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    Home » DESSERTS

    Healthier Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Cookies

    Modified: Apr 23, 2023 by Susan Pridmore · This post may contain affiliate links · 8 Comments

    With butter switched out for coconut oil, and processed sugar sidelined for honey and pomegranate syrup, these cookies are loaded with oats and pure goodness.

    Three peanut butter, oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips stacked on top of each other on a plate.

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    My husband thinks we have way. too. many. leftovers in the refrigerator. What he sees as a scrap that should be tossed, I see as a paint to play with on my artist's palette. I'll admit our refrigerator gets pretty crowded with containers of things I have no idea how I'll use, but I love the rush of creativity as I pull them together into a completely new dish I would never have thought of making. Full disclosure:  the results have hit the entire range of fabulous to inedible.

    Years ago, in a now famous comment made by a close friend, Ina, during a dinner that incorporated a couple little tidbits from my refrigerator that wasn't in the recipe I was supposedly following, she offered up that "it wasn't horrible". She was so serious at the time, determined to pay me a compliment to make me feel better over a dish that clearly didn't work. We still laugh about it today, and it was an act of true friendship, but in truth, that dish was barely edible. For those of us who thrive on creating new recipes, and are completely incapable of following a recipe exactly as written without throwing in our own twist, a bad dish here and there is going to happen. One hopes it doesn't happen at a dinner party, but what keeps us going is the creative outlet it offers for expression through food, and the occasional solid gold winner.

    Earlier this week I hit on a solid winner, and it was like winning the lottery, not to mention pure validation for all those containers I'm hoarding in our refrigerator - which of course is priceless. First, a little background on this leftover gold. A couple of weeks ago I made these granola bars and made a large batch of the 'glue' of peanut butter, coconut oil, honey, and pomegranate syrup that holds them together. At the time, I wasn't sure how much I would need, and wanted to make sure I had enough for my experiments. In the end I had a hunk of 'glue' left over, which was shipped to cold storage (the fridge) for the next batch (which I never made). So on Tuesday, when I opened my refrigerator in search of inspiration, my eyes lit on the container, and Bingo! I knew this could be a great cookie base!

    There were challenges. The base didn't have any butter or granulated sugar, tough ingredients to avoid and still get a great tasting cookie (IMHO) with great texture, and it was very, very dense. Like I could use it as mortar for bricks kind of dense. It was designed to be 'glue', after all. But, undaunted, I loved the flavor and that seemed a good place to start.

    First I brought it to room temp. It moved from mortar to a very, very thick lava. Still way too thick.

    I added an egg, and made it extra-large since I'm in the mountains right now at a very dry 7000+ feet above sea level. Big improvement.

    I whipped it into a batter with my trusty Kitchen Aide, reduced the speed to the lowest number, and added  a little flour for texture. Next, some baking powder and just a pinch of baking soda for leavening to balance out the weight of the peanut butter. The batter was looking good. Really good.

    I piled in a heap of oats and a handful of chocolates and folded them in with a spatula. Excitement cautiously crept into my awareness.

    I scooped a few mounds onto a parchment lined baking sheet with a small ice cream scooper as my first test, and slipped them into the oven on the middle rack.

    I tasted my first one; plump, soft, and warm from the oven. Pomegranate syrup, coconut, peanut butter and chocolate melted on my tongue. But the surface was a little browned - almost burned in a couple places. I lowered the heat and swept the rest of the mounds into the oven. As they cooled on the cooling rack, I ate six more. For science, you know. I needed to make sure the right balance had been struck for flavor and texture after all. And they were small. Tiny, really, with two bites each.

    Score one big one for the mighty leftover.

    But there's one huge problem with working with leftovers. Duplication. Creating the exact amount of leftovers again that worked so well.

    Sigh.

    But I knew it would be worth it because these cookies are  not even close to being horrible.

