Flourless oatmeal cookies that are soft, chewy, and super easy to make with only one bowl and 7 healthy ingredients.
It’s been a hot minute since I’ve shared a cookie recipe with you guys… which is kind of crazy seeing as cookies were the first thing I learned how to bake on my own, and what I made the most of before I started blogging. Well, that and chocolate cupcakes, but I’m not sure those count since they came from a box. With frosting that came from a can, obviously.
But cookies were my jam. My mom bought me a book of nothing but cookie recipes (shoutout to Mrs. Fields!) when I was around 12 years old, and I’m pretty sure I made every recipe in that book at least once, with multiple repeats on all my favourites (read: anything that included oats and/or chocolate).
I actually have a really vivid memory of having to pause my Super Mario RPG game to remove a batch of cookies from the oven, and thinking I was so clever because I replaced the chocolate chips in the original recipe with Smarties. Funny how some random memories just stick with you, whereas a lot of the seemingly more important moments don’t.
Either way, I used the heck out of that book to the point where most of the pages fell out, but it’s still got an honorary spot on my kitchen shelves because I’m kind of obsessed with anything that reminds me of my childhood. Heck, I even have a handful of old Disney movies on VHS even though I don’t have an actual VHS player. But giving up my original copies of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Hercules, and The Lion King? Not gonna happen.
But anyways, back to the cookies!
So I’m not sure if you guys have realized it yet, but there’s basically one month left until Christmas. One.month.
I mean, it’s more like 30-some odd days, but those last few days don’t count since everyone is in full-on Christmas mode anyways.
And I know, I know… most of you are thinking about Thanksgiving right now. But us non-Americans don’t have a big feast to look forward to next Thursday, so we’ve got our sights set on Christmas. And besides, what’s wrong with serving cookies on Thanksgiving? *cough*beats pumpkin pie, if you ask me*cough* No offense to the pumpkin pie lovers.
But cookies are classic. Comforting. They’re soft, and chewy, and sometimes even chocolatey…
And these ones just so happen to be flourless and pretty low in sugar as well… which I realize isn’t necessarily top priority during the holidays, buuuuut if you can pull it off without sacrificing on taste, then why the heck not?! Happy, healthy holidays, man!
Then there’s the nostalgia factor.
I’m not sure what it is, but there’s something about these cookies that makes them feel so old-fashioned and comforting. Like oaties or digestive biscuits. I was baking them at my parents’ place (because I’m still sans oven), and even my dad said they made him think of his childhood despite the fact that I used more “modern” ingredients like almond flour, coconut oil, and coconut sugar.
They’re soft, chewy, gluten-free, and super easy to make with only one bowl and 7 ingredients. I hope you love them!
Happy eating!
I’d love to know if you make this recipe! Leave a comment and rating down below to let me know what you think, and subscribe to our mailing list to receive new recipes in your inbox!
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Chewy Flourless Oatmeal Cookies
- Total Time: 17 mins
- Yield: 12 – 14 cookies 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup (80 g) quick oats
- 1 cup (128 g) almond flour
- 6 Tbsp (72 g) coconut sugar*
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 large egg
- 3 Tbsp (45 ml) coconut oil, melted**
- (optional) chocolate chips, melted, for coating.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF (176ºC) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, almond flour, sugar, baking soda, and baking powder. Add the egg and coconut oil, and mix until fully combined.
- Using a rounded tablespoon, scoop out the dough and roll it into a ball between your palms. Drop the dough onto your prepared baking sheet and gently flatten it with your fingers. The cookies will spread a little bit, so leave about 2 inches of room between them and don’t flatten them too thin.
- Bake for 7 – 9 minutes, until the edges begin to turn golden brown.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
- Optional: melt some chocolate chips and use a knife or the back of a spoon to spread some chocolate on one side of the cookies. Place them in the fridge to set before enjoying.
Notes
* You can also use brown sugar. ** You can also use melted butter.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 7 mins
Looking for more flourless cookie recipes? Try one of these!
