These healthy no bake apple cookies are packed with apples. The cookies are easy to make and don’t need any flour, eggs, added sugar, butter or oil. The cookies take only a few minutes to prepare and store well.
Fall is just around the corner and my family has been enjoying a lot of deliciously crisp and sweet apples recently. While I’ve shared a few apple cookie recipes before, they’ve never used fresh apples. What I love about this recipe is that it uses apples rather than applesauce so that the cookies are packed with apple flavor.
Ingredients
- Apple
- Peanut Butter
- Quick Oats
Apple: This recipe works best with fresh apples. Try to choose a sweet and crisp type of apple. I like Fuji, Ambrosia or Honey Crisp. You will need approximately one large apple for this recipe though you likely won’t need the whole thing. The apple provides the apple flavor and adds natural sweetness to the cookies.
Peanut Butter: You must use natural unsweetened peanut butter for this recipe to work. This is the drippy kind of peanut butter that doesn’t have any added oils. Peanut butter acts as a binding agent for these cookies. When it is mixed with the juices from the apple, it will thicken and stiffen to a cookie dough-like consistency that will work to bind the ingredients together. Peanut butter that is processed with oils will not stiffen the same way because the oils act as a stabilizer so this is why you need to use natural peanut butter. Natural peanut butter can be substituted with natural almond butter. For a nut-free version, you can also use natural sunflower seed butter.
Quick Oats: Quick oats are rolled oats that have been further processed so that they are smaller and thinner and will soften easier. They are not the same as instant oats which are usually sold in small packages with sugar and flavoring. Quick oats are just a type of oat and has no added sugar. Quick oats work best for this recipe because there is very little liquid so if you use rolled oats, they will not be able to soften as well.
How to Make No Bake Apple Oatmeal Cookies
The apples are first lightly heated in the microwave so that they are partially cooked. Cooking the apples a little will help these no bake cookies taste more like traditional cookies. Cooking the apple pieces lightly will also help release the apple juices from the apples and help bring out the natural sweetness of the apple pieces.
Once the apples are partially cooked, they are then mixed with the peanut butter. You’ll see the peanut butter go from runny and wet to thick and dry, like cookie dough. The apples are lightly mashed into the dough so that the apple flavor is mixed in. Then mix in the quick oats. The dough is then ready to be scooped and shaped.
Variations
You only need 3 ingredients to make this recipe but there are other additions you can make to suit your personal preferences.
If you like cinnamon flavor with your apple cookies, you can toss the apples in cinnamon.
These cookies are only naturally sweetened with apples. I found that my apples were sweet enough that I didn’t need any added sugar but if you prefer something sweeter, you can add chocolate chips to the cookies or sprinkle some sugar on top.
More Healthy No Bake Cookie Recipes
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Healthy Chocolate Cookies
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Coconut Cookies
3 Ingredient No Bake Apple Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (117 g) chopped apples peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch by 1/4 inch pieces
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp (96 g) natural unsweetened peanut butter
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp (36 g) quick oats
Instructions
- Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Add apples to a large microwave-safe mixing bowl. Heat apples in microwave in 15-20 second intervals, stirring in between until they are just starting to cook. This should take less than a minute (mine took 40 seconds). You want the apples to be still crisp, but they should change color and start releasing some liquid. Do not heat more than 15-20 seconds at a time because you can burn the apples.
- Add in the peanut butter and stir with a spatula until fully incorporated. The peanut butter should turn from liquidy to stiff and thick, almost like a cookie dough consistency.
- Once the dough is thick, use a whisk to mash the apples in. The apples do not need to be fully mashed. The goal is to release some more of the apple juices into the peanut butter and make the apple pieces a little smaller (about half of the size they started out as).
- Add in the quick oats. Use a spatula to mix them into the dough until the oats are fully incorporated.
- Using a 1 tbsp cookie scoop, scoop out dough balls and place onto the cookie sheet, spacing the balls about 1 inch apart. Press down on each dough ball with the back of a metal spoon until it forms a round disk (about 1/2 inch thick). Cookies will not change shape so shape them as you would like your final cookies to be. You can use your fingers to smooth the edges.
