banana

Healthy Banana & Oat Breakfast Cookies with Cranberries and Nuts

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I don’t really cook anything for Carson that has no added sugars or is made with only whole grains.  I don’t get locally grown organic fruits and vegetables at the farmers market.  I don’t say “no” to fast food.  I’m not anti health food and I don’t roll my eyes at people who do those things.  I make sure Carson gets fruits and veggies every day.  I don’t let the child skip dinner and then get cookies before bed.  I’m not unconcerned with healthy eating, I’m just not overly concerned with it.  But, if I see something that looks easy and healthy for my kids I will try it.  And that is what led me to try these cookies.

When I saw these cookies on Pinterest I thought, “What a simple recipe!  This person says they’re awesome!  So they must be!”  A couple of mashed bananas, oats and nuts.  No added sugar.  No butter or shortening.  I gave them a shot.  These are advertised as “cookies”.  Sorry.  They’re not cookies.  Not cookies as I know them.  I like sugar and butter, and I think they have their place.  And that place is in cookies.  So when I ate one of these after they came out of the oven I was really disappointed.  Not because they were bad, they just weren’t cookies.  I don’t know why I thought they’d taste like anything other than banana, oats and nuts.  Maybe because I fell victim to another Pinterest post and its false promises.  If there is one thing Pinterest has taught me it is to be skeptical.  And that the options for IKEA furniture are endless.  I gave one of the cookies to Carson.  He took one bite, took the bite out of his mouth and left it all on the table.  Fail.

I packed them in a tupperware after they had cooled and stashed them in the freezer because I cannot throw food away.  It almost physically hurts me to do it.  The next morning I saw them in the freezer and thought I’d try one again.  I took one out and microwaved it for 15 seconds.  It was surprisingly tasty, and a really perfect breakfast cookie.  Not too sweet.  Full of hearty oats.  Nuts for protein.  Cranberries for tartness.  A touch of cinnamon.  I ate these for breakfast the rest of the week.

So these didn’t turn out to be a great toddler cookies (not for my toddler anyway) but I enjoyed them after accepting that they were not sweet dessert cookies.  These are breakfast cookies, and a couple of them with a cup of coffee and some fruit made for a lovely start to the day.

Banana & Oat Breakfast Cookies

From Skinnytaste

Makes 12-18

Ingredients

  • 2 medium semi ripe bananas
  • 1 cup oats
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup roughly chopped nuts
  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup cranberries (or other dried fruit)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F
  2. Mash bananas until smooth.
  3. Mix in oats, cinnamon, nuts and fruit.
  4. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
  5. Bake for 15 minutes.

 

Banana Bran Muffins

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This is the second time around for me and these bran muffins from Ina Garten.  The first time I made them I followed the recipe exactly…well, I did leave out the orange zest.  They were terrific.  There wasn’t a real need to change anything.  You will not be disappointed if you try the original recipe.  Here is the link.

I had some blackened bananas that needed to be put to good use, and fast.  So I decided to try them in these muffins instead of the firmer chopped banana I’d used the first time.  Here are the other changes I made.

  • Added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the dry ingredients
  • Used skim milk (mixed with lemon juice) instead of buttermilk
  • Used half whole wheat and half AP flour
  • Used half golden raisins and half regular raisins
  • Substituted pecans for the walnuts
  • Used the orange zest

The result was yet another yummy bran muffin.  They do not photograph well though, so I used this photo courtesy of foodtv.com.  I liked the subtle flavor of the orange zest.  I definitely like the pecans better than walnuts…but that’s just a personal preference.  The texture was a bit heartier with the wheat flour.  The skim milk might have made the texture or moistness of the muffins a bit different, but not to a degree that I really noticed.  The combination of golden and regular raisins is nice, but not necessary.  I had some extra golden ones left over, so I used them.  I wouldn’t buy them just for these muffins as the plain raisins are great.

You can change a lot of things in these muffins to make them your own.  I would not leave out the banana though since I am sure that gives some necessary moisture.  Next time I might use cranberries instead of raisins.  I think that would be nice with the orange flavor, which I might bump up more by using more zest and some orange juice.  If you think of or try anything else, let me know.  Enjoy!

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Kitchen Disaster: Cottage Cheese Banana Bread

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Some people have asked me how I choose the recipes I put on this blog.  I usually put any new recipe I try, because usually everything is pretty good and worth sharing.  But usually does not mean always.  Let’s use a bread recipe as an example.