Almond Joy Oatmeal Cookies
No Bake White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Grain Free Snickerdoodles
Perfect Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
Flourless Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
*Disclosure: Some of the links included in this post may be affiliate links, meaning I’ll earn a small commission if you purchase through them, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I personally use and believe will add value to my readers. Thank you so much for helping support Spoons!
I tried this recipe out and tweaked it a little to make these carrot cake oatmeal cookies. I added in a grated carrot, some raisins, cinnamon, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice and also a splash of oat milk. I also only put 3TBSP of sugar and I added a pinch of salt. I also used a bit less oats and a bit more almond flour, The batter tasted soo good. Can’t wait to try the baked cookies too!
Pretty much used this recipe as a guide for a “healthier” (maybe a little!?) chocolate chip cookie. I made the following substitutions and they came out great!!
Using the exact measurement I swapped:
Butter for coconut oil
Brown sugar for coconut sugar
Oat flour for oats
Whole wheat flour for almond flour (my fiance is has a nut allergy)
I also added chocolate chips as a mix in, added vanilla extract and doubled the recipe 🙂
Hi Amanda!
Im new to baking so sorry if this sounds like a silly question- but could I sub the egg for ripe, smashed bananas? And if so, are there any other modifications that need to be made? (Trying to not use too many eggs during this quarantine!)
Thanks for your help!
Hi Alexandra! I think it should be okay, but it might change the texture of the cookies a bit. I also have another similar cookie recipe that doesn’t use eggs – https://www.runningwithspoons.com/soft-and-chewy-oatmeal-cookies/
These cookies sounded SO good when I came across the recipe, but I just tried to make them and completely failed! I followed your recipe (swapped almond flour for coconut flour because that’s all I had) and added in vanilla, cinnamon, and shredded coconut like some others did. But the dough was SO dry and crumbly, so I added in a couple more tablespoons of coconut oil. But still, the dough was too dry to work with. I squeezed it into a few clumps and baked them just to see if I even liked the taste (which I did,) but they were so dry and crumbly so I couldn’t really eat them. Has this happened to you before? Am I doing something wrong?!
Unfortunately, coconut flour won’t work in place of almond flour in this recipe. Coconut flour absorbs liquids a lot differently than other flours and, in this quantity, it would need a lot more liquid and probably eggs as well. I’m sorry you had a bad experience with the recipe, but the coconut flour was definitely the culprit.
Thanks for your quick response, Amanda! I will brace the crowds and go out to buy some almond flour and try again. 🙂
Hate to be THAT person w all the changes BUT I kept your base recipe and added cinnamon, vanilla, shredded coconut, and to a few, choc chips. I also chilled the dough for like 20 min, came out perfection. Will make these routinely, healthier snack for my little ones!
Definitely BE that person! I love it when people share their modifications – it can be super helpful to others 🙂
These cookies are awesome!!!!!
These came out great, I’m making my second batch in two days. I did substitute coconut flour for the almond flour and added another egg and some vanilla. Delicious!
I’m glad you like them, Stacy! Thanks for sharing your modifications 🙂
Hi,
Could I add chocolate chips to batter rather than melting & spreading on top?
They sound healthy & delicious!
Thanks,
Susie
Hi Amanda, can I use avocado oil instead of coconut oil?
This was great!
These were really yumy!
About 4 weeks ago I reluctantly accepted, after 6 months of trying to figure my symptoms out and experimenting with my diet, that I just can’t tolerate wheat and/or gluten because of my obvious negative symptoms after I eat it.
I also seem to have a problem with baker’s yeast (even in otherwise gluten-free foods).
I also seem to have a bad reaction to baking soda, even the small amount that is in recipes (like in this recipe here – it calls for just a tiny amount!), and I don’t know why — I’ve never heard of anyone else having this, but I get unpleasant symptoms every time I have a tiny bit of baking soda in otherwise gluten-free, wheat-free, and yeast-free foods! …I wonder if possible that I have pretty low stomach acid generally, and the small amount of baking soda that is in some baked goods just neutralizes what little acid I’ve got left, and screws up my digestion. I do have a diagnosis of GERD and a hiatal hernia from a gastroenterologist, so I have acid reflux, and I am probably quite sensitive to small imbalances in my digestive system since it’s already a bit off-kilter most of the time. This problem with baking soda means that when I make baked goods, I either try to make them with only baking powder if that is possible, or just leave all leavenings out (although some recipes really do need baking soda specifically, to work).
