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A cookie that is good for you
After this past holiday season, I went on a quest for no-sugar-added cookie recipes. I was looking for something my grandson would enjoy for breakfast and I could also feel good about eating myself.
After a few attempts, I have come up with this amazing recipe for banana oatmeal walnut chocolate cookies. It is based on a recipe from the Bluezones kitchen that I tweaked to my liking: https://www.bluezones.com/recipe/banana-oatmeal-cookies/
These cookies are soft and slightly chewy. They are packed with flavor. And yes, they are good for you! They won’t give you or your kids a sugar rush, but at 75 calories a piece (it’s OK to have 2!), they will provide fiber, protein and good carbs in a nice little package with a hint of natural sweetness.
Ingredients
The main ingredients in these banana oatmeal walnut chocolate cookies are – surprise! – bananas, oatmeal, walnuts and cacao powder. That’s pretty much it! The rest is a bit of baking soda and spices. Nothing but good-for-you ingredients! No eggs, no flour, no oil or butter, no sugar, honey or maple syrup. They get all their sweetness from the bananas, and the rest is pure magic. Some would say it’s complex chemical reactions, I call it magic!
You want your bananas to be nice and ripe so most of the starches have turned into sugar, but not completely brown inside and out.
I like to use old fashioned oats because they are less processed than quick cooking ones, but since you will blend them into tiny pieces it doesn’t really matter.
If you wish, you can add some dried fruit to them, raisins, dried cranberries or dried apricots for example. Or a few chocolate chips, but then you kinda break the rule of no sugar added. Unless you use 100% cacao chocolate such as this one https://amzn.to/3acQh3J or https://amzn.to/3ofY0CJ
The equipment you need
All you need is some basic baking equipment: a blender, a cookie sheet, a couple of bowls, measuring cups and spoons and a spatula.
Silicone baking mats are very helpful for baking cookies as nothing sticks to them and they distribute heat evenly. Here’s one I recommend https://amzn.to/3qNVntU. But if you don’t have any, you can line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
An ice cream scoop makes it easy to form the cookies, but you can also use spoons. https://amzn.to/2Y716hV
A wire rack is the best way to let them cool down.
How to make banana oatmeal walnut chocolate cookies
Super simple. Process the oatmeal in a blender to turn it into a coarse flour consistency.
Add cacao powder, spices and baking soda and give a quick whisk.
Mash the bananas.
Add to the oatmeal along with the vanilla.
Mix with a spatula.
Add walnuts and incorporate gently.
Form your cookies and bake! The recipe makes 14 cookies.
So run to your kitchen now and try these. You won’t believe how good they are!
Try our other healthy breakfast or snack ideas:
Gluten-free banana bread chocolate chip muffins
Easy and healthy vegan granola
Banana oatmeal walnut chocolate cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp raw cacao powder
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1-1/2 cup bananas, mashed (about 4 small or 3 large, 400 g mashed)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup walnuts chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone pad.
- In a high power blender or food processor, pulse the oats a few times until you get a rough flour consistency.
- Pour oats into mixing bowl and add cacao powder, baking soda and spices.
- Mash bananas with a fork until completely smooth. Add to oatmeal mixture along with vanilla. Blend well with a spatula.
- Add nuts and mix until combined.
- Using an ice cream/cookie scoop (= about 2 tbsp), drop balls of dough onto cookies sheet, spacing well. With lightly moistened fingers, flatten the balls slightly.
- Bake 20 minutes. Cool on the sheet pan 15 minutes then on a wire rack until completely cool.
- Store in an airtight container
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