Variation with buckwheat flour, coconut, and cacao nibs.
Sugar is a nasty beast. I’ve cut it out for short periods of time only to be reeled in by it once more. I’ve also tried to stave it off by making smoothies with fruits and greens in hopes that my body will get enough nutrition so as not to crave extraneous unhealthy foods. Sometimes it works. It's important to me to have foods around that replace the foods I would normally grab during a snack attack. These banana cookies do the trick for me. They’re also great for a quick breakfast.
Most of the recipes I'll be posting are original creations, but this one I discovered from Five Heart Home. I use her recipe for Banana Breakfast Cookies and modify it a bit. My modifications vary almost every time I make them, just to keep things exciting. Here's my version, with more modifications below.
Ingredients:
2 cups oats
1/2 t ground spices (cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, grains of paradise; any kind or combination)
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 large bananas (ripe or slightly overripe), mashed (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup peanut butter (or any other nut or seed butter)
1 t vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, any kind or combination)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine oats, ground spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and mix well. In a separate bowl combine mashed banana, nut butter, vanilla, and nuts; mix well. Then gradually stir the dry ingredients into the banana mixture. Make sure everything is mixed well. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Each cookie requires about 1/4 cup dough, so you can use either a spoon to scoop out the dough or use your hands to form and ball then pat it down slightly. Bake for about 15 minutes or until they're just browned on the bottom. The cookies will not spread, so their shape on the baking sheet is how it will look once it's baked.
[Modification Notification! Sometimes I omit 1/2 cup of the oatmeal and add 1/2 to 1 cup buckwheat flour. I almost always add 1/2 to 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes and 1/2 cup cacao nibs to the dry ingredients. Sometimes I add 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa. One time I added 1/2 cup finely grated carrots and 1 T finely minced fresh ginger. Try some of your own fun variations!]