Although I’ve read a lot of advice that it’s good to have a period of time without any grains at all (no corn, no rice, no gluten-free oatmeal, etc.) so you can see if you have a problem with them, beyond already figuring out that you have an obvious problem with gluten-containing grains — at the present time, I just can’t handle that much upheaval in my diet, so first of all I’m going to have to get used to doing without gluten-containing foods, and later on I’ll probably do an “elimination diet” (involving the gamut — legumes like peanuts and beans, nightshade veggies, nuts and seeds, etc.) so I can see how I react when those potentially irritating foods are re-introduced one by one.
I also have bad reactions to MSG and to artificial additives/flavorings/colors, I try to avoid thickeners like carageenan and guar gum, and I have hypothyroidism and am really careful about avoiding the major goitrogens that cannot be reduced by cooking, such as millet and cassava/tapioca. Unfortunately, most “gluten free” stuff, especially packaged items and baking substitutes, have some or all of those ingredients. Even most gluten-free made-from-scratch baking recipes seem to call for one or more of those things.
About almond flour, I have read that a small amount of nuts is healthy for most people, but there are some substances in nuts which can cause issues in some people, so it’s good to treat almond flour like a “treat” and not something to have a big portion of daily. It’s also not inexpensive, so I’ve been trying to use my first 1-pound bag judiciously! As I’m seeking recipes for gluten-free baked goods that I like and will want to make again, I have been scaling down the recipes that I’ve been trying to 1/2 cup of almond flour or less, so I am not wasting 2 or 3 cups of almond flour if I end up not liking the results of a recipe. So far, unfortunately, most of the gluten-free baked goods recipes that I have tried I did not like that much, and would not want to make again.
Anyway… I saw this recipe for chewy flourless oatmeal cookies and was so excited to see a recipe for a “Hobnob” type of cookie that didn’t have any ingredients that I’m avoiding (except for the small amount of baking soda). I scaled it down to 1/4th of the recipe, in order to make a test batch, and also tweaked it a bit:
oatmeal 42* grams
almond flour 26* grams
1/3rd of a whisked, large egg – about 18 grams
brown sugar 2 tablespoons
butter 1 tablespoon
baking powder 1/6 teaspoon
vanilla 1/3 teaspoon
added salt – a shake
added cinnamon – a shake
added organic unsweetened shredded coconut 5 grams
*I reversed the scaled-down weights of almond flour and oatmeal because of the advice I mentioned above to moderate how much almond flour we are eating and also because I really like oatmeal.
I did not put in baking soda because it’s not good for my digestion. I didn’t miss it – the texture and taste of the cookies was fine without it. They didn’t rise much and they didn’t spread out in the oven, but that is okay for me.
I mixed the dough with a fork in a smallish glass pyrex measuring cup and it came together easily.
I used a small cookie scoop and it made 9 cookies. I flattened them slightly and baked for 7-9 minutes as directed.
and THEY WERE SO GOOD!
OH MY GOSH! I loved them.
I ate 3 and immediately put the other 6 in a baggie in the freezer so I wouldn’t keep reaching for them on the counter!
I’ve made a number of almond flour cookie and muffin recipes – from all sorts of websites – in the past couple of weeks and even the better ones tasted somewhat “off”, like they were just imitation recipes that you wouldn’t eat unless you couldn’t have the “real thing”. But these cookies just taste good, they taste like they aren’t a substitute for anything, they stand on their own, and in the past when I was eating the typical American gluten-containing diet, I would have enjoyed them.
I haven’t made these “plain” yet, but I expect that the cinnamon, salt, and coconut that I threw in added some flavors that appeal to my taste and I probably would keep making the recipe with those in it.
