banana bread cookies;
If you like banana bread, you’ll love these cookies! You’ll love it even more if you’re looking for a gluten free banana bread! And I’ve already made two batches in quarantine (aka ~4 weeks) which says a lot I think! I find them so tasty and I actually find that they satiate my hunger for a while. I like to think I’ve been more in tune with my body and how it reacts to foods lately. And I’m really pleased with how filling these are for me. Quarantine has been interesting. My family is really quite grateful for the minimal impacts we’ve felt. Both me and my husband are able to work from home and we don’t have kids, just a fur baby that forces us outside to get up and walk!
So far we’re both healthy and we’re lucky that while we have some elderly folks we’re worried for, the majority of our families are healthy, don’t have compromised immune systems, and are taking precautions to keep them and others around them healthy. I’ve actually had my grandmother who’s in NYC have some direct contact so while it’s been primarily an inconvenience in my daily life, it’s still hitting close to home in a scary time. I have so much respect for families with children and jobs and circumstances that require more concern and care.
I believe I’ve mentioned in other posts, but I’m on somewhat of a fitness journey currently. Not to be the leanest or slimmest I’ve ever been but to be the healthiest. And one of the things that contributes is gratitude. I can acknowledge inconvenience and suffering in myself and others while still being grateful for the things I do have and am able to do. If you can, and feel it would help you, I suggest you try listing out 5 things you’re grateful for! I’ll start: I’m grateful for no DC traffic in my daily life, a cute person and a cute doggo to share this time with, having time to bake, time for this health journey, and that our pantry is stocked (even if I can’t run to the grocery 12x a week for baking ingredients I forgot).
I know it’s not always easy to find the silver lining, but I promise you it’s there! When I’m getting overwhelmed with negative thoughts I try to come up with a gratitude for each negative thought in my head. It’s important to me to stress that this is not erasing or ignoring the bad thought. It’s consciously choosing to consider gratitude after feeling and processing negative thoughts.
All this to say, that I’m grateful I tried this recipe because it is definitely getting added to the regular rotation! I’m sometimes a little skeptical about gluten free baking because there are some textures and flavors I know and love, and as someone who doesn’t have gluten intolerances I don’t always like to sacrifice the tasty parts of my diet. I am the carb queen after all. But I knew I was going to like these cookies before I even popped them in the oven. How? Well let’s just say I was happily eating the dough right out of the bowl. Can’t get a bigger compliment than that!
secrets to success;
- The dough mixture might seem a little moist and sticky immediately after mixing, and you’ll be right. But give it a minute or two, basically the time it takes to scoop and shape your dough, and you’ll see the flours absorb some more of the moisture.
- You’ll notice some of the cookies are a little rough (look at the ones on the bottom in the above picture lol). I thought the cookies would spread out in the oven, even a little. But, I was just wrong. So I plopped the first tray with my cookie scoop and didn’t bother flattening them, whereby they kept their “ice cream shape”. I smashed down a couple while they were still warm from the oven to make them more-cookie like. But do yourself a favor, and just flatten them to your desired shape before you pop them in the oven! How they go in is pretty much straight up how they come out.
- When they come out of the oven they’re actually a little bit on the dry side when you eat them straight up. But after resting in a sealed container for a couple hours, some of the moisture actually comes back in them, which I actually find to be more delicious!
banana bread breakfast cookies;
Ingredients
- 1 banana overripe
- ¼ cup natural peanut butter
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1½ cups almond flour
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- ½ cup chocolate chunks
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mash the banana. Then stir in peanut butter, maple syrup, egg, vanilla, and cinnamon.
- Add the almond and coconut flours, and add the baking soda and salt and mix together. Dough will be sticky at first, but will become a little less sticky as the flours absorb the moisture.
- Add chocolate chunks to the mixture, reserving some for topping.
- Use a cookie scoop or hands to roll into balls and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Flatten into a cookie shape—they will bake as is.
- Press any remaining chocolate chunks onto the tops of the cookies. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until cooked through.
- Cookies will be a little dry when cooling from the oven, but may regain moisture when stored in an airtight container to more of the consistency of banana bread.
