Thursday, February 12, 2015

(Guilt Free!) Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies


So here's the thing. In a fight between cookies and me, I'd dominate. Cookies don't stand a chance. I have a weakness for cookies - one I haven't bothered trying to change because, well, cookies. Who doesn't love a good cookie? I make a lot of cookies when I bake - it's sort of my go-to, reliable specialty.  I also love eating them.


I saw this recipe floating around Instagram awhile ago. A friend also shared it on Facebook. I tried finding the source but have yet to be successful. I am also sure it's plastered across Pinterest but I wouldn't know. I stay away from Pinterest. For a gal like me who is obsessively organized and a self proclaimed perfectionist, a site like Pinterest just sounds like it'd become an obsession and a lot of work. It'd become less of a discovery site for me and more of a mission to make my pin board AS PERFECTLY ORGANIZED AS POSSIBLE. See? Yeah. I'll stay away, thanks.


Anyway, I kept seeing this recipe and wanted to give it a shot. Because, my friends, they're guilt free and are only made up of 4 ingredients. Um, what? Count me in! I also kind of doubted they'd work. But that's another thing about me and Pinterest - I'm not a believer in all the "clever" and great things gals find there.

Today, I was proven wrong. SO WRONG.

Because these cookies? These cookies made up of just banana, oats, peanut butter, and chocolate chips? They're DELICIOUS! They taste like little chewy bits of banana bread in cookie form.


I have to be honest here and admit my cookies aren't as "guilt free" as they claim since I didn't have any dark chocolate chips handy nor do I keep natural peanut butter in my cabinets. My peanut butter IS reduced fat, though, so that must count for something, right? RIGHT?


What was funny about these cookies is how they bake. Because they're missing critical cookie ingredients like flour, butter, baking soda, etc, they don't bake like typical cookies. There's no spreading, puffing, expanding, etc. This means they will keep the shape you give them when you put them into the oven. Drop them into balls? They will bake as balls! I found that out the hard way. For the next tray that went in, I just flattened them so that they had a more conventional cookie shape.


I liked how these came out (I'm also glad they DID come out). I also liked how simple the ingredients are. If you're a fan of banana and chocolate, you'll like these, too. And then when you eat the entire plate of them, you'll feel less guilty because you can at least say you got your fruit for the day.



(Guilt Free!) Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Yield: ~18 cookies

Ingredients
  • 2 ripe bananas, all mashed up
  • 1 cup quick oats
  • 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1 heaping tablespoon natural peanut butter (or just regular cause who eats natural peanut butter?)
Cooking Directions
  1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Grease cookie sheets.
  3. Mix all ingredients until combined. Add more oats if mixture seems loose (I added about 1/2 cup more due to my bananas being on the larger side).
  4. Scoop cookies onto greased cookie sheets and press into desired cookie shape.
  5. Bake for 15 minutes.
  6. Eat ALL OF THEM!