Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies {Healthy}

   I made spaghetti squash for the first time Friday night and it was a hit! It's so easy because all you have to do is pop it in the oven for 1 hour before shredding it into "pasta" so we will be eating it more often. We participated in Bountiful Baskets this past weekend and ended up getting some squash (acorn and carnival) so I'm thinking about making a soup or even try making squash risotto which might help me use some my overflowing plants of rosemary that I actually have kept alive for a few weeks!{I kill plants & fish. I can hand raise kittens that are 48 hours old, but I've killed every plant and fish I have ever had, well actually my last few goldfish fish turned into cannibals. Oops}.

   Late Saturday night, I made another batch of my Sunday Morning Muffins for my mom's class at church for Sunday. I've made these muffins several times, but this was the only time every muffin came out looking like the the one below without the cream cheese oozing out. Instead of making the streusel topping, I just divided a small packet (the little restaurant size packets) between the 12 muffins for a little crunch. 

  I can across this cookie recipe a while back on foodgawker when I had a few ripe bananas, but I didn't want to make another banana bread recipe {seeing as I have 5 quick bread/muffins recipes using bananas} and I have made this recipe twice since. These cookies have no flour, no sugar, no oil if you use applesauce like I did, and vegan (depending on what type of chocolate you use). And unlike most cookie recipes where you end up with a few dozen cookies in your kitchen this only makes 18 small, 2-bite cookies. 

  All you need is some ripe bananas, oats, chocolate chips, a type of liquid binder, and a dash of vanilla. That's it! I mean most people have everything you need for this delicious recipe already so why not bake up a batch? 

  The original recipe used dates instead of chocolate chips, but you could also use dried fruits. I think a batch of these cookies with half dried cherries and half chocolate chips would be absolutely delicious! The original recipe above used volume measurements to make the cookies where as I used my kitchen scale to weight the ingredients to make the recipe below which is more accurate, plus you don't have more dishes to clean afterward. If you don't have a kitchen scale {we have one like this and it's the cheapest compared to other scales.} then this site has good conversions.

The ripened bananas give these cookies their sweetness, the oat give them their chewy texture, and a gooey, richness from the chocolate. Since this recipe have can be ready to eat in less than 35 minutes from start to finish they make for a quick and healthier snack for after school or served as dessert. I ate 2 cookies before they were even cooled which I think was the best because the chocolate just melted. You could even try this recipe using pumpkin puree instead of the bananas. 

Edit: This recipe is not paleo because it contains oats. That was an error on my part due to trying to edit two different recipe posts at once. I do have at least 2 true paleo recipes that I'll post soon. 

Banana Oat Chocolate Chip  Cookies (healthy)

Recipe: Fuss Free Cooking

yields: about 18 small cookies using a cookie scoop

2 ripe bananas mashed {about 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp}
110 grams/ 4 oz rolled oats {used GF old fashioned}
80 grams/ 3 oz chocolate chunks
55 ml/ 2 fl ounces unsweetened applesauce, veg. oil, or melted coconut oil.
1 tsp vanilla extract


1. In a medium bowl, add the ingredients until well combined. Let the mixture sit for 15-25 minutes- the mixture will thicken and the oats will soften.
2. Preheat oven to 350F (or 175 C) and line a baking try with parchment paper.
3. Using a big spoon or small cookie scoop, portion out the cookies on the cookie sheet with some room between each cookie and slightly flatten the top of the cookies {You'll want to flatten to cookies more than the cookies pictured above}. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden.

Store in a resealable bag or container.