Banana Oatmeal Cookies
This recipe is not at all traditional nor Italian, but came from the necessity to find something palatable, slightly sweet, and preferably healthy, when you need a quick breakfast option.
The basic ingredient is oatmeal, that keeps a bite after cooking and gives this cookie a very dense texture. Basically, you have something delicious to chew on for a moment.
Oats are very rich in fiber, which is good for your digestive health, and has the advantage of giving you rapidly a feeling of satiety. Fiber also helps maintain blood sugar levels, preventing insulin spikes. Oats are also gluten free, thus making the cookies a wonderful option for people with celiac disorder.
But the good news does not end here: oatmeal is also incredibly nutritious, thanks to its vitamin, calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium content.
I prefer to use steel cut oats, the very unprocessed form of oats. They give more crunch and a coarser texture to the cookies. If you find the cookie too hard for your taste, you can substitute with rolled oats, and you will obtain a smoother consistency.
To all this goodness, we add bananas. They give the cookies a natural sweet flavor, but also add their own dose of fiber, potassium, vitamin B6 and C, and various antioxidants.
The cookies are ready in a blink without using a food processor: you will need just one bowl.
So, to make a long story short, if you want to eat something sweet, satisfying and guilt-free, those cookies are your best option!
Makes 16 -18 cookies
150 grams oatmeal, steel cut
2 ripe bananas
1 big tablespoon of peanut butter (I prefer crunchy)
1 tablespoon of EV Olive Oil
1 big tablespoon of honey
1 egg
½ a cup (or more) hazelnut (crushed in pieces)
1. Mash the bananas with a fork.
2. Add all other ingredients except the oatmeal, and mix
3. Add the oatmeal
4. Mix once more and let rest for 30 minutes.
5. In the meantime, preheat the oven at 360 F
6. With a small cookie scoop, make small mounds of the mixture on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Keep them apart from each other by at least 1 inch.
7. Flatten gently with the back of a spoon.
8. Bake for 15-18 minutes.
9. Remove from the oven and let cool down before moving the cookies to a cooling rack.
10. Keep in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
A Few Notes:
- You can add dry cranberries or raisins for some extra sweetness
- Also, cinnamon and/or nutmeg following your taste
- Hazelnuts can be substituted with pistachios or almonds or pine nuts
- I’m told that you can freeze those cookies, but I never needed to do that!
Elisabetta Ciardullo is the founder of Think Italian! Events. As Personal Chef she is an ambassador of the Italian cuisine and culture, bringing it into the private homes of Americans, as well as to many corporate clients in Los Angeles.