    More Cookies with Chocolate Chips

    Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

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    Three peanut butter, oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips stacked on top of each other on a plate.
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    Healthier Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips

    With butter switched out for coconut oil, and sugar sidelined for honey and pomegranate syrup, these cookies are loaded with oats and pure goodness.
    Print Recipe Save Saved! Pin Recipe Add to Recipe Collection Go to Collections Add to Shopping ListGo to Shopping List
    Prep Time20 minutes mins
    Cook Time10 minutes mins
    Total Time30 minutes mins
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: Any
    Keyword: flourless peanut butter cookies, Peanut butter oatmeal cookies
    Servings: 24
    Calories: 78.2kcal
    Author: Susan Pridmore
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    Equipment

    • cookie sheet
    • Parchment paper
    • Small pot
    • Stand mixer
    • Rubber spatula
    • Ice cream scooper (small, or depending on the size of cookies you want)

    Ingredients

    • 3 ounces peanut butter
    • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
    • ¼
 cup honey
    • 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
    • 1 
 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1 large egg
    • ¼ cup + 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
    • ½ teaspoon baking powder (Use ¼ teaspoon for high altitude baking)
    • ¼ teaspoon baking soda (Use ⅛ teaspoon for high altitude baking)
    • 1 cup rolled oats
    • ⅓ cup chocolate chips or more if preferred

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
    • Melt the peanut butter, coconut oil, honey and pomegranate molasses together in a small pot over low heat.
      Stir in the cinnamon and salt. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature or slightly warmer, and pour into the bowl of a standing mixer.
    • Add the egg and beat well to completely incorporate.
      Reduce the speed of the mixer to the lowest speed and add the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
    • Manually fold in the oats and chocolate chips using a rubber spatula.
    • Using a small ice cream scooper, scoop out little mounds of the cookie dough onto the lined cookie sheet.
      Bake for 10 minutes (or for 12 minutes for high altitude baking).
      Cookies are done when they just begin to turn a slightly darker brown on their edges. The tops should be soft, but slightly resistant to faint pressure from your finger.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 78.2kcal | Carbohydrates: 9.5g | Protein: 1.8g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1.8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1.1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 8.1mg | Sodium: 84.5mg | Potassium: 38.7mg | Fiber: 0.7g | Sugar: 5.5g | Vitamin A: 17.1IU | Vitamin C: 0.04mg | Calcium: 11.3mg | Iron: 0.4mg
     
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    About Susan Pridmore

    Susan Pridmore is an award-winning cookbook author and the owner of The Wimpy Vegetarian. She has been featured in Huffington Post, Healthline, BuzzFeed, and has written for and developed recipes for The Food Network and Parade Magazine. She is professionally trained and focuses on easy vegetarian recipes for busy lives, bread-baking, and tips for new vegetarians. Susan lives in the mountains in Lake Tahoe with her husband and mini-labradoodle.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sunithi

      January 18, 2013 at 9:57 am

      Ha ! creative lady, love this version of PB cookies esp since they have chocolate chips & coconut oil. Trying this too over weekend I think ( haven't made the bars yet 🙂 but have all the ingredients for this & kids have been asking for cookies, so ....! Love this !

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        January 19, 2013 at 8:38 am

        I hope you and the kids like them, Sunithi. My husband was traveling this week and I ate every last one of them 🙂

        Reply
    2. lizthechef

      January 19, 2013 at 8:21 am

      You are such a creative cook - I would never have the skill to create a recipe the way you do!!

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        January 19, 2013 at 8:39 am

        Well I don't either sometimes. I just enjoy the freedom of trying I guess 🙂

        Reply
    3. Terra

      January 20, 2013 at 4:40 pm

      I can collect a crazy amount of containers in my fridge. Finally cleaned mine out this weekend, only to fill it back up again LOL! These look and sound delicious, Hugs, Terra

      Reply
    4. Julia | JuliasAlbum.com

      January 22, 2013 at 5:12 pm

      Gorgeous cookies! Can't wait to make something like this.

      Reply
    5. The Wimpy Vegetarian

      February 05, 2013 at 5:53 pm

      I'm still working on wimpy vegetarian - hats off to you for exploring wimpy veganism! Unfortunately the only thing that's changed around our house is now I cook two dinners: one for me and one for my husband 🙂

      Reply
    6. The Wimpy Vegetarian

      February 06, 2013 at 10:24 am

      Good for you!! It's a good ride to be on 🙂

      Reply

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    Hi there! I'm an award-winning cookbook author, culinary school graduate, professional photographer and recipe developer. My cookbook Simply Vegetarian was named #1 best cookbook for new vegetarians, and I want to make it easier for you to cook fabulous vegetarian meals. Come join me in the kitchen!

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