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using up black bananas to make sugar free cookies

All week I’ve been thinking ‘I must make banana bread before they grow legs and walk themselves to the compost bin’.  Banana bread is a misnomer of course because most recipes use a cake sized quantity of sugar so I opted for a sugar free banana and date cookie recipe instead from The Healing Foods Cookbook.  A much better alternative considering the chief cake eater in our house is away for the weekend.

black bananasThis is a really user friendly recipe; the only instruction is to mix everything together really well.  Grab a fistful of mix, make a ball and flatten it onto an oiled baking sheet (I prefer shaping to scraping off tablespoons because it produces a more cakey cookie and who doesn’t love getting mucky when baking?).  What’s more these cookies are vegan, sugar free and suitable for a wheat free diet so no one needs to feel guilty about reaching for a second one and friends with particular diets who often expect to go without a treat with their cuppa will love you for the special effort you’ve gone to (which is really little effort at all).  Enjoy x

mosaicd5bbf1b6fe44f48162499f845ab95962c041be64

to make banana and date cookies

3 medium bananas, mashed
75g dried dates, finely chopped
75g walnuts, finely chopped
175 oats
150ml olive or sunflower oil
1 tsp vanilla essence
(variations to try: dollops of nut butter or jam, assorted seeds or coconut shavings)

bake at 200C/375F/gas 6 for 20-25 minutes

banana and date cookie

2019 update

I forget my own recipe posts half the time!  I’ve been experimenting with no sugar baking with variable results but completely forgot about these cookies.  They have been perfect this week for a hormonal sweet cravings.  Using just one banana and 1/3 quantities of the other ingredients I switched out olive oil, walnuts and vanilla essence for coconut oil and sunflower seeds and added half a grated pear, 10g of Pulsin pea protein and a reasonable shaking of cocoa (I didn’t measure how much just finger dipped and tasted!).  They had a lovely squidgy middle like brownies and L enjoyed them with a dribble of milk on to cool them down as toddlers don’t understand “leave to cool on a rack for 10 minutes”!

IMG_20180221_105618_079.jpg

Making a small batch of banana and oat cookies

1 medium bananas, mashed
25g dried dates, finely chopped
25g sunflower seeds
58g oats
50ml coconut oil
cocoa powder to taste (optional)
grated fruit such as apple or pear.(variations to try: dollops of nut butter or jam, assorted seeds or coconut shavings)

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10 comments

  • Jacqueline
    August 23, 2009

    Brilliant! I only ever make banana bread with my nearly departed nanas. This is great 🙂

    Reply
    • Nip it in the bud
      August 24, 2009

      thanks Jaq, unlike other sugar free recipes I’ve tried they do taste delicious

      Reply
  • jacqueline
    August 24, 2009

    Great, I will give them a go, although I will have to substitute another nut for the walnuts, as my hubby hates them. Something I have never been able to understand. How offensive can a nut really be?

    Reply
  • David
    September 6, 2009

    The onion shown is a” Stuttgarter Riesen”

    Reply
    • Nip it in the bud
      September 8, 2009

      terrific, thanks Dave. They’ve all been brilliant, several used for chutney making this evening :o)

      Reply
  • Rae
    September 30, 2009

    Thanks so much for this fabulous recipe – I’m always on the look out for inspiration for my DD who cannot eat refined sugar. These look lovely – she loves dates, oats and vanilla so I think these will go down a storm.

    I’ve got a banana and walnut loaf on my site if you’re interested: http://sugarfreerecipesforkids.blogspot.com/2009/08/banana-and-walnut-loaf.html

    I live in the Forest of Dean too – so not far away!

    Reply
    • Nip it in the bud
      September 30, 2009

      goodness Rae, how do you manage all that cooking, blogging and saving the planet with all your environmental stuff too? You’re a marvel and I’m glad you popped over to say hello. You’ve got some great recipes, I especially like the look of the blackberry brownies and have a batch in the freezer that may be destined for a brownie mix :o)

      The healing food cookbook is pretty good for low/no sugar recipes and I also have ‘Vegetarian Cooking Without’ which is gluten/sugar/yeast/dairy/meat/fish/sat fat free. I’ve not made much from it though, not because the recipes are unappealing without all those things in but because the book doesn’t have many photos. I love photogenic cookbooks that make your mouth water just looking at the pages!

      Reply
  • Rae
    October 2, 2009

    Hiya, oh I hear you on the need for photos. I have the ‘cooking without’ book too and seldom use it because I like to see the finished product.

    I’ll check out the healthy food cookbook though – thank you! And happy baking, I hope you have a go at the brownies 😉

    Reply
  • Josie
    November 25, 2013

    Planning on trying this tomorrow! 🙂

    Reply
    • Nip it in the bud
      November 26, 2013

      ooh hope you were happy with the results :o) Did Noah appreciate them?

      Reply

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