I have been on a mission to rid my freezer and fridge of things that need to be used up.  Last week I decided to use the rest of a container of cottage cheese and some bananas I had frozen.  It seemed like an OK recipe.  The only ingredient out of the ordinary was the cottage cheese.  I thought it might create a creamy texture with a little tang.  Kind of like yogurt.  I think it was actually the downfall of this bread.  The cottage cheese curds baked in the bread created a truly funky texture.  The bread took a lot longer to bake than instructed below.  Even after 40 minutes in the oven the middle was gooey.  After 50 minutes I took it out of the oven and after cooling I sliced it up revealing a still undercooked center.  The edges were OK, but I ended up throwing the loaf away after eating half of a piece I had toasted and buttered.  And I don’t throw food away easily.  It just wasn’t worth it.

So, unlike other posts on Hottie Biscotti, this recipe is one that I do not recommend.  If you have a good bread recipe that uses cottage cheese, then please let me know.  At this point I am not likely to try another baked good where cottage cheese is involved.

Here is the recipe, and the source.

Cottage Cheese Banana Bread

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • Shake of cinnamon

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325*F.
  2. Coat loaf pan with non-stick spray.
  3. Combine ingredients in large mixing bowl. Blend well.
  4. Pour batter into loaf pan; spread evenly.
  5. Bake for 32-35 minutes.

Caramel Banana Oat Muffins

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If you are anything like me, when you look in your freezer you might see about a dozen or so frozen black bananas.  When bananas go bad in my house I either make banana bread if I have the time, or I stick them in the freezer.  This pile of frozen bananas adds up quickly.  Before I made these muffins I had 16 frozen bananas!

I pulled out 3 bananas from my stash and made these muffins earlier this week.  The recipe is from allrecipes.com.  Here is the link.

To the original recipe I added a cup of caramel pieces and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.  I lowered the oven temperature from 400 F to 375 F.  My batch of muffin batter made more than enough for 12 muffins.  I was able to make an additional 8 mini muffins, so maybe 16 regular sized muffins total.  Everything else is just as it is in the original recipe.

The oats add a nice texture, and the caramel pieces bring in some extra delicious sweetness.  Some of the caramel pieces sunk to the bottom of the muffins, so some of them were hard to remove from the pan.  Be sure to grease your pan and paper well!  These muffins are OK at room temperature, but I recommend warming them in the microwave or toaster oven.

Caramel Banana Oat Muffins

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup mashed bananas
  • 1 cup caramel pieces

Directions

  1. Combine flour, oats, cinnamon, baking powder, soda, and salt.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the egg lightly. Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla, then mix in the sugar.
  3. Add the mashed banana, and combine thoroughly. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined.
  4. Fold in caramel pieces.
  5. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper bake cups, spray with cooking spray, and divide the batter among them.  You may have extra batter to make a few more muffins.
  6. Bake at 375 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 18 to 20 minutes.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies with Coconut, Walnuts & Chocolate Chips

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Bethenny Frankel was on the Today Show yesterday talking about her cookbook, The Skinny Girl Dish, and I was inspired to search for a healthy dessert recipe to try out.  I found a recipe for banana oatmeal cookies that sounded very tasty.  To my dismay, I did not have all the ingredients.  So I searched a bit more, and saw some other tasty sounding banana cookie recipes, but none were exactly what I wanted, so I made my own.

These are definitely not the original healthy banana oat cookie that inspired me, but they are yummy and at least a bit healthy thanks to the bananas, oats and protein packed walnuts!

I love the coconut and the dark chocolate chips.  You could easily omit the coconut if you’re not a fan, or substitute the walnuts for pecans, or go nut free if you must.  Milk chocolate chips would be good, and peanut butter chips would also be terrific.

My only complaint with these cookies is that the banana makes them very moist and they become soft when stored in an airtight container, and they will stick together.  Make sure to cook them so that there isn’t a gooey center, and don’t store them on top of each other.  Another way to avoid stickiness is to eat them all, but I wouldn’t recommend that unless you have some help.  Here is the original healthy recipe, and here is my version.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies with Coconut, Walnuts & Chocolate Chips

Ingredients
  • ¾ cup butter
  • ¼ cup shortening
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 ripe bananas, smooshed up good
  • 2 cups oats
  • ¾ cup coconut
  • ¾ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
  • ¾ cup chocolate chips, dark or milk
Directions
  1. Cream together butter, shortening and sugars.  Add in egg and vanilla and mix well.
  2. Stir in bananas, then stir in flour, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
  3. Mix in oats, coconut, walnuts and chocolate chips.
  4. Drop by tablespoons onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and baker for 10-11 minutes until browned lightly on top.