strawberry-banana bites
I love cookies. Warm vanilla, brown sugar, and butter all diffusing as each spoonful of dough bakes into the perfect bite-size treat. Who doesn't love finding a cookie in their lunch box? Or cooling by the coffee pot? Snickerdoodles, chocolate chip, peanut butter, chocolate crinkles, shortbread.... I love them all. We love them all!
But, these aren't cookies. They are made of fruit, not delicious layers of butter and sugar. They're a trick. See?
But, they are a trick I willingly play on myself. Inspired by Shape.com's so called Applesauce Cookies, these sugar-free, gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free treats are, at the very least, cookie-like. I refuse to call them cookies, but I do dub them granola bites. For nearly three weeks, I've been totally gluten-free and soy-free while severely limiting sugar and dairy. (I'm not insane. I'm doing an elimination diet to identify food allergies... This weekend I'll reintroduced wheat back into my diet.)
Strawberry-banana bites have saved my life.
A guilt-free treat that I actually want to munch on. The bananas sweeten the cookie while slivered almonds give it a slight crunch. Fresh strawberries provide a twinge of tart. And, get this? As they bake, they smell like Quaker's Bananas and Cream oatmeal. If you are making them for kiddos or if you don't mind a bit of sugar, add 1/4 organic or brown sugar when you add the oats.
Strawberry-Banana Bites
Click here for the printable recipe!
Adapted from Shape.com
Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
2 cup gluten-free oats
1/2 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
A generous pinch of nutmeg
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup slivered almonds
6 fresh strawberries
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.In a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Add oats, applesauce, vanilla, spices, and almonds. Stir thoroughly.
2. Cut the tops off strawberries and chop fruit into tiny pieces. Add to batter. Mix until well blended.
3. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto a lined baking sheet. Cook for 20 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Transfer to cooling rack. Enjoy with a cup of coffee.
cookies, gluten free, sweets
Reader Comments (30)
yum! excited to have a safe, quick treat to to give my kids.
delish! def whipping these up soon.
@ Annie - Wonderful! I hope they love them and these are really quick to make.
@ Toni - Thanks, Toni. Enjoy!!!
I love the colors! I immediately bookmarked this recipe, they look perfectly crunchy and delicious
These look so delicious! I must make them this weekend. I think I will sip some tea, eat these cookies, and read that book you just posted about. Sounds like a good afternoon to me.
Happy Friday
: ))
Jen
Oooh, I love healthy "cookies" like these, although I much prefer the name granola bites because I like my cookies to be like cookies :D These look perfect - I love that you used strawberries, they're so pretty.
what temperature are they supposed to be baked at? thanks!
@Beti - Thanks, Beti! I like to surround myself with all the color I can in January.
@ Jen - That does sound lovely! Enjoy!! And I hope you love that read.
@Heidi - I'm glad I'm not alone in wanting cookies to be cookies ;)
@Wendy- 350°F. And you're a lifesaver for pointing that out. Thanks so much!
I love cookies, too, but we all know that they're not always good for you. I love this little trick. Beautiful photos!
Hi! I am just wondering if these can be frozen? I study at university and the uni cafe has so unhealthy food and would like to make a big batch in weekends and then take some with me on week days to eat at lunch.
My children will love this! It has lots of healthy ingredients and most of all, this looks delicious! I'm here for the first time and I enjoyed reading some posts. I love your blog theme and design - so natural and beautiful!
@Kasey - Thanks, Kasey!
@Sara - I'm not sure about freezing them... It would def be worth a try. Bananas and oats freeze well, so I would think that it would be ok. Let me know!!
@Nami - Thank, Nami! That means so much :)
these look good! And i love that they are good for you! yum!
@shutterbug - Thanks! It's always so nice to find guilt free sweets :)
I made these and altered them a bit. In my world Oats are still a irritant so they were replaced by 2 cups of almond
meal. Delish!! I do think the added sugar would be a nice treat.
@ Jolie - What a great idea to use almond flour vs. oats! Genius!
Do you know the nutritional facts for these? Calories? Etc?
How should these be stored and how long do they last?
Wow, I came across these cookies via pinterest the other day and just made them tonight! I've literally just finished licking my fingers after trying them and WOW this is a new favourite on my cookie list! These certainly will not last long!
I substituted blueberries for strawberries and they turned out incredibly well! With spring so close and all the markets getting ready with their local produce I'm excited at the possibilities for these cookies! Thanks again!
I made these yesterday we LOVE them! I am 100 pounds into a 140 pound weightloss goal and these seriously help with keeping me on rack! they taste great ( I went ahead and added the 1/4 cup brown sugar) and they are a healthy snack you really feel good about eating and allowing your kids to have :) So thank you! we all enjoyed these and will be making them alot!