Totally Sugar Free / High Protein / Shockingly Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
OMG guys, I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am about these cookies!
I swear, they are one of the best oatmeal cookies I’ve ever eaten.
Yet, they are completely, entirely sugar free.
YEP, you read that one right!
The only form of sugar that went into these babies is that which is naturally present in the bananas and pumpkin puree.
There’s no stevia, no honey, no maple syrup, no molasses, not even date paste.
Yet, they taste unbelievably sweet, and incredibly “pumpkiny”.
Yeah yeah, pumkiny.
You know, that special taste that all things “pumpkin” are supposed to have? Well, they definitely possess it!
I could not be more thrilled with them, seriously. I am borderline EC-STA-TIC!
I would almost dare say they are perfect…
If anything, I would MAYBE add raisins, but when I made them, I was still on my sugar free challenge and I had decided that even dried fruits were off limits during that time.
So in they DIDN’T go! But, for the record, if I were to do them again, I would probably add a handful, just because they go so perfectly well with oatmeal and pumpkin…
To be honest, I was highly skeptical when I made them and almost put the project off until I could at least add a little bit of molasses and well, raisins!
I figured there was no way I could actually get a cookie to be sweet enough without adding any sugar whatsoever.
BOY WAS I WRONG!
If you like oatmeal cookies and all things “pumpkin”, then I urge you to give these guys a try. Trust me, you won’t regret it!
They are just soooo moist, so tender, so sweet, so spicy, so tasty… SO DREAMY!
Oh, right, I almost forgot… and so very HEALTHY too!
Cookies this good and this healthy, you could very well have for breakfast, snack or even dessert.
Heck, you could probably even get up in the middle of the night to snack on one or two!
I can’t say the thought has never crossed my mind… 😉
Completely Sugar Free / High Protein Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup spelt flour
- 2 cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
- 3 scoops, 105g plain or vanilla flavored whey protein powder
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp Himalayan salt
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp allspice
- ½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground clove
Wet ingredients
- 1 cup pure pumpkin puree
- 1½ very ripe bananas, mashed
- ¾ cup egg whites
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F
- In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together with a whisk, until very well combined.
- In a medium bowl, mash the banana until frothy. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and combine with a whisk until well incorporated.
- Mix wet to dry and fold delicately just to combine.
- Drop by tablespoonful, 12 at a time, onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for about 10 minutes or until the cookies start to turn golden brown
- Cool completely on a cooling rack, then transfer to refrigerator, where the cookies will keep for up to a week in an airtight container.
If you’ve tried this recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and let me know how things went for you in the comments below. It’s always such a pleasure to hear from you!
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48 Comments on “Totally Sugar Free / High Protein / Shockingly Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies”
You had me all worked up and then I got to the ingredient list. Bummer! Spelt flour? And protein powder isn’t in the budget right now. 🙁
Maybe I can tweak the recipe a little though, because they do sound amazing. I love “pumpkiny” and I love healthy. The coconut sounds like a great addition. I would add raisins too because I love their chewiness, and maybe (definitely) some kind of nuts.
Thanks for sharing on Facebook!!
What’s wrong with spelt flour? Why bummer? You could very well replace it with pastry whole wheat flour, if you don’t want to use spelt. As for the protein powder, well, I suppose it can easily be omitted… maybe add a tad more flour, as in a quarter of a cup? Nuts are already present in the recipe! I chose pecans because they are kind of sweet, but walnuts would work beautifully, or pumpkin seeds even. And raisins would be grand in these. Let me know how yours turn out if you give them a try! 🙂
I am not a coconut person – what could I replace the coconut with or do you think you can completely omit it! sounds good otherwise
I think you can simply omit it, Sara. Won’t make much of a difference… 😉
Lovin’ the sound of these! I am all about pumpkin, all year round, but can’t wait to kick it up a notch this time of year 🙂
They look delicious! I don’t eat any wheat products (including spelt), could I replace the spelt with oat flour? Also, how much does 3 scoops of your protein powder come out to cup-wise? I’m going to try making these tonight! Thank you!
I suppose you could use any kind of flour, really… I haven’t tried it but don’t see why it wouldn’t work, especially oat! As for the protein powder, it’s not really an exact science… scoops vary from brand to brand, but are generally around 30g each, and just shy of a quarter of a cup.
Hope this helps, and please, let me know how the cookies turn out for you. I really hope you like ’em as much as I did! 🙂
Well after reading all this I might make them even with the banana and just hope I don’t get sick. 🙂 But looking at the ingredient list, I don’t understand how they can be sweet enough for me. I’ll try a few as written and have molasses on hand. 🙂 I’ll get bananas the next time I’m at the store and let them get super super ripe, which means they’ll be ready closer to pumpkin time in my head. Yay!
