Soooo, here is a recipe if you want a very healthy cookie. 

Yumm - o

If I have them on hand, I prefer to use whole, rolled oats when I bake. 

A few years back, Alton Brown on the Food Network explained that a pure oat has not been smashed or rolled (the Quaker Oats that most buy have been smashed and rolled).  But when the oat is in its whole form, it is gluten free and all oat.   I’ve always minimized gluten, so this was right up my alley… And ever since then, I like to use old-fashioned rolled oats to mix things up.  

Old-fashioned oats will create a different texture, as opposed to using “instant oats.”

You can usually find them in the organic or specialty section of any grocery store. 

If you want, you can also add ¼ cup of whole-wheat flour to this recipe.

…or chocolate chips. :) 

All-Natural Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies

• 1 ripe small banana, mashed
• ¼ cup natural chunky peanut butter (I like to use Smuckers Natural Chunky Peanut Butter)
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ½ tsp. cinnamon  (optional)
• 1 ½ (or more) cups Rolled Oats 
• ½ cup chopped walnuts (or chopped peanuts)
• Chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

- Mash banana and pb together. Add the rest of the ingredients. 

- Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.

MY BAKING TIPS:   It’s okay if the cookie dough doesn’t seem to hold together!  Just form it into cookies (press them down and shape them) on the sheets.  They will stay together as they bake. Let them cool on the sheets when you take them out of the oven.

I always adjust recipes and add things when I make a recipe, like this one. I know baking is supposed to be precise. But once I have the basic ingredients down, I just kind of play with the consistency and textures of the dough.

If it’s too wet?…add more oats or flour… If it’s too dry? Maybe add a little milk or more peanut butter.  

It doesn’t have to be perfect.  It just has to taste good!