Earlier today I walked into my kitchen to a frightful sight. An entire bunch of bananas lay saggy, spotted and brown on the counter. I’m not sure how it happened but there they were, too mushy to be eaten and too fragrant to be left out for long. In the face of an impending fruit fly attack, I needed a recipe to use up these bananas quickly. With five ingredients and only one bowl required, these simple cookies proved to be just the thing. I served a heaping plateful as an afternoon snack and they were snatched up by desiring fingers in minutes. No more bananas in sight!
Banana bread, banana bread, banana bread- that’s about as far as my creativity usually goes when it comes to old bananas. I have a coconut flour banana bread recipe that is one of my absolute favorite things to have for breakfast with a heap of melty butter. However when I started to look around for something new, I found some other truly delightful things that can be whipped up from these tired fruits too. Banana puddings, cakes, muffins and, most enticingly, cookies!
The nice thing about this particular cookie recipe is that it takes almost no time to prepare in comparison with my go-to bread. With these banana cookies there are no messy flours to spill on the floor, no eggs to crack, no liquids to slosh around in measuring cups; there is not even a pan to fill. I made them and cleaned the kitchen in record time.
The other benefit is that the options for add-ins are endless. I went for chocolate this time around, but sprouted nuts would also be delicious. I can see these chewy cookies as being the type of recipe that can be eaten any time of the day- from breakfast to dessert and everything in between. Try them with a dab of sprouted nut butter for extra protein or slather them with coconut butter for a sweet treat..
When it comes to oats, I personally prefer to soak mine to make them more digestible. By submerging oats in water and an acidic medium overnight, iirritating compounds in the grain are naturally degraded. I wrote an article on the subject that you can read here. There is also a fantastic description of the process in my favorite cookbook of all time: Nourishing Traditions. I happened to have a bowl of soaked oats ready to go on the counter when I made this recipe, so I dumped them right into the mix. If you are in a hurry or simply prefer to leave the oats "raw," ignore the instructions about soaking and straining.
Inspired by this recipe from the folks at The Burlap Bag.
Flourless Banana Everything Cookies
By Kayla- Radiant Life
Ingredients
3 ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups rolled oats, soaked and strained (learn about soaking oatmeal here)
1/3 cup shredded coconut flakes
1/2 cup dark chocolate or carob chips (or more- depending on tastes!)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions
Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Using a fork, mash together bananas in a medium sized bowl. Sprinkle in the cinnamon and stir until evenly distributed. Fold in oats, coconut and chocolate. Drop batter onto lined baking sheet by the heaping tablespoon. Press each mound down lightly with the fork into rounds of about 1/2 inch thick. For crispy cookies flatten more, chewy cookies less. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until the tops have just begun to brown. Allow to cool on a rack for several minutes before serving or storing for later. Enjoy!
