe might make things easier!
There was a LOT of winging it in those days, the kind of experiences that can force us to dig deep inside for what we didn’t know we had. Looking back I think, “Holy crap! I did not know what I signed up for! AND I learned that I am capable of so much more than I ever thought.”
True soul-growing experiences often push us far out of our comfort zone. But somehow we survive, and possibly even thrive. We are stronger than we realize.
Ingredients in Vegan Breakfast Cookies:
- rolled oats (regular cut)
- whole wheat pastry flour
- coconut sugar
- baking soda
- salt
- spices
- sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds,
- currants, dried cranberries
- vanilla
- tahini paste
- orange- zest and juice
- olive oil
How to make vegan Breakfast Cookies (in a nutshell):
- Mix dry ingredients together
- Mix wet ingredients together
- Combine
- Scoop
- Bake!
It is a simple process of combining all the dry ingredients together, including the seeds and dried fruit.
What makes this Vegan Breakfast Cookie Recipe the Best!
Orange Zest and juice of an orange.
This really gives the cookies a tangy balance. Mix together the vanilla, tahini, orange zest, orange juice, and olive oil.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
The mixture will have the consistency of granola. You may wonder if it will indeed adhere into a cookie form.
Yes! It will.
A cookie scoop works best here. Really pack it in.
Alternatively, using lightly wet (or oiled) hands, roll into 9-10 balls, roughly the size of a golf ball.
Flatten the balls with a wet hand, to 1/2 inch thick.
Bake for 13 minutes and let cool.
Make a double or triple batch of the breakfast cookies and freeze them.
Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or wrap them individually and freeze.
A quick and easy snack!
Rather than resisting all things hard or challenging these days, I try to focus more on resiliency. One sure thing to count on is that everything will always ebb and flow. So I practice allowing the process. Trusting that “this too shall pass”, and even welcoming in challenges, along with the fear and the pain, trying to remember to ask with curiosity, “what are you here to teach me?” Somehow this way of being more fluid with life has brought me so much more freedom and ease in my whole being. When the unexpected hits I seem to have more of a reserve to look at things objectively. It is a “muscle” that I will be training for a lifetime. Life is a journey.
Hope you enjoy these simple, easy Breakfast Cookies! Play around and adapt them to your taste. Add nuts, your favorite dried fruit, coconut, cocoa nibs, and chocolate chips….so many options and potential! Let us know what you create!
More recipes you may like:
- Vegan Energy Balls with Masala Spice
- Chocolate Sesame Cookies
- Homemade Maple Granola Recipe (Vegan & Gluten-free)
- Spicy Chai Molasses Cookies
- Overnight Oats
- How to make Muesli!
- Skillet Baked Oats w/ Maple Glazed Apples
- 65 Best Breakfast Ideas!
Breakfast Cookie Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 28 minutes
- Yield: 10 large cookies 1x
- Category: Baked Goods, Cookies, Vegan, Snacks
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These healthy Breakfast Cookies can be made in under 30 minutes! They are chockfull of flavor and sustenance -filled with oats, seeds, spices and dried fruit they are vegan and deliciously addicting! Perfect for breakfast on the go.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (162 grams) rolled oats (not thick cut)
- 1/2 cup (60 grams) whole wheat pastry flour (or sub a GF flour blend)
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar (50 grams) (regular works fine too)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon each of: allspice, ginger, cloves, nutmeg
- 1/4 cup each of: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, currants, dried cranberries
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup roasted tahini paste
- 2 teaspoons orange zest (from one large orange)
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375 F degrees.
- Combine dry ingredients: oats, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, currants, and cranberries in a large bowl.
- Combine wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix together vanilla, tahini, orange zest and juice, and olive oil. When mixed thoroughly add to dry ingredients.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients. It will be crumbly.
- Form: Using a scoop or forming by hand (make sure to wet or oil your hands!) press cookie dough firmly into a scoop or firmly press together into a ball and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. You should have 9-10 cookies. Press cookie to flatten so it is a little less than 1/2-inch thick.
- Bake: Turn the oven temperature down to 350F. Bake for 13 minutes. Or until just starting to color.
Notes
Stored in an airtight container cookies will keep for 5 days and also freeze well.
Getting the cookies to stick together:
Using a cookie scoop makes a world of difference because you can really pack them in.
Make sure the oats are not thick cut.
If the flour is grainy it can effect the adhering of the dough. Using a softer flour (not a strong whole wheat) is helpful. Fresh whole wheat pastry flour, all purpose works, as well as oat or barley flour.
Try adding a flax “egg” (1 tablespoon flax meal to 2.5 tablespoons water)
Put 1/2 of the dough into the food processor and pulse a few times. An extra step but maybe a helpful without having to add anything in.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 240
- Sugar: 12.3 g
- Sodium: 97.5 mg
- Fat: 12.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
- Fiber: 3.3 g
- Protein: 5.1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
These are just the best anytime cookie. So satisfying with the texture of the oats, seeds and dried fruit. The spice mixture along with the orange zest and juice is so flavorful. I did add 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, though not necessary. This time I added an egg and it helped with binding the mixture. Using a scoop and hands dipped in water is a must to form the cookies. I keep these in the freezer for a healthy snack.
Great to hear all this Joan! Glad you are enjoying.
Yummm! These look so good! I wonder if I can substitute peanut butter for tahini and some other fruit juice for orange juice? Thank you!
Sure!
I was an unbeliever about whether these would come together but wow! No wonder people paid to get these at a bakery! Yum and thank you!
