Cooking

Banana Applesauce Oat Cookies

Healthy Oatmeal Cookies

healthy-cookiesThis is an odd one, scrawled on the back of a napkin and handed to me by a stranger in a coffee shop after an impromptu conversation. It has no flour, no added sugar, and can be dairy-free.

Oh, come on. Stop rolling your eyes. It passes the Tiny Kitchen Assistant test, so it must be decent. Trust me: the boy would not steer you wrong, especially when it comes to desserts.

Ingredients

  • 3 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup milk*
  • 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup nuts (optional)
  • 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet or line with a silicone mat.

Mix together bananas and applesauce until reasonably smooth. Add remaining ingredients. Allow to sit for 15 minutes to let the oats absorb the liquid.

Scoop onto the cookie sheet, pressing gently in the center of the mound to flatten a bit. They don’t spread much, so you want to press them down to look more like cookies and less like scoops of oat ice cream.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until golden. Cool. Eat.

Cookies without dragging out the KitchenAid. Not a bad deal.

Cookies without dragging out the KitchenAid. Not a bad deal.

Results

“Healthy cookies! I love healthy cookies! Can I have two? Can I take them to school? This is so awesome!” The Tiny Kitchen Assistant was so excited that he even made me write down the recipe for use at “cooking center” on Tuesday afternoon.

They lack the cookie-like texture that flour and butter would impart, but I have to say, they’re not bad at all. I packed a couple to munch on during a long bike ride. I prefer them with nuts, but we had to make a half-and-half batch since everything school related must be nut-free.

* I’m told that you can use almond milk instead of the regular milk in the recipe, but as I have no almond milk at home, I haven’t tested it.

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