I tend to reduce the sugar in most published recipes, and I found these pretty sweet (but not “overboard” sweet), so I will probably reduce the brown sugar slightly the next time I make them, and keep doing that until I reach the minimum I need for it to taste like a “cookie”.
This is the first oatmeal-containing non-gluten baked goods recipe that I’ve made, and I think that the oatmeal really adds a lot, for me, and helps to balance out the unfamiliar taste and consistency of the almond flour (when compared with homemade baked goods made with ordinary white wheat flour).
Obviously if I decide to try an elimination diet where I can’t have any grains, then I wouldn’t be able to have these then, because of the oatmeal. But for now, I’m so happy to have found this recipe. Thank you, RunningWithSpoons!
Oops, I wrote above that I scaled it down to 1/4th of a recipe, but actually I scaled it down to 1/3rd of the full recipe.
Oops, I should have put “added” in front of the vanilla extract in my scaled-down version, since it’s not in the original recipe.
Just made these after staring at the recipe on your blog for the past few weeks…they are amazing; and this is pre-chocolate coating! Thank you! 😊
This was amazing!!! I could eat the whole batch LOL. I made a few modifications – added some vanilla extract, used some walnut flour with the almond flour, dash of himalayan salt and threw in a handful of unsweetened shredded coconut. I am making these over and over again. Thank you!
What kind of chocolate did you use?
I actually just used some dark chocolate chips from Enjoy Life Foods.
Can I use almond meal instead of almond flour?
Definitely!
What is AP flour?
Can you suggest a good substitution for almond flour? My daughter is allergic to it.
She is gluten free and potato allergic as well.
AP flour is all-purpose flour. And you could try to use a gluten-free all purpose mix, Carol. Oat flour might also work.
Wow. You were a brave baker back then too; putting smarties in cookies. 😀 LOVE one bowl wonders. 🙂
Ahh, I’ve missed so many goodies! The texture of these cookies looks insanely good. Like I might have to forgo my plans to make a pumpkin pie for tomorrow and make these instead. 😉
Haha – Amanda, I thought I was the only one who had a stash of Disney movies on VHS and NO VHS player around! So glad am not alone in that 😉
BTW, these cookies sound amazing – and only 7-9 minutes of cooking time! I’ve so gotta try these – come to think of it…I think the first thing I baked was cookies too – they were chocolate chip ones – but they were not healthy at all – full of butter and sugar and I remember refrigerating the dough overnight and all – and then giving almost the whole batch away!
Happy Monday to ya!
Could you sub oat flour for the almond?
Possibly? But it might make the cookies a little denser. AP flour is probably the best sub, but oat should be okay.
Ok Thanks for the quick reply! Another blogger had told me that oat flour was the closest replacement for almond but it’s good to know that AP will work too! As much as I love nuts nut flour baked goods tend to be too dense for me
These cookies look so good. My mom loves oatmeal cookies but she seems against almond flour. I think I will try to make these and trick her anyway.
I really want to add raisins to these…. Then again if I keep them plain they are kinda like hob nobs which is awesome.
Oh and I still have my original VHS Disney tapes but no VCR – they are so special to me, especially Disneyland ‘very merry Christmas songs’ – the memories I have for that tape are just priceless! 🙂
Disney, not Dinsneyland – silly autocorrect!
And then when I spell Disneyland wrong it doesn’t fix it! :-/
Lol! I can’t even count how many autocorrect fails I’ve had over the years. And Oatmeal raisin is such a killer combination. I think I might like it even more than oatmeal chocolate chip. Shh.
I’d take these over pumpkin pie any day of the week and twice on Tuesday. 🙂
I love oats in cookies. They make me happy.
Is the recipe supposed to have salt? It says salt I. Step 2 @; the directions but there is no salt listed in ingredients.
Oops that was a typo! No salt in the recipe. Thanks for catching that, Renee.
I have too many random memories to count! Every memory involving cooking and baking though are fond. I think my earliest was making regular chocolate chip cookies with my mom and thinking it was the craziest most incredible thing ever. These cookies are making me want to break into my stash of GF oats!
OMG can’t wait to make this!
