These healthy blackstrap molasses cookies are made with creamy peanut butter and rolled oats. They taste like a decadent treat, but are healthy enough to munch on any time of day!
I made my first batch of these blackstrap molasses cookies over a month ago, intending to devote a blog post to them. They got eaten before I could photograph them. Over the following weeks I baked somewhere between four and six more batches, each of which met the same fate as the first. Looks like this recipe is a keeper.
I love these cookies. A lot. They aren't even intended to be the kind of cookies you can't keep your hands off. They're intended to be healthy, which they are, but they're also super delicious.
Blackstrap molasses was the starting point for these cookies. Whenever I post a recipe that calls for molasses I try to include a note not to use blackstrap, because it usually doesn't work. I love blackstrap molasses and whenever I've tried subbing it for regular old molasses I've ended up with a sad pile of char. I almost always get comments or emails from a few of you, asking why you can't use blackstrap. I hear you. Like I said, I love the stuff too. That's why I went and crafted this recipe specifically around blackstrap molasses.
I call these breakfast cookies because they really are healthy enough to eat for breakfast (even if I mostly eat them as an evening snack). How healthy? No refined sugar, oil, flour, gluten, or pretty much anything you might want to avoid. An overripe banana (which you can't taste), along with peanut butter and blackstrap give them a rich, creamy texture, while a base of rolled oats makes it feel like you're eating an oatmeal cookie...which I guess technically you are, just a really health one that's totally appropriate for breakfast. Rock.
The other nice thing about using oats as a base is that it lets you create a totally flourless cookie. A while back I had success using oat flour in place of wheat, but this is the first time I use all whole oats, which worked out really nice because it allowed the creamy richness of the peanut butter-blackstrap mixture to shine through.
I used Bob's Red Mill rolled oats. Bob's oats are my favorite, and Bob was nice enough to supply me with the oats I used for this recipe. I used the regular old-fashioned variety of rolled oats, but they've also got gluten-free if that's how you take your oats.
📖 Recipe
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Blackstrap Molasses Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ripe banana mashed
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup blackstrap molasses
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups rolled oats gluten free, if needed
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¾ cup chopped roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
- In large mixing bowl, stir together banana, peanut butter, blackstrap molasses and vanilla until well blended. Stir in rolled oats, baking soda and salt. Fold in peanuts.
- Drop mixture by rounded tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet.
- Bake 8 minutes.
- Remove from oven and transfer to cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before removing from baking sheets.
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Awful, terrible. The only change I made was to substitute raisins for the peanuts to make it more sweet. Still horrendous. Sorry about it because I want to increase iron as a vegetarian. This apparently is NOT the way!
I haven't made these yet, but am looking forward to it! I was wondering about using crunchy peanut butter in place of the creamy & chopped peanuts. Do you think that would work ok?
I haven't tried that, but I think it should work! I'd start with 1 cup, and only add more if it seems like it's needed.
Great way to increase black strap molasses intake! Thank you.
Just found this yummy recipe. It’s a good way to use blackstrap molasses. I found it very salty, though. Can the salt and baking soda be omitted?
You can leave the salt out if you'd like. Using unsalted peanuts and peanut butter will also help. Enjoy!
Looks like I’m late to the party. Lol
Looking for a higher protein treat option and stumbled on this one. Least amount of work and nothing funky to add…
I added a scoop or so of vanilla protein powder, a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg, and swapped the peanuts out for raisins. 😎
Turned out pretty good. Still a little on the bitter side and I probably should’ve baked a touch longer. I think my banana was a bit on the small side too. Next time I’ll try a bit of maple syrup to try and sweeten it up more as well as help offset the dryness caused by the protein powder.
Can you please tell me if you can freeze these, and if so, for about how long? Thank you very much.
You can! They should be good for about 3 months if they're sealed up well.
