Banana Breakfast Cookies

These banana breakfast cookies are unbelievably soft and are a great alternative to oatmeal raisin if you are allergic to oats or simply want to switch things up! I especially love these gluten free breakfast cookies for busy weekday mornings.

I should start by saying, I had no idea quinoa flakes were a thing or that they could be used in baking until I started doing all of my gluten free and allergy friendly research. While gluten free oats are a thing, so is an oat allergy.

When Matt had his allergy test done, we were told he should avoid oats. Which hasn't been too hard, but he did recently tell me how much he missed oatmeal raisin cookies. Challenge accepted!

When I first started baking with quinoa flakes, I have to admit they were a little hard to find. But you should be able to track them down at any health food stores, or online. I love using this particular kind and have not yet experimented with any other brands.

So this is a great gluten free breakfast cookie recipe for others who might be allergic to oats (just like my carrot cake cookies). But also, even if you're NOT allergic to oats, I really think you need to try this.

I started by thinking about all of the flavors and ingredients that we LOVE in oatmeal cookies, and then tried to replicate that here, just with quinoa flakes instead of oats.

And of course, I really let that banana flavor shine here... because I just love it and I think it works especially well in a breakfast cookie.

I had one failed attempt before landing on this particular banana breakfast cookie recipe... the dough was delicious but the cookies themselves were completely falling apart and could only be eaten with a fork. So I increased the flour just a bit, for more structure, and we hit perfection!

Why You'll Love These Banana Breakfast Cookies...

• These breakfast cookies are super soft thanks to the combination of brown sugar, banana, and applesauce.
• No egg replacer needed for this one -- both the applesauce and the bananas help bind everything together.
• You can play with the mix-ins. If you're not a fan of raisins, you can simply leave them out or try swapping in chocolate chips!

What You'll Need...

• The dry ingredients: quinoa flakes + flour + baking soda + salt.
• The flavor: brown sugar + cinnamon + honey + vanilla extract.
• The fat: unsalted butter.
• Instead of eggs: mashed banana + unsweetened applesauce.

How To Make Banana Breakfast Cookies From Scratch...

To make my gluten free breakfast cookies, start by creaming your room temperature butter with the brown sugar until it's completely combined. Add in the honey, mashed banana, applesauce, and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine your dry ingredients. Fold the dry mixture into the wet ingredients, and finish with your raisins. Matt is a little particular about how much he likes in his cookies, so we're not using much here. Feel free to increase the amount of raisins if you'd like, but I wouldn't do more than ½ cup total for this recipe.

You will want to chill the dough for about an hour to prevent spreading. And trust me, if you do that, these breakfast cookies will NOT spread. They'll be perfectly thick and wonderful.

After chilling, scoop onto your lined baking sheet and bake on 350ºF for 18 minutes. Let them cool completely before attempting to remove from the baking sheet, otherwise you may risk having them fall apart on you.

Watch How To Make Banana Breakfast Cookies...

📖 Recipe

Banana Breakfast Cookies

Print Recipe

Super soft and delicious cookies made with quinoa flakes!

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword cookies, eggless, gluten free, quinoa, raisin

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 18 minutes mins

Chill Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 33 minutes mins

Servings 14 cookies

Author Taleen Benson

Ingredients

• 1 cup (120g) quinoa flakes
• ¾ cup (111g) gluten free flour blend
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter room temperature
• ¾ cup (150g) brown sugar packed
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 banana mashed
• ¼ cup (64g) unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup (38g) raisins

Instructions

• In a small bowl, whisk the quinoa, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
• Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with the brown sugar. Add the honey, mashed banana, applesauce, and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stir in the raisins.
• Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop the dough into balls and place on the baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 18-20 minutes. The cookies may still seem soft and not done, but remove from oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes.

Notes

• While I have not tested it yet myself, if you're having trouble finding the quinoa flakes, you should be able to swap in rolled oats as a 1:1 substitute. 

Did you try my banana breakfast cookies? Leave me a comment below or tag me on Instagram @justastastyblog and #justastastyblog!

Note: this post was originally published on Just As Tasty in September 2020. I updated the post in November 2020 to include a video.