- Place cookies into fridge for about 30 minutes to one hour to firm up. The cookies will not change much but they will be firmer, making them easier to hold and eat. Store uneaten cookies in the fridge.
Notes
- Make sure to use a sweet and crisp apple type. Something like Fuji, Ambrosia or Honey Crisp.
- Make sure to core and peel the apples before cutting them into 1/2 inch by 1/4 inch pieces.Â
- You must use natural peanut butter (no oils added). This recipe will not work with regular peanut butter (that has oils added). See post for substitutions.
- The cookies are only lightly sweetened with the apples and have no additional sugar. If you prefer your cookies to be sweeter you can add chocolate chips or sprinkle some sugar on top.
- You can also add cinnamon for more flavor (add 1/2 tsp into the dough).
- Cooking the apples in the microwave slightly will help the apples release some of their juices, make it easier to incorporate the apple flavor into the dough and also will give the cookies more of a baked apple cookie taste.
- I use this oxo 1 tbsp cookie scoop.*
- *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
I love these 3 ingredient cookies. I look forward to trying many more of these type of cookies. I did double batches, so I could share. I also did these two different ways. Both are wonderful. I chose to do one 1. With rolled oats and crunchy natural peanut butter. The second with quick oats and creamy natural peanut butter. Each contained apple sauce with cinnamon. I think the quick oats created a more condensed cookie. Both are moist and delicious. Thank you, for creating and sharing these recipes.
We’re so glad you enjoyed them!
These were great. Question, can you use a Ninja food processor to mix everything or would that mess up the apples?
We haven’t tried that – it’s pretty easy to just mix everything in a bowl.
LOVE THESE! Followed your recipe to the T and they came out just like the pictures- and tasted SO Good!! Quick and easy! Thank you for another fabulous recipe!
We’re so glad you liked them!
I do not havexa microwave any suggestios for cooking apples on the stove top?
yes you can sautee them over low heat in a saucepan until they are partially cooked and juices are just starting to be released. When you add them to the dough, make sure to include any of the juices released.
I was looking forward to making these cookies; my family loves apples and oatmeal! I followed the instructions to the letter but my cookies never firmed up. I put them in the refrigerator for several hours, but they never resembled cookies. They were delicious how they were, but I’m not sure what I did wrong.
Hi, what was the consistency of your cookie dough? The dough should firm up just enough so that you can easily handle it. Did you make sure to use natural peanut butter with no added oils?
Made these earlier today. So glad to find something that’s not Keto-I don’t want the fat just low carb/low sugar. This is a great option for bariatric or diabetic patients. Don’t expect a cookie, but it is a very nice cold sweet snack that for me totally takes care of the sweet cravings. I made it exactly as the author states, with 3 exceptions. It took (my microwave) about a minute and a half to even start softening the apples, and I added 1/4 tsp cinnamon. I also added in a 1/4 cup chopped pecans for some additional protein. I used a full honeycrisp apple, and the texture is there, but you pretty much taste peanut butter. No problem here? Oh and as for sweetness, the one apple makes it very sweet, just be sure to do as the original recipe states by mashing it up first. Great find!
thank you for sharing your experience!
I don’t own a microwave. Can I çook the apples slightly in a toaster oven?
You can cook them on the stove. I wouldn’t do a toaster oven because that will dry/dehydrate the apples.
Good excellent easy recipe thanks
glad you enjoyed!
This did not work for me. I followed your instructions carefully, but — even after an overnight stay in the refrigerator— they totally fall apart.
Can I now add flour and and egg, and bake them? Â I hate to waste foods and want to rescue them somehow.
Thank you.
You can add an egg and bake it. I’m not sure why your cookies fell apart. Did you use a peanut butter with no added oils?
Excellent
I’m glad you liked them!
Use almond butter for a nut free recipe…..what the heck do you think almonds ARE??
I didn’t say use almond butter for a nut free recipe. Please re-read. The post states: “Natural peanut butter can be substituted with natural almond butter. For a nut-free version, you can also use natural sunflower seed butter.”
Wonderful! We need more recipes like this! Thank you!
You’re welcome! Be sure to check out all of our Recipes with 4 Ingredients or Less – we have a lot of ideas for you!
Am excited to try this.
Finally a healthy cookie, not loaded with sugar.
We hope you love them!