I love this recipe! I was looking for a way to have blackstrap molasses every morning and didn’t like it in coffee or oatmeal or taking a spoonful like medicine. These are delicious!!
I made these today and had a question. Are they supposed to be crunchy or chewy once they have cooled down? Thank you!
They should be chewy. If they're crunchy it might be because they cooked a little too long or your oven runs a bit hot.
These look amazing and I’m excited to try them. Just curious if you ran them through the nutrition calculator yet? I’m a vegetarian who’s trying to get my iron up so I can donate blood regularly - I suspect these might be a tasty way to add a good amount of iron II take.
Hi Shannon! I haven't had a chance to add the nutrition info for these yet, but here's a link to the calculator I use if you'd like to give it a try. I hope to get to them soon myself!
I've had a jar of blackstrap molasses in my kitchen cupboard for a while. I used it to bake cookies before and they were NOT nice. However this recipe is delicious! I think I ate a cookie's worth of uncooked mixture also. I can finally use up the jar :).
I did not have a banana, so I substituted it with unsweetened applesauce, I do not like to substitute anything in a recipe, however due to the virus I am homebound, I was short a half a cup of oatmeal, so I ground up some honey nut Cheerios. I used black strap molasses. The cookies were very good and healthy
what is the s the nutrition value of each cookie?
Looks good, but i'd like to find out more info.
Thanks, Isabelle
Hi Isabelle! I'm slowly adding nutritional info to my recipes, but I haven't gotten to this one yet. Here's a link to the calculator I use if you'd like to take a crack at it yourself: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Is the amount of rolled oats 1 3/4 cup? The ingredients at the top of this post say 1/16 cup. But then it says 1 3/4 under the directions.
It's 1 3/4 cups. Sorry about that! There was an extra slash in there that must have been causing it to display weird for you. I just fixed it!
The only oats I currently have are quick cook steel cut. Should I presoak these? I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. I’ve been drinking mugs of hot blackstrap molasses and water for my bones and just found your recipe as another means of consumption. Thank you.
Hi Genie! I'm not sure as I haven't tried it myself, but I think if your oats are quick cooking you probably don't need to soak them. I'd also be afraid that you might introduce too much liquid into recipe by doing that. If anything, you could try letting the cookie dough sit (covered) for 30 minutes or so before shaping and baking the cookies - that should ensure that the oats have plenty of time to soak up moisture from the other ingredints.
Thank you for this! I've been looking all over for a recipe with a healthy dose of Blackstrap molasses as I want to take it for medical reasons. I was not a fan at all in smoothies or other recipes, but in this one, I find it tolerable.... Almost good! Haha. Great recipe! In the future I think I'll up the oats just a touch to not be as sweet. I'm not a fan of sweet at all, but I think for most people, these are perfectly sweet!
I'm so glad you like them! And yes, definitely adjust the ingredients to your liking! Thanks Jay!
Made these but added raspberries through to increase the uptake of iron from the molasses! Worked a treat. My little bottomless pit loved them! Unfortunately I’m allergic to nuts - which may actually be lucky in this case 😆
Oh, great idea! I'm glad you enjoyed them!
Did a google search for blackstrap molasses snack bars and landed here. These look like winners. I'll be fixing them tonight. May use chopped mixed nuts though. Thank you!
I think chopped nuts would be delicious in these. I hope you enjoy them!
Was looking for a way to use backstrap molasses in cooking to incorporate it into my diet for the health component and these cookies are so yum, I’ll be making these regularly! My local grocery puts bananas on sale when they’re over ripe and they’re perfect for this, plus cheap. My hubby had no idea they were vegan, high fiber, healthy, and relatively low sugar for a cookie until after he’d tried them. Gave to a friend with celiacs and she gave a thumbs up, too. Great recipe, looking forward to playing with it (might add cinnamon and take out some salt.)
Yay!! I'm so glad you enjoyed them! I think cinnamon would be an awesome addition too. Thanks Jen!
