Leftover Oatmeal Cookies are super easy to make and a great way to use up leftover oatmeal. Mix in your favorite dried fruits and enjoy this healthy, snack worthy cookie.
What do you do with leftover prepared oatmeal? Make cookies! This recipe calls for 1 cup of leftover prepared oatmeal.
Whether it's rolled oats, instant, steel cut, I've experimented with all varieties and they all work in this recipe. Just make sure to prepare them according to the package directions in terms of the ratio of oats to water.
I'm personally partial to Coach's Oats for Steel Cut and Nature's Path for Rolled Oats. They both have great texture and flavor.
In addition to the 1 cup of prepared oats, you'll need 2 cups of all purpose flour, 2 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ cup softened butter, ½ cup brown sugar (I subbed golden monkfruit sweetner to make these lower in sugar), 2 eggs, 2 Tbs lemon juice, and 4 oz dried fruit.
For the dried fruit, I opted for this berry mix from Patience Fruit & Co. But you could go for raisins, cranberries, blueberries, chopped mango...go nuts! Actually, nuts would work, too.
The process for these cookies is pretty simple. First, combine the dry ingredients.
Next cream together the softened butter and sugar. Make sure the butter is softened so that it mixes together with the sugar well.
Then add in the room temperature eggs and lemon juice and blend until smooth.
Next you'll add in your oats and your dry ingredients until you get a thick dough. Once you've added the dry ingredients, try not to over-mix the dough. Over-mixing can make them tough.
After that, fold in your dried fruits and you're good to go.
I like to use a small ice cream scoop for scooping the cookie dough onto a baking sheet so that they're all uniform in size.
Parchment paper is my go-to for lining cookie sheets to prevent them from sticking.
I love these cookies because they're not too sweet. They're a little cakey and a little crispy on the outside. They're healthy enough to enjoy as a "breakfast cookie" if you need a quick bite before starting your day.
I also add a little bit of fresh grated lemon zest on top for a little extra zing. Of course, that's completely optional, but if you're using fresh lemon juice in the recipe, it's just a little bit of extra effort to bust out a microplane or grater for zest.
If you're looking for an uncooked oats cookie recipe, check out my Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies with Streusel. Definitely a top 5 favorite cookie!
Print
Leftover Oatmeal Cookies
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 18 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
A quick recipe for leftover oatmeal cookies that uses up leftover oatmeal mixed together with dried fruit. It's an easy and healthy snack recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup softened unsalted butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup prepared (leftover) oatmeal
- 4 oz chopped or small dried fruit
Instructions
- Prepare oatmeal according to package directions, reserving 1 cup for the cookie recipe.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Combine together in a large bowl the 2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon salt and set to the side.
- In a medium bowl, combine the softened butter and brown sugar and blend with a hand mixer until fully incorporated and lightened in color. Will appear to be slightly fluffy.
- Add the 2 eggs and 2 Tbs lemon juice to the butter and sugar mixture and continue to mix with the hand mixer until fully incorporated and no more of the yolks are visible.
- Next, add the 1 cup of leftover oats to the wet ingredients mixture and beat until fully incorporated.
- Then pour the oats mixture into the dry ingredients bowl and mix together. Be careful not to over-mix or it will make your cookies a little tough.
- Next, fold in the dried fruits to the dough. Sometimes I use my hands because it's a thicker dough and mixing with your hands can be easier.
- Scoop 2 oz balls of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 12 - 15 minutes in the preheated oven at 350F. The cookies should be fully cooked through and slightly browned on top.
- Remove the cookies once fully baked and allow to cool at least 5 minutes on a cooling rack.
- Optional: top the cookies with grated lemon lemon zest to be fancy
Notes
These will keep for up to four days at room temperature in an airtight container.
They can be frozen for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 155
- Sugar: 10.1 g
- Sodium: 76.9 mg
- Fat: 6.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 23.6 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2.5 g
- Cholesterol: 34.2 mg
Sohnia says
Hello! I was despairing over my leftover porridge because i made a bunch with canderel and soya milk, suited to my mothers diet and there was too much left over. Happily i came across this recipe and successfully manage to bake cookies out if it! They aren't as aesthetically pleasing but I'm happy i didn't have to waste food. My thanks!
Joanie Simon says
I'm so glad to hear you were able to use up the leftovers! Hugs to you and your mother <3
Gwen Squires says
Can I just say a big, enthusiastic and super genuine THANK YOU for not covering your blog in ads? I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!
Paula M says
My daughter just made these cookies with our leftover oatmeal. She added craisins, raisins, and semi sweet morsels to batter. Pleased with the outcome. This recipe is a keeper.
Joanie Simon says
So glad you enjoyed them!
Valerie E says
Have you tried these with gluten free or almond flour? I am wondering if they turned out.
Joanie Simon says
I haven't, but I do find the Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free flour to be a reliable swap and would think that would work fine for this recipe. I wouldn't use almond flour here, though, as that absorbs moisture differently and would significantly affect the texture of the cookies.
Gricel says
I made two different batches with your recipe. No lemon juice. One batch with chocolate chips and raisins and the other batch with cranberries and the juice of an orange. They came out delicious. 17 minutes in my convection oven. I would show you pictures but I don’t know how to add them here.
Joanie Simon says
AWESOME!
Daniel Tan says
I was excited to do your recipe since I had lots of leftover oatmeal from church breakfast. I double the recipe and followed it closely. After making the cookies I realized that the measurement doesn't adjust on the instruction. So my 4 cups of flour was only 2 cups in the instruction. Same thing with the eggs.
Anyway, the cookies turned out softer than usual and would not brown anymore without burning the bottom. I will just pay attention to the change next time. It still taste good!
MJ says
A simple enough recipe. But I cooked them for 25 minutes in a 350 oven and they are still not thoroughly cooked inside. I'm trying a second batch that I've made into much flatter cookies to see what happens. Maybe they were too thick.
Bonnie says
These are wonderful! Was looking for a way to use up some leftover breakfast oatmeal when I bumped into your recipe. My hubby likes oatmeal cookies, but I was never a big fan. When I read your recipe, I thought it sounded like a nice change to the standard. Wow, it's really, really yummy!! Hubby ate like 6, and I admit I have had several myself. I followed your recipe as written with the only exceptions being I added a half cup of craisins, a half cup of walnuts and some vanilla.
They are so fluffy and light that the flavors all shine thru. Thanks so much or sharing.
Joanie Simon says
That's great to hear! And love the addition of craisins!
Yolanda says
My grand girls like their oatmeal loaded with apples raisins honey and cinnamon so I was concerned about the end result. But I did it anyway following your recipe. And they turned out fabulous. Love it because they are super tasty and not too sweet. And the grated lemon added a lovely accent! Thank you so much!
Joanie Simon says
Yahoo!!! I'm so glad it was a hit. I love a little lemon in nearly everything <3 Hugs to you and your girls!
Julie JOY! says
For my GF grandsons, I whizzed up oats to make oat flour and 1:1 replaced the white flour. Our daughter kept these on hand as they're traveling to provide them with a treat when others could eat what various hosts offered them. A lifesaver!
Joanie Simon says
That's so great to hear! And so smart blending the oats! I'll have to try that out.
Cindy says
Have made these several times with leftover steel oats oatmeal. Great for everyone, especially new Moms’ milk supply and super tasty !
Joanie Simon says
oooh, glad to know it worked well with steel oats! Hugs to you!