Banana PB & Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

- Amanda

We’re definitely on a chocolate banana kick over here, but can you blame us? One of the best combos ever, right? (And well, we’re wasting nothing these days, so we’re putting them brown bananas to work.)…But we’ve upped the anti and included some peanut butter. And we’ve left out the gluten and almost all the refined sugar. But truuust me, don’t let that deter you from making these if you have the ingredients in stock. They are delicious as well as kid & healthy-treat-picky hubs approved.

Honestly, I have to say, I was a bit (pleasantly) surprised when we tasted these out of the oven. They were really knock-our-socks-off-good. Soft, chewy and full of chocolate-banana flavor. All good things you want in a cookie and often lack in one labeled gluten-free or refined sugar-free, let alone both. And I’ve made plenty of refined sugar-free and gluten-free treats. These don’t have that slight “something’ is missing element. They are just really satisfyingly delectable.

So, if you have bananas lying around that are closer to the brown side, then hopefully you also have a few of these other needed ingredients too. But, if you don’t, a lot can be swapped out.

Chia and ground flax seeds add more to the “healthy” factor, but aren’t a deal breaker if you don’t have. Peanut butter can be replaced with another nut/ seed butter that you have on hand. Date paste, I happened to have, but if you have honey or maple syrup, you’re good to go. I used coconut oil, but you can easily sub butter or another kind of mild oil if you need to. I prefer the texture a regular egg gives, but if you want to go vegan or are out of eggs, swap for a flax egg. (one tablespoon ground flax seeds + 3 tbsps water) Sugar-free chocolate chips or a chopped up no-sugar bar will make these completely refined-sugar free, but just a quarter cup of (regular) mini chocolate chips can go a long way for some good chocolate flavor without too much guilt. As far as the oats go, not sure about a decent substitution here. But do let me know if you have success with something else.

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Banana PB & Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups mashed banana (about 2 bananas)
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter (smooth)
  • 2 tbsps melted coconut oil
  • 1 egg, slightly whisked
  • 1 tsp date paste (or honey/ maple syrup)
  • 1 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 170C/350F and line a baking tray with parchment.

  2. In a large bowl, mash the bananas and measure to make sure it’s 1 1/4 cups.

  3. Stir in the chia seeds, flax, and peanut butter until combined.

  4. Next add all the rest of the ingredients and stir until everything is combined.

  5. Drop by the spoonful onto the lined baking tray and bake for 13-15 minutes until slightly golden brown and no wet spots.

  6. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temp for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 4 days.

Recipe Notes

*If you don’t have chia or flax seeds, you can omit them from the recipe.

*Peanut Butter can be swapped for another nut/seed butter.

*Date paste can be swapped with honey or maple syrup.

*Instead of coconut oil, you can use any other mild oil or butter.

*To make them vegan, use a flax egg instead of a real egg. (Mix 1 tbsp ground flax seed + 3 tbsps water and let sit for 5 min.)