Banana bread is a great “solution” to the “problem” of overripe bananas (and here’s our absolute favorite recipe). But what if you don’t have the time for all that measuring, mixing and baking? What if it’s summer and you want to use up your oh-so-squishy-sweet bananas, but you don’t want to leave the oven on for an hour? What if you’ve been sitting around thinking to yourself, well, gee, wouldn’t it be great if I could quickly use up these overripe bananas while also enjoying healthy cookies for breakfast in the days and weeks to come?
Don’t worry. We got you.
Banana breakfast cookies come together lickety split. They’re also made of healthy breakfasty things–bananas, peanut butter, oatmeal. And, if you want, chocolate too. (I want!)
And despite the lack of butter and flour, despite being made up of simply fruit, nuts and oats, they still taste decadent with a nice cup of English breakfast.
Here’s how to make it happen:
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Overripe banana cookies
Description
A great way to use up overripe or very brown bananas. These cookies are perfect for breakfast.
Ingredients
Overripe bananas. Very speckled or brown. (Check out this post on overripe bananas for guidance)
Oats. I start with one cup of oats per banana or two. Err on the side of fewer oats and you can always add more.
Peanut butter or another nut butter. Not technically required, but I like to add at least two large spoonfuls.
Chocolate chips. Optional, but delicious!
Spices you like. Cinnamon? Nutmeg? Cardamom? Any other warm and cozy spice you haven’t used in a while? In they go!
Anything else you need to use up? The batch pictured here was made with some unwanted trail mix. You might also experiment with nuts, dried fruit, jam, salty snack crumbs, or other crumbs.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Mash the bananas.
- Add spices, if using.
- Mix the bananas with the oats and nut butter.
- Fold in the chocolate chips or any other extras, if using
- Use your hands to shape into cookie-sized rounds. The cookies won’t flatten as they bake, so make them into your desired shape.
- Bake for 8 – 12 minutes, until they hold their shape and are just starting to brown on the bottoms.
Notes
- Store in the fridge, or freeze if you won’t finish them quickly. I like to keep a stash in the freezer and microwave them for 30 seconds before eating.
- If you skip the chocolate, but are looking for a more indulgent experience, top with Nutella.
Recipe not recommended with Old Bay seasoning.