These are SO good! I’m pregnant and low on iron, so I was looking for healthy recipes I can put blackstrap molasses in. I might have found my new addiction! I should have doubled the recipe right off the bat because I’m quite sure my 3-year-old is going to boggart more than his fair share. Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Awesome!! I'm so glad you like them! Thanks Mandy!
These sounds wonderful and I'm planning on trying! Out of curiosity, with the new airfryer craze, have you tried to make them in one? I might give it a go :)
I haven't! I actually didn't even realize you could bake in an air-fryer - please let me know how it turns out if you try it!!
May I use instant oats instead of rolled oats?
I think so. The texture might just be a bit different.
How many may I eat for breakfast?
Two or three works for me, but as many as you like. :)
These are SO good. I was looking for a blackstrap molasses recipe and what a success!
Yay! Glad you liked them!
I didn't have peanut butter nor peanuts, but I improvised with great success! To get it to bind better, I smashed a1/2 cup of peruano beans (similar to cannelini or white kidney) and added a couple of tablespoons of whole wheat pastry flour. I also threw in some cardamom, cinnamon, and cocoa powder to make sure they didn't taste beany. I'm sure the texture wasn't quite the same as the original recipe, but my husband and I thought they were really delicious. Thanks for sharing this flexible recipe!
Wow, that's brilliant! I'm definitely experimenting with bean cookies soon! I love black bean brownies, so why not? :)
THESE ARE DELICIOUS
I ATE THEM ALL
Sounds like a winner! Glad to hear it. :)
Has anyone tried with almond butter/almonds? Curious to know if they would be just as yummy. My little has a peanut allergy but i'd love for him to try something like this since we are adding black strap molasses to his diet.
Hi Karla! I have't tried this with almonds/almond butter, but based on my experience with other recipes, I think it would work!
I just used almond butter and walnuts and it came out great!
I just made these and they taste very salty. Anyone else experience this? I might leave out the salt next time. ?
Check the peanuts you're using to make sure they're unsalted too. :)
I make something similar but without banana and add tbsp fromage frais instead, also add some omega mix...yummy
Okay, I didn't follow the recipe exactly...They came out fairly good. Not too sweet. I didn't measure. My oats were still raw and chewy. Maybe quick oats? I would try again and maybe add a little dextrose or carob chips.
Can we replace the molasse with date puree to have healthier sugar?
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I haven't tried that, so I'm not sure. Have you tried blackstrap molasses though? It's different from regular molasses. I'm not sure how it compares to date puree, but I do know that it's rich in iron and minerals and has a lower glycemic index than most sweeteners.
How do you store these and how long is shelf life? Trying to find healthy yums for my mom for breakfast that aren't full of yuk. Thanks!
Hi Diana! I keep them in zipper bags in the pantry, and they stay good for a week. You could probably keep them a bit longer if you store them in the fridge. Enjoy!
These look great! Any ideas for how to do them without the banana??
Thanks Sarah! The banana works as a sweetener and egg replacer. If you aren't vegan you could just use an egg. If you are vegan maybe try a flax egg or some other fruit puree, like pumpkin. Whatever you do, be sure to taste test to see if it needs some extra sweetener. Good luck and enjoy!
I bet you could use applesauce instead of banana.
These look way too delicious to be a breakfast and not a dessert ;) I think my issue would be waiting until breakfast to eat them!!
I'm usually a savoury breakfast person but these cookies look so delicious that I have to try them out!
Thanks so much!
This is SO my kind of snack!! I love healthy breakfast cookies! And I really love that I can feed them to my kids as dessert, they gobble them up and have NO idea they are good for them. Oh, and blackstrap molasses.....so good!!
Im so so happy they tasted amazing. I actually bought the wrong item, blackstrap molasses instead of molasses, and I did not know how to appreciate the blackstrap molasses taste (coz i used it in recipe that calls for molasses, definitely a wrong move)