These Potato Flake Sourdough Breakfast Cookies have quickly become one of my favorite things to make for my kids in the mornings.

I originally started making breakfast cookies because I needed something easy for them to grab in the morning that wasn’t another prepackaged, on-the-go breakfast or snack. Those little convenience foods can add up quickly when you’re feeding a family! I wanted something I could make ahead, that my kids would actually be excited to eat, and that had plenty of wholesome ingredients packed into it.

They ended up becoming one of their favorite breakfast foods that I make.

And really, what kid is going to complain when you tell them they can have a cookie for breakfast?

These breakfast cookies are made with oats, freshly milled or whole wheat flour, applesauce, seeds, dried fruit, and potato flake sourdough starter. They’re hearty, soft, naturally sweetened, and easy to customize with whatever dried fruits, nuts, or seeds your family likes.

Plus, the dough gets an approximately 8-hour fermentation period right on the counter before baking.

Why You’ll Love These Potato Flake Sourdough Breakfast Cookies

There are several reasons these have earned a regular spot in our breakfast rotation.

First, they’re easy to make ahead. I can mix everything together, cover the bowl, and let it ferment for about 8 hours. When I’m ready to bake, all I have to do is scoop, shape, and put them in the oven.

They’re also really filling. Instead of a cookie made primarily from white flour, sugar, and butter, these are packed with oats, whole grains, flaxseed, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, applesauce, dried fruit, and an egg.

And they’re very forgiving. You don’t have to use the exact same dried fruit or seeds every time. I love recipes that help me use what I already have in my pantry!

Are These Healthy Sourdough Breakfast Cookies?

“Healthy” can mean a lot of different things, but these breakfast cookies have quite a bit going for them nutritionally.

Whole grains: Oats and freshly milled or whole wheat flour provide fiber and nutrients while also making these cookies more filling than a traditional cookie.

Flaxseed and chia seeds: Both add fiber and healthy fats. They’re also sources of plant-based omega-3 fatty acids.

Pumpkin seeds: Pepitas add a little protein along with nutrients like magnesium, iron, and zinc.

Applesauce: A full 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce adds moisture and natural sweetness, which means we only need 1/4 cup of coconut oil.

Dried fruit: Raisins, dried cranberries, chopped dates, and other dried fruits add flavor, texture, and sweetness.

Egg: The egg increases the protein content and helps hold these hearty cookies together.

Liquid sweetener: Instead of granulated white sugar or brown sugar, I use a liquid sweetener such as honey, maple syrup, or date paste.

Using Freshly Milled Flour

If you’ve been around here for a while, you know I love finding ways to use freshly milled flour in our everyday foods, and breakfast cookies are an easy place to do it.

For this recipe, you can use 1/2 cup freshly milled flour or regular whole wheat flour.

I like soft white wheat for cookies because it gives them a softer, more tender texture. Hard white wheat can also work; it will just give the cookies a slightly heartier texture. I’ve also used spelt, kamut and einkorn-all have worked great! 

Freshly milled flour can absorb moisture a little differently depending on the wheat you’re using, but this recipe is pretty forgiving. If you notice it is a little dry, just add a bit of liquid either more applesauce, another egg or a splash of milk. 

Choosing a Liquid Sweetener

One thing I like about this recipe is that you aren’t tied to one particular sweetener.

You’ll need 1/4 cup liquid sweetener, and you can use:

• Honey
• Pure maple syrup
• Date paste
• Another similar liquid sweetener you enjoy

The final texture can vary slightly depending on what you choose. Maple syrup is much thinner than date paste, for example, so don’t worry if your cookie mixture looks a little different each time.

Dried Fruit, Nuts, and Seeds

This is where you can have a little fun with the recipe.

I typically use dried fruit and pumpkin seeds, but you can change the combination depending on what you have on hand or what your family likes.

Try raisins, dried cranberries, chopped dates, dried blueberries, dried cherries, pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, or another favorite.

Just try to keep the overall quantities fairly similar so you maintain the right ratio of mix-ins to cookie dough.

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Tools Needed

One of the nice things about these breakfast cookies is that you don’t need much equipment to make them.

• Large mixing bowl
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Wooden spoon or sturdy spatula
• Cookie sheet
• Parchment paper
• 1 Tablespoon cookie scoop
• Cooling rack
• Grain mill, optional if using freshly milled flour

Potato Flake Sourdough Breakfast Cookies Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup freshly milled flour or whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, raisins, or other dried fruit
• 1/2 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds (pepitas), sun flower seeds, or other nuts or seeds
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon quinoa
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 cup active potato flake sourdough starter
• 1/4 cup liquid sweetener (honey, maple syrup, date paste, etc.)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

How to Make Potato Flake Sourdough Breakfast Cookies

Combine the Dry Ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, combine the old-fashioned rolled oats, freshly milled flour or whole wheat flour, dried fruit, pumpkin seeds, ground flaxseed, chia seeds, quinoa, cinnamon, and salt.