You know what, Erin? I think you could very well replace the banana with unsweetened applesauce and date paste. I would do ¾ cup of each. And you will be surprised at how sweet they really are! I don’t think that you will find a need for your molasses. But hey… keep it on hand, if it makes you feel better! 😉
We’ll see. 🙂 I have to make a list of all the pumpkin stuff I want to make this year and figure how much I can actually make (I think I have the only cans of canned pumpkin in Europe, only because my parents brought me a dozen!). But I’ll definitely use your suggestions! Thanks for the response.
Right! I forgot that pumpkin puree was such a rare treat in Germany. Poor you. Oh, how devastated I would be. You might want to hold off… I have a Zucchini, Pumpkin Chocolate Muffins recipe coming up. OH MY GOD! They’re ah-ma-zing-lee good!
Made these today, I didn’t have coconut or protein powder so I omitted those. I added chocolate chips and was glad I did (I like things sweet). My preschooler approved!
AWESOME!!! So very happy to hear! Thanks a bunch for sharing, Ashleigh!
Oh, and I thought 10 minutes was too long in my oven, but 8 minutes of bake time was perfect :).
These are AMAZING. ‘Nuff said.
Thanks Samantha! 😀 Did you actually try them?
Hello,
I made these this afternoon! They are amazing! Just one question, you mention these are about 100 calories for a 41 gram serving. How many cookies would 41 grams be based on the recipe making 2 dozen. Thanks for the recipe!
Kirsten
Glad you liked the cookies, Kirsten! Thanks for letting me know, I really appreciate the feedback!
As for the nutritional facts that I posted with the recipe, they are actually per cookie.
Just made these tonight and tweaked them a bit for my family’s liking: Omitted the protein powder since I didn’t have any, used ww pastry flour. Added 2 Tbsp of brown sugar and 2 Tbsp coconut oil. Used 2 whole eggs and walnuts instead of pecans. And on half I put raisins in for the kiddos and the other half used dark chocolate chips for the hubby and I. They were amazing!! The only thing I would change for the future is to use less cinnamon. For us 2 Tbsps was a bit much. Thank you so much for the recipe 🙂
Thank you so very much for taking the time to leave such great feedback Guinevere! I truly appreciate that. Sorry to hear you found the cinnamon to be a bit much though. I have to admit that I LOVE my cinnamon, especially in pumpkin spice type of things. Glad to know you enjoyed the recipe nonetheless, and thanks again for your great review. You’re awesome! 😀
My son is allergic to wey protein do you have a substitute?
Hey Kristen! Although I can’t tell *for sure* ‘cuz I haven’t tried it with this particular recipe, my experience so far with whey protein is that you can add it or leave it without affecting a recipe all that much, so I say you could just simply omit it. Looks like Guinevere did just that (see above comment) and her cookies turned out fine. 🙂
Do i really need the fresh ginger? would it be bad it i omitted it? or is there a substitute?
You can certainly omit it, or use dry ground ginger if you wanted to… 🙂
Hi Sonia,
I was looking for just this kind of cookie. sugar free gets me all excited now! One qestion though- do you buy the pumpkin puree or is ok if I get a small pumpkin and just pureed it at home?
Not only would it be ok, Dolly! It would be IDEAL! I wish I had the patience to do that myself! 🙂 Let me know how the cookies work for you! 😀
Hi Sonia,
Thanks for the reply and this amazing recipe. I loved it, I mean we all at home loved it!! I think its the spices , the cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg that kinda makes me wanna eat it more. I dry-roated whole spices and freshly ground them,so they were very flavourful.
I have been trying all your recipes one by one the last couple of weeks and I have loved them all so far! For us less creative ones, stumbling up on a blog like this on the internet is like stumbling up in some hidden treasure!
I ma so grateful that I found your blog!!
Thank you !!
Will keep trying more recipes and will keep you posted!
Oh my, thank you so much for your awesome feedback Dolly, you have no idea how much I appreciate that! I am the one who’s grateful you found my blog. So glad to hear you and yours loved the cookies and that you’ve also had success with some of my other recipes! That is true music to my ears and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your heartwarming comment. You are a true rock star, my friend!
ok…now i might have to go out and get the spelt flour for these…YUM!
My toddler loved these! I didn’t have protein powder so substituted LSA, added a tablespoon of honey just because my bananas were only just ripe. Added raisins as you suggested.