These look amaze–kinda like Hobnobs! Do you think I could sub coconut flour for the almond flour, I have a family member with a nut allergy…
I don’t think coconut flour would work since it’s so much more absorbent than almond flour. But regular all-purpose flour would probably work in a 1:1 ratio.
These look amazing. Just like you said: Digestive biscuits! They were part of my childhood because my mum bought them all the time. Mostly for herself, though, I think ;). She’d likely enjoy these, too.
Just one random memory? I have millions and been drafting ToL posts based on them for months but for some reason haven’t posted them yet. It’s so weird how our brain selects which of the billions of tiny memory fragments we collect throughout our lives to keep and which to discard.
Hehe my mom bought them all the time as well. Although sometimes she’d buy the ones without chocolate, which was just not okay.
YUM! These look absolutely delicious! Will definitely be making them soon…one question though: what did you use for frosting? It looks to die for!
Also, I’m not a pumpkin pie fan…GIVE ME ALL THE CHOCOLATE, lol!! 😂
It was actually just melted chocolate… applied liberally 😆
I’ve been waiting for your new cookie recipe since I think I asked you a while back what was that cookie you posted. I made the new Chewy Flourless Oatmeal Cookies with a dark chocolate on top. Both me and the hubby thought they were delicious! I will be making them again…and soon!!
So glad you like them! And I sat on this recipe ridiculously long, eh? I almost forgot about them completely!
These look exactly like chocolate digestives, my guilty pleasure. Which is the reason I’ll be making these asap. Yum!
– Charmaine
http://charmainenyw.com
So funny, because we’re American 100%, but we celebrate Thanksgiving (or rather, all holidays) rather untraditionally. We have pizza for Thanksgiving and this year, we are having cookies for dessert! Not these ones, I’m afraid, but a couple family favorites. We are having pumpkin pie for breakfast, though. It can’t be dessert if it doesn’t have chocolate, but it can be a breakfast! Lol, just my weird logic. Anyway, I was a little perturbed when I saw the first picture, because there wasn’t any chocolate! Then I saw you remedied that. Is there a reason you chose to put it on after rather than adding it in? (Read: I’m lazy but I want my chocolate. 😂) Or was it simply to make it more versatile, in which case I could add it in if I was inclined? Love you! ❤️
Our Thanksgiving meals are pretty odd too since no one really enjoys turkey. I’m suggesting pizza next year though, because that sounds fabulous. And I decided to go with the chocolate after mostly because I wanted them to look like those digestive biscuits rather than being a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie, but you could probably toss the chips right in!
Hi Amanda, I just made these and if there’s such a thing as oatmeal cookie heaven, that’s where I am! Delicious – thank you!! I did add a splash of vanilla (maybe a teaspoon) and wished I had flattened them out more, if only to get a bigger looking cookie. Oh well, guess I’ll just have to eat two rather than one…I think I hear the angels singing…
I’m so glad you liked them, Rose! There’s something so comforting about oatmeal cookies, eh?
Totally pinning for later! These sound AMAZING. 🙂
Thanks Lindsay!
OMG super maria brothers. I love it! I still have that game box at my parents house. Wanna come make me cookies and we play? Haha
Yes! Especially since I have no idea where all my old systems are…
YUMYUMYUM, These look awesome, Amanda!! I’m gonna sound like a typical Italian right now…the first thing I learned how to bake was lasagna!! 😀 I was 6 years old!
Now that’s impressive! I’m in my 30’s and not sure I could pull off lasagna from scratch.
Could regular AP flour be substituted for the almond flour? These look like something my husband would love -he comes home tomorrow – and if I can make them with what I have on hand, that would be great! Thanks!
I think AP should be fine in a 1:1 ratio, Anne!
Could rolled oats work instead of quick oats?
Yes that should be totally fine, Nelandi!
omg, as a kid I was always experimenting in the kitchen and making the hugest mess! I have a got milk cookie cook book and I think I’ve tried almost every recipe over the years. these oatmeal cookies look so yummy, you know I love a good oatmeal cookie.