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 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup softened butter, 1/2 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.
Leftover Oatmeal Cookies
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 18 cookies 1x
- 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 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 2 Tbs 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 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp 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.
Keywords: oatmeal, oats, leftovers, dried fruit, lemon, baking, cookies
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!
I’m so glad to hear you were able to use up the leftovers! Hugs to you and your mother <3
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!
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.
So glad you enjoyed them!
Have you tried these with gluten free or almond flour? I am wondering if they turned out.
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.