Awesome! Thanks for the great feedback, Emily! 😀
These sound wonderful. I will try later this afternoon. I had just cooked fresh pumpkin as my family have come to expect fresh pumpkin pie for holidays. I would love suggestions as to sugar free. With the cookies I will use Pea Protein. Found this in a whole food market and have been using for a protein shake in the am. Again ,thanks
Wow! Love this recipe. I made these last night. I changed it up a little bit. I used Bob’s Red Mill all purpose flour (gluten free), I added 4oz apple sauce and some pumpkin pie spice. I didn’t have clove or ginger on hand but it seems my cookies didn’t need it. They are absolutely perfect. I feel like iI out did myself. I locked them up in an airtight container like you said and they are still moist this morning. Thanks so much for sharing. I will make these often. 😀 You have no idea how excited I am!
Real glad you liked the cookies, Elizabeth! Thanks a bunch for letting me know, I greatly appreciate that! *Fist bump* 🙂
I am so excited to try these. Only thing is, I am allergic to bananas. What about applesauce? Has anyone successfully made them with applesauce and no banana?
Oh, and making your own fresh pumpkin puree is super easy. Use a sweet pumpkin, intended for pies. Or you can use butternut squash — it tastes the same. Check foodnetwork.com, Alton Brown does a great job of explaining how to do it.
I’ve never tried using applesauce instead of banana, but I really don’t see why it couldn’t be done. If it were me, though, I would use whole eggs instead of egg whites if I was gonna do that…
And I’ll be sure to check the tips on how to make pumpkin puree. I figure it has to be fairly easy. Probably as easy as cutting that pumpkin in half and roasting it flesh side down until soft, then puree. I’ll definitely have to try making my own, this year! Thanks for the inspiration!
I’m a HUGE skeptic of anything made with protein powder. It’s tends to not bake well and usually leaves a very rubbery texture when added to baked goods.
HOWEVER, these are surprisingly good!!
Thanks for posting this
Glad the cookies were to your liking, Andru! Thanks for taking the time to let me know. I truly appreciate that!
And yeah, I totally agree with you in that protein powder tends to make baked goods rubbery…
Sonia, your cookies were amazing!! I have been on the hunt for a healthy, high protein snack that fits the fall season and your cookies were the perfect fit. The fact that they are completely sugar free is a fit girls dream! But the sugar addict in me couldn’t help but wonder how awesome these would taste with some raisins and dark chocolate chunks in the mix so I gave it a try and they were delicious!! I also added a tab more pumpkin spice seasoning and pumpkin seeds to really make them pumpkiny! Thanks so much for the inspiration! Your recipes are wonderful! Cant wait to see more 🙂
YUM! Your cookies sound DELISH, Allie. Hey, chocolate chunks will make anything better, and so long as you use the dark variety, it’s good for you, so why not splurge? 🙂
Ooh this sounds so yummyyyyyy! Do you think it would be ok to use steel cut oats with this? I am a terrible terrible cook but I want to give this a try. 🙂 Oh, and I never heard of Himalayan salt, does it matter what kind I use? Thanks!
Not sure, Shira… steel cut takes much longer to cook and I don’t think it would have time to cook completely… It may be best to stick with old fashioned. As for the salt, I believe that Himalayan is the best for your health, that’s why I always use it, but you can use any kind of fine salt for this.
Thanks! I’ll stop by a health food store and check it out!
Hi there! I was wondering if 1-minute oats would work for this recipe?
I wouldn’t see why not, Jennifer…
I made these vegan simply by substituting the 3/4 cup egg whites for 3 tbsp ground flax mixed with 9 tbsp water (totals 3/4 cup). Also only had a chocolate protein powder on hand. I skipped the coconut and pecans and added dates and walnuts. Also substituted 1 cup ground oats (oat flour) for the spelt flour. They came out amazing. I used ten dates and I think that might’ve actually been a little too much…. still great though. Wasn’t expecting them to be so sweet! thanks for the recipe!
Very good to hear, Chelsea, and thanks a bunch for taking the time to share your experience and substitutions with the rest of us! That’s greatly appreciated. 🙂
Hi Sonia,
I’m diabetic and have been searching for a low sugar healthy cookie recipe. This one looked interesting and thought I’d try it. I went out and bought all the ingredients I didn’t have to make these cookies. I used whole wheat spelt flour and with all the spices in this recipe I thought they would be amazing. They are very bland and not much flavour. It needs a touch of sweetness to perk them up. I have enough to make one more batch. I think I’ll try adding extra nuts and maybe a handful of extra dark chocolate chips. On my first batch I melted 72% dark chocolate and drizzled it on all the cookies. What a difference it makes with the flavour.