Banana Oatmeal Cookies

I was feeling a bit remiss about not having made a post to my blog recently.  I know that I am unlikely to attract new followers if there is not some dandy new content showing up frequently.

We had a Christmas cookie exchange at the school where I work.  There are actually two schools in my school building, and staff (teachers and support staff) from both schools participated.   Two of my good friends from my school brought vegan cookies because they didn’t think it would be sporting to bring cookies that I would not eat.  I have been thinking a great deal about their kindness to me, and about their cookies too! I resolved to try to make these cookies on the March Break, which I am enjoying right now.

I’m starting with these simple cookies, made by one of the teachers at my school.  She had never baked cookies in her entire life, so she was looking for something both vegan and simple - and these cookies hit the mark on both counts.  We car-pool home most nights, and earlier this week I asked her about the recipe.  She said she had looked on-line, and the recipe was so simple I would not have to write it down.   I found I had to tweak it a little bit, but the cookies came out as delicious as I remembered them.

Ingredients

2 very ripe bananas 

2 cups of quick-cooking rolled oats

Directions

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.  Put some parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  If you prefer spraying a bit of oil on your cookie sheet, go ahead!

1. Mash the bananas until they are good and mashed, but still have some lumps.
2. Add the oats and stir to combine.
3. Drop by the teaspoon onto your cookie sheet, and bake in the oven for about 12 minutes.  When you give them a gentle poke and they don’t fall apart but rather, feel a little firm, they are done.

If you can believe it, these are the only two ingredients.  If you are the kind of baker who likes to experiment, you can also add any extra ingredients of your choice: I added 

1/4 teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg to the bowl, and then divided the batter into thirds.  I left one third just as it was, in the second third I stirred 1/3 Cup of slivered almonds and 1/3 cup of dried cranberries, and in the third third, I stirred in 2 heaping tablespoons of unsweetened coconut flakes and 1/3 cup of cranberries.

I was able to fit all of the cookies onto one cookie sheet.  The aroma in my kitchen was quite beautiful.  These are the kind of cookies that you don’t have to feel guilty about eating.