These healthy pecan flavored oatmeal cookies are so crispy and crunchy. They are just 4 ingredients and don’t contain any flour, eggs, refined sugar or dairy. The cookies can be enjoyed for breakfast, snack or dessert.
These oatmeal cookies are so crunchy and the toasted pecans add a nice nutty flavor to the cookies. The cookies are also sweetened with maple syrup and I really love the combination of maple with pecans.
Ingredients
- Quick Oats
- Pecans
- Coconut oil
- Maple syrup
Quick oats: These cookies work best with quick oats. Quick oats are rolled oats that have been further processed so that they are thinner and smaller pieces. You want to use quick oats for this recipe because they will crisp up easier and will bind better. If you don’t have quick oats on hand, you can put rolled oats through a food processor until they become smaller pieces like quick oats.
Pecans: The pecans are finely chopped in a food processor until they resemble coarse crumbs. You want the pecans pieces to be small so that they bind better and crisp up.
Coconut oil: The oats are coated in coconut oil to help the oats get crispy.
Maple syrup: The cookies are lightly sweetened with pure maple syrup. The maple syrup also helps to bind the ingredients together.
How to Make Pecan Oatmeal Cookies
- The quick oats are first mixed with coconut oil and stirred until the oats are all even coated.
- The pecans are pulsed in a food processor until they resemble coarse crumbs.
- The maple syrup is then added and mixed in.
- Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to pack the mixture into the scoop. It’s important that you pack it in because this will help compact the mixture and help the oats and pecans bind together during baking. Release the mixture onto your prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining cookie mixture.
- Use the back of a metal spoon to spread the cookie mixture into a round disk. The cookies are then ready to be baked. They will need about 15 minutes in the oven or until the edges turn a medium-dark brown.
- Once the cookies are done, let them cool so that they can firm up and set. The cookies are then ready to be enjoyed.
Cookie Texture and Sweetness
These cookies are meant to be healthy cookies so they are only lightly sweetened.
These cookies don’t have a regular crunchy oatmeal cookie texture. Instead, the texture is like granola, except in cookie form.
Tips for Making Successful Cookies
- Keeping the mixture compact is key to the ingredients binding together during baking. The oat and pecan mixture is loose so you want to compact it the best you can before baking. The mixture is first compacted in the cookie scoop. It is then compacted again when you use a spoon to flatten and shape the cookies.
- The quick oats need the coconut oil to help them crisp up and to prevent them from being dry as they bake so it is important to make sure the coconut oil is evenly mixed across all of the oats. This is achieved by stirring for a good 30 seconds.
- Make sure to use quick oats and not rolled oats. Rolled oats won’t bind well.
More Crispy Oatmeal Cookie Recipes
- 4 Ingredient Crispy Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
- 4 Ingredient Crispy Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
- 4 Ingredient Crispy Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
4 Ingredient Crispy Pecan Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (67 g) quick oats
- 1/4 cup (28 g) pecan halves
- 1.5 tbsp (22 ml) melted coconut oil
- 4 tbsp (2 fl oz/59 ml) maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Add oats to a large mixing bowl. Drizzle melted coconut oil evenly across. Make sure you use the full 1.5 tbsp. Some of the oil will usually get stuck in the measuring spoon/cup so you will need to use a spatula to get it all into the mixing bowl. Mix oats with a spatula for about 30 seconds, stopping a few times to scrape the sides of your bowl, until all of the oats are moistened with coconut oil.
- Add pecans to a food processor and pulse until the pecans become the size of coarse crumbs. See photo in post for reference. Pour pecan mixture into the oats mixture. Make sure to use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of your food processor to get all of the pecan crumbs because a lot of it gets stuck on the sides. Stir pecans with oats for about 15 seconds until they are evenly combined.
- Drizzle the maple syrup across. Mix with your spatula until the oats and pecans are evenly coated in syrup and start to clump together slightly.
- Using a 1 tbsp cookie scoop, pack 1 tbsp of oat mixture into your cookie scoop. Do your best to pack the mixture into the scoop to help the oat mixture hold its form. Release onto your prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining mixture, spacing each about 1 inch apart. Use the back of a metal spoon to press and shape each cookie until it becomes a thin round disk (between 3/16 and 1/4 inch thick). If your mixture is too sticky or you are having difficulty shaping, you can lightly wet the back of the spoon with water before using it to press the oat mixture. The cookies will not change shape during baking so shape them how you want the final outcome to be. It's important to pack the mixture into the cookie scoop and to use a spoon to flatten and shape the cookies because doing these things also helps to compact the mixture together which will then allow the ingredients to bind together during baking.
- Bake the cookies for about 15-16 minutes or until the the edges turn a medium to dark brown. The longer you bake, the crispier the cookies will be but you do want to make sure the edges don't get too dark.
- Remove cookies from oven but don't attempt to move them from the baking sheet until they are set. This will take about 20 minutes. They will not yet be crispy when they first come out of the oven. Once they are no longer hot, the cookies should be fully set and crispy. The best way to remove them is to peel them off the parchment paper or silicone mat instead of using a spatula. Once the cookies are ready, enjoy them right away or store them in an airtight container or sealed bag. I recommend storing them within an hour after they are done baking. If you leave them out in the open too long, they will absorb the moisture in the air which will cause them to soften.
Notes
- These cookies are crispy and crunchy but they don't have the texture of classic oatmeal cookies. They are more like granola in a convenient cookie form.
- The cookies are only lightly sweetened since they are meant to be healthier cookies.
- I used unrefined coconut oil but it should also work with refined coconut oil.
- Make sure to use quick oats and not rolled oats. Rolled oats won't bind as well.
- If you do accidentally leave your cookies out too long and they turn soft, you can place them back in the oven for a few minutes to crisp them up again.
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.
