HEALTHY BANANA COOKIES!

This is a recipe I found in a Sugar-Free Heaven mag. A lot of the recipes there require healthier kinds of sugar - like maple sugar - which isn't really stocked by supermarkets. At least I haven't found it. Anyway, when I came across this recipe I knew I had to try it. Bananas act as a natural sweetener, hence no sugar is required! I've jazzed the recipe up a bit, adding cherries and white chocolate spread. Yum!

Because the banana forms half of the mix, don't expect these to go hard! {If they do, you probably did something wrong.} These cookies stay soft and flexible. They're perfect for breakfast or midday snack!

BANANA COOKIES

PREP TIME: 20MIN | BAKE TIME: 15MIN

MAKES 20

4 super ripe bananas {soft and brown}

2 tsp vanilla extract

160g rolled oats

80g mixed nuts, chopped {I used walnuts}

60g glacé cherries {but you can replace with cranberries or raisins}

2 tsp ground cinnamon

100-200g chocolate - optional - go dark for clean eating, or white if you feel like cheating

OVEN 200°C/390F/GAS 6

1. Line three baking trays with greaseproof paper. {I've only got two so I rotated them.}

2. Peel the bananas, place in a bowl and mash thoroughly with a fork.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together the oats, nuts, cherries, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Add the mixture to the bananas. Stir well to combine.

4. Divide and shape the mixture into approximately 20 equal sized balls and place on your baking tray. Squash them down to a 1cm thickness.

5. Bake for 15 minutes. Once out the oven, wait a minute before transferring them onto a wire rack to cool.

Optional:

6. Break up the