Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Perfect way to get rid of bananas that are going bad? Non-fat? Delicious?

Banana oatmeal cookies are my go-to, they're easily customizable and are about as healthy as a cookie can get -- no processed sugar or flour here. So they're totally acceptable for breakfast, which is convenient because they TASTE like breakfast. 

Banana (and applesauce and coconut) oatmeal cookies.

I adapted the recipe from a VegWeb entry, but omitted the processed ingredients and added a few things.

    3/4 cup whole wheat flour
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    1 teaspoon salt
    1/2 teaspoon allspice
    2 teaspoons cinnamon
    3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
    1/2 cup agave nectar
    1/4 cup brown sugar
    1 tablespoon ground flax seed + 3 tablespoons water (whisk together like an egg) 
    2 ripe bananas, mashed
    2 1/2 cups quick (not instant) oats
    1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

1. Preheat oven to 400 F, and set aside two greased baking sheets. 

2. Combine dry ingredients (whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, allspice, cinnamon, oats, coconut) and set aside.

3. Mix together applesauce, agave, and brown sugar, then mix in the flax 'egg' after combined thoroughly. 

4. Add mashed banana to the wet ingredients, then slowly pour the dry ingredients into the applesauce/banana/etc. Stir well after each gradual addition.

5. Scoop tablespoon-sized spoonfuls onto baking sheets and form into round clumps with a wet spoon. 

6. Bake for 12 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks. 

Super easy, and they turned out great! According to the VegWeb recipe, each cookie is only 70 calories -- and since I removed the white flour and sugar, my version's even less. Plenty of room to experiment with mix-ins (semisweet chocolate chips would be great with these cookies). I brought these to a friend's Memorial Day BBQ and everyone loved them! Mission accomplished.