Give everything a good stir so the smaller seeds and ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

Add the Wet Ingredients

Add the melted coconut oil, unsweetened applesauce, active potato flake sourdough starter, liquid sweetener, egg, and vanilla extract.

Stir everything together until well combined and there are no dry pockets of flour remaining.

The mixture will be thick and hearty. That’s exactly what you want.

Ferment the Breakfast Cookie Mixture

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave the mixture on the counter at room temperature for approximately 8 hours.

I love this part because all of the mixing is already done. Once the fermentation process is finished, there’s nothing else to add to the dough. It’s ready to scoop and bake.

Prepare the Cookies for Baking

After the fermentation period, preheat your oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Give the mixture a good stir before scooping.

Scoop and Shape

Scoop approximately 1 tablespoon of the mixture per cookie onto the prepared baking sheet.

These breakfast cookies don’t spread very much in the oven, so you’ll want to shape them before baking.

Gently press each scoop down into a thick, round cookie shape using the back of a spoon, measuring cup, or your fingers.

Bake

Bake at 325°F for about 12 minutes, or until the cookies are set and lightly golden around the edges.

Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for several minutes before transferring them to a cooling wire rack.

How Do You Know When Breakfast Cookies Are Done?

These aren’t supposed to have the same texture as a traditional chocolate chip or sugar cookie.

Because they’re packed with oats, seeds, dried fruit, and applesauce, they stay fairly soft and hearty.

Look for the outside edges to be lightly golden and the center of the cookie to be set. They’ll continue to firm up a little as they cool.

Can I Make Larger Breakfast Cookies?

Absolutely!

Since I’m usually making them for younger children and want smaller cookies for snacks, I use about 1 tablespoon of cookie dough per cookie.

If you want to make them larger so that they can be substantial enough for an adult, use 1/4 cup of the mixture for each cookie instead. Keep an eye on them in the oven they will take longer to bake, around 15-20 minutes instead of 12.

Can I Change the Mix-Ins?

Yes, and this is probably one of my favorite things about this recipe.

Once you have the basic breakfast cookie recipe down, you can make all kinds of variations.

For example, try:

Cinnamon Raisin: Use raisins as your dried fruit and add a little extra cinnamon.

Cranberry Pumpkin Seed: Use dried cranberries and pepitas.

Date Pecan: Use chopped dates, pecans, and date paste as your liquid sweetener.

You could also swap out the coconut oil for unsalted butter, use just egg yolks or egg whites instead of the whole egg, use all purpose flour it that’s all you have on hand. Quick oats could also be used, although the texture might be slightly different.  

You can play around with the combinations without having to reinvent the entire recipe each time.

Can You Freeze Potato Flake Sourdough Breakfast Cookies?

Yes! These are a great freezer breakfast.

Allow the cookies to cool completely before placing them in a freezer-safe container or bag. If you’re stacking them, you can put parchment paper between the layers.

Then just pull out however many you need at a time.

This is one of those things that can make a busy morning a little easier. Breakfast is already made, and everyone can grab what they need.

How to Store Breakfast Cookies

Because these are soft, moist cookies made with ingredients like applesauce and egg, I recommend storing the baked cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I usually store them on the counter for 3-4 days without any issue-they are usually gone before they would go bad.

For longer storage, freeze them.

Tips for Making the Best Potato Flake Sourdough Breakfast Cookies

Use old-fashioned rolled oats. They give the cookies their hearty texture and hold up well during fermentation and baking.

Don’t skip the applesauce. The 1/2 cup of applesauce adds quite a bit of moisture to these cookies and helps keep them soft without needing a large amount of oil.

Shape them before baking. These cookies aren’t going to spread like traditional cookies. How they look when they go into the oven is pretty close to how they’ll look when they come out.

Use what you have. Don’t skip making these because you don’t have dried cranberries or pumpkin seeds. Swap them for another dried fruit, nut, or seed.

Remember that different sweeteners can change the consistency. Date paste will make a thicker mixture than maple syrup or honey. Small differences in texture are completely normal.

Make a double batch. If your family goes through them quickly, bake extra and freeze some. Future-you will be glad you did.

An Easy Make-Ahead Breakfast for Kids

Some of my favorite recipes come from simply trying to solve an everyday problem, and that’s exactly how this great recipe came about.

I needed something easy for my kids to grab in the morning that wasn’t another prepackaged snack breaking the bank. I started playing around with breakfast cookies, and they ended up becoming one of their favorite breakfast foods that I make each week.

I love that I can pack oats, freshly milled whole grains, seeds, fruit, applesauce, egg, and potato flake sourdough starter into something that still feels fun to them.

And there’s something kind of funny about telling your kids, “Go grab a cookie for breakfast,” and knowing exactly what you packed inside it.

That’s my kind of easy breakfast. Perfect for kids-but also perfect for the whole family!

If you give this recipe a try, I would greatly appreciate if you came back and gave it a 5-star review! It helps me out so much! 

I also love seeing all of the delicious creations you make! Share your photo over on instagram or facebook and give me a tag @littletennesseehome