Banana Cranberry Cookies

Bananas are a great healthy substitute for oil and sugar in cookies. I have played around with banana and oat cookies with mixins, so when I saw this version, I wanted to give it a try. This version uses a few more ingredients, but is just as simple to make. The cookies were good, but with the maple syrup, bananas and the dried cranberries they were a bit too sweet. Next time I will leave the maple syrup out because the fruit provides enough natural sweetness. With no flour, eggs or oil, these little treats won't leave you feel guilty and can be whipped up in a matter of minutes. The best part about this recipe is that you can experiment with the ingredients for whatever your taste buds want.

Ingredients:
3 bananas, very ripe
2 cups of oats
1/3 cup applesauce, unsweetened
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon wheat germ (Note*: you can also use ground flax seed)
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

 Using a potato masher or fork, mash the bananas in a small bowl.

Add the oats, applesauce, maple syrup, wheat germ and dried cranberries to the bananas. Mix all the ingredients together.

Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop put the dough onto the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 24 minutes.

Two-Ingredient Cookies

My taste for sweet things comes and goes, so I am trying to look for some healthier options that I won't feel guilty afterwards for eating. This of course lead me on another Pinterest adventure to see what I could find. I was trying to find a recipe for something with the ingredients I have on hand. This is a good way to challenge my creativity and helps a bit with my budget. I had remembered seeing a few recipes for simple banana and oatmeal cookies, so I started searching for those. Low and behold, I found one from iAManRD that used only bananas and oatmeal. Awesome since I happened to have both of those things on hand. Literally all you do is mash two bananas with one cup of oatmeal and bake a 325 for 10-12 minutes. The recipe calls for a potato masher, but oddly enough that is one kitchen tool that I don't have so I went for the next best tool - my hands. With your hands you always have the tools you need, even if it gets a little messy.

I had a few chocolate chips left over from another recipe so I threw those in, along with some raisins. Be careful not to add in too many mix-ins because then the batter won't stick together. You could also try any kind of dried fruit or spices...this is a really basic batter that you can totally make your own. I used two small bananas and got 10 small cookies from the batch. The number of cookies you get will depend on the size of the bananas you use. These will look a little undone because of the bananas, but of the toothpick is relatively clean then they are ready. This is would be great alternative to the traditional banana bread when you have some super ripe bananas and definitely healthier. Plus they tasted exactly like a chocolate chip banana bread, so it's kind of like you get the best of both worlds. 

Nutella Cookies

So I know that I am a few days late on this, but don't worry I will try to play catch up over the weekend to get back on track. This month I have challenged myself to make one new treat everyday. I know a lofty goal, but hey why not end 2012 with a bang. Since my refrigerator and pantry aren't exactly stocked correctly for a month long baking project, I headed over to Supercook to see what I could make with what I had on hand. I found a recipe for Nutella cookies from Food Network and was ready to go. I am a huge Nutella fan and having it sit around is dangerous because it's so yummy. I have never used it in a recipe and figured this was a perfect time to try it. It was a super simple recipe that used only powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, flour, and Nutella. You are off by mixing the powdered sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Then mix in the vanilla, gradually add in the flour, and finally beat in the Nutella. Some of the reviews said that it didn't have enough of a Nutella flavor, so I added more because you can never have enough, right?!

I will warn you that the batter does not look like normal cookie dough. Scoop out the dough onto parchment lined baking sheets, only putting each because they spread out. However, I only had two baking sheets so I put more than 12 on each (I'm such a baking rebel!) Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, unless your oven is like mine and bakes super quickly. They will have an almost fudgy like texture, so don't worry if they don't look crunchy. Let them cool 5 minutes before cooling them completely on a wire rack. After they are completely cooled, you get to "roll" them in powdered sugar. Since they are somewhat flat, I am not entirely sure how that works, so I ended up just dipping the tops of the cookies. They were fudgy, melted in your mouth, and definitely had that Nutella taste to them. It was also suggested to add in some nuts, which might have been a good choice to add some texture. This is a great (and quick) recipe for those times you just need to whip up a batch of cookies.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

I don't know about you, but I love chocolate chip cookie dough... the ice cream always seems to hit the spot. However, I know that it's not exactly great for you to eat without baking, so I was really excited when I found this recipe on Pinterest for eggless chocolate chip cookie dough. If you want the full recipe, originally from Fun Foods on a Budget, you can find in on my Pinterest board. This couldn't be simpler and is super delicious. You only need seven ingredients: flour, brown sugar, chocolate chips, butter, salt, vanilla, and milk. I only had half and half on hand, so I just used that.

First, mix together the brown sugar and the butter.

Then stir in the vanilla and the milk. Finally, mix in the flour, salt, and chocolate chips and then freeze. It may look a little runny and wet at this point, but it will look more like cookie dough once it is frozen. 

Next step... enjoy! Try not to eat too much in one sitting, though. If you can handle it, you can always freeze it into balls. I however could not. This is something you don't want to pass up and I promise it tastes exactly like cookie dough! Try it out and let me know what you think!