Every time we have extra ripe bananas in our house, I enjoy making Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies. On a recent cold afternoon I needed a good excuse to heat the oven, and found that there were enough ripe bananas to bake up a batch. Since we LOVE chocolate at our house, I thought it might be fun to try tweaking the original recipe and see if it could be made even better by adding more chocolate. I added cocoa powder and, to counteract the extreme intensity of all the dark chocolate, some semi sweet chocolate chips as well. The cookies turned out real yummy, still gluten free, and diabetic friendly. Here is the newest creation.
Triple Chocolate Banana Oat Cookies!
INGREDIENTS
3 very ripe large bananas (the kind with brown spots) this will be your sweetener
2 cups old fashioned oats (if going gluten free, make certain that these are specifically marked gluten free)
1/4 cup real butter – softened
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1/2 cup 60% dark chocolate chips (to cut carbs & sugars, double these and delete the semisweet chips)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Using a mixer, blend the bananas until smooth, then mix in the oats, butter, real vanilla, baking cocoa and salt until the butter is fully combined. LET SIT for at least 15 minutes to soften the oats. Stir in both kinds of chocolate chips.
3. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls (slightly flattening with a spatula) on an ungreased cookie sheet. Note: I use a pizza stone. Place the cookies close together, they will not spread.
4. Bake for 25 min.
5. The cookies may feel a little spongy when first out of the oven. Let them sit on a rack, and they will crisp up a bit. The center will remain chewy.
6. We ultimately store them in the freezer so that they are a little more difficult to get to, or they’ll disappear fast.
NOTE: IF YOU HAVE THE TIME, THESE COOKIES ARE EVEN BETTER IF YOU LET THE DOUGH SIT, COVERED IN PLASTIC WRAP, OVERNIGHT. REFRIGERATION IS NOT NECESSARY.
I often will make a double recipe and cook up a single tray for immediate consumption, saving the rest of the cookie dough to bake the next day.
The verdict is in: Triple Chocolate Banana Oat Cookies are super yummy, and even better than the original!
Sounds delicious and the ingredients are all healthy. This recipe is one I will save. Thanks for sharing. Visiting from Real Food Friday Blog Hop!
Thank you, my goal is to put out yummy food that is real and healthy. I haven’t tried these with old fashioned oats, yet. If you do happen to, would you let me know your take on it?
I’ve changed the recipe to use old fashioned oats, because quick oats have gluten in them. If gluten free is important to you, make sure that the package states that they are free of gluten.
My family loves bananas! I stop up on the ripe ones when they’re on sale just so I can make banana muffins, loaves, cookies etc. I’ll definitely make this recipe!
Thanks Sandra! Appreciate you stopping by.
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What a clever and delicious way to use some overripe bananas!
I know! I still haven’t figured out why sometimes a bunch of bananas is gone in two days and sometimes it’s still sitting there, sprouting little brown spots, a week later!
What a nice healthier treat. I can’t wait to try them. Thanks for sharing!
It doesn’t feel like it is “healthy,” and they really taste great.
These sounds really good. I like that they are grain free and contain bananas.
Me too. I love the simple ingredients as well.
I think these would pass for breakfast on the go! I could grab a couple and enjoy on my commute to work!
I’ve eaten them for breakfast! 😀
I bet they are so crunchy and delicious one couldn’t stop to just one!
They get crunchy after you leave them out on the counter for several hours. Otherwise they are quite soft. We freeze them to help us stop at just one.
I will have to add this recipe to my collection of breakfast cookies. I love them for a quick meal or snack 🙂
Because I was working toward making them diabetic friendly, I never thought of them as being a breakfast cookie, though I must admit I have eaten them with a cup of coffee first thing in the morning. 😉
Chocolate and bananas go together so well together!! Sounds great, Marjie. 🙂
They do go SO WELL! They are yummy too.
I love banana oat cookies and these are all the better for having chocolate in them!
Yes – they are – I pretty much feel like anything is better with chocolate in it.
My 5yo would INHALE these! I love using banana and sweet potatoes and such to make healthy cookies like these. Love that you used dark chocolate too.
I know! I actually have to hide these in the freezer – from me. Anything with dark chocolate is best!
I love having healthier cookie options, these look great! Thanks for sharing.
Whenever I start making these, my bunch gets excited! They are healthier and yummy too.
I’m always looking for new recipes to use up over ripe bananas, these cookies sound so good, I will have to try them soon!
My family will even point out to me that we have over ripe bananas – hoping that I will make then.