Yay! So glad they worked for you Michelle!
Very good healthy cookies
Thanks so much for the recipe
Glad you enjoyed these Jacy!
Great recipe! Simple & easy steps to follow. Husband & friends enjoying it and I had tried several times within a week 🙂
Thank you for the recipe!
Yay! Great to hear Christine!
Delicious! Husband didn’t even wait for them to cool before digging in. I didn’t have roasted tahini so subbed almond butter. Didn’t have currants but used dried cherries. Used 1/4 c white sugar plus about a tsp or so of honey. Perfect sweetness level and no issue with dryness.
Awesome Gina – thanks so much!
I started making these for my “Littlest Angel” and they are now called “Granma’s Cookies”. I added more ingredients; sesame seeds, small dark chocolate chips, a smidge of cardamon. Changed the Tahini for Almond butter and added an egg as they tended to fall apart. She loves them
Love how you make them your own Loraine! I have such fond memories of time with my grandma and eating her cookies, warms my heart to hear this!💛
Really delicious, can’t stop at one
Glad you are enjoying them Bev.
On our fourth or fifth batch. They are terrific. We’ve started making the recipe at 1.5 times the amounts listed and add a quarter cup of raisins along with the currents and cranberries. Really, really good!! Thank you
Great Chris! So glad they are working well for you.
How can I make these non-vegan? Thank you!
Hi Catherine, is there a certain ingredient you are trying to add or avoid with the recipe? Just curious. 😉
Easy, clear & simple steps to follow to make a cookies!
I dont have an oven with 375c setting but 250c. How long do I need to bake the cookies? Thank you!
We are using fahrenheit here. I believe that 375 F would be 190 Celsius. Around 13 minutes baking time. 🙂
Thx! I think I hv overbake it but it just taste awesome & delicious!
I’m glad you like them!
This was a nice breakfast on the go option. Me and my partner didn’t enjoy them too much though.
Oh dear- why not do you think?
A favorite recipe! I’ve made many times without substitution and they always turn out perfectly. I love grabbing a couple of cookies to enjoy for breakfast while at work – such a pleasant and healthy treat in an otherwise chaotic time.
Thanks Heather! So good to hear these cookies are working for you!
I made these for my sons to grab out of the freezer, but I think I ate more of them than they did. Amazing! Thanks Sylvia
Can I use bob’s red mill 1to 1 gf flour?
That sounds like it should work!
I used dried tart cherries and used 2 – 3 tsp maple syrup instead of the coconut sugar. I used gluten free flour and I added walnuts. Brought them to work this morning and we all loved them 🙂 The tart cherry, orange, walnut and spices all worked really well together. Thanks for the great recipe! I have to go gluten free and low sugar so I love recipes I can adapt <3
Sounds perfect Jenifer!
These are unbelievably delicious!! I feel like I just hit the jackpot with this recipe!
I’ve been eyeing this recipe for a long time and finally just had the time and ingredients to make it. Delicious! Did not disappoint .. very addictive! Light and dense at the same time and the spices melded perfectly together. Perfect for breakfast on the go.
Hi Sylvia,
I was wondering if I could sub maple syrup for the coconut sugar. The recipe looks wonderful.
Hey Sherri- not sure how it would change the consistency. I think you could try, and then if too soft or runny add a bit more oats or flour?
How many calories (approximately) are in the recipe?
Hi Helen, check out the nutrition facts at the bottom of the post, under the recipe.
OMG ! These are sooo delicious. I used bobs gf 1-1 flour. Almond butter instead of tahini & pecans, almonds, cranberry’s & mini choc chips. The only thing I had difficulty with was after I used the scoop & put it on baking sheet they just crumbled & wouldn’t stay together despite wetting my hands. They weren’t pretty but they were amazing.
Yum! These are delicious and satisfying, especially with a cup of coffee or tea. I made 10 and baked for about 20 minutes. These are great with that amount of time, but I’ll try baking for 15 minutes next time and see how that works for my oven. I’m also going to use almond flour next time to see how some of my GF friends like it. And I might cut back a bit on the sugar. Now that I have tahini, I’ll be making these often. I used a well-packed scoop, and then, with wet hands, a little more smooshing on the baking tray was all that was needed. I think I need another one now!
Made these last night following your recipe except I didn’t have sunflower seeds so I added raisins, dried cherries and hazelnuts.
There are 3 left out of a batch of maybe 16. They are SO DELICIOUS. I just love the taste and the texture is wonderful.
I tried to forego using the scoop and used my hands. Bad idea! And then I thought I’d wet my hands to make it easier to shape the mixture. Worse idea! Used the cookie scoop and it was perfect.
Thanks!
These cookies are so delicious! I will definitely be making them again and again. I was looking for a “ healthy “ cookie to add into my kids lunchboxes and this fits the bill for sure! I used a touch less of the coconut sugar and added a smidge of maple syrup and this seemed to help them bind together more. And I also used my hands to form the cookie balls and really pressed them together which also seemed to help them hold together well. Thank you for another great recipe. Everything I have made from your site has become a family favorite!!
Thanks Yara! So happy to hear all of this!
I made my second double batch of these today and they did not hold together as well this time- I think it is because I was a bit relaxed with my measurements this time. I put it in my food processor for a quick spin and after that it was fine so if anyone is having trouble getting the mix to form balls ( and like me you don’t own a cookie scoop) hopefully this will help. I have really appreciated having a big batch of these in the freezer- an instant healthy breakfast or snack for busy days. Thanks again for a great recipe.
thanks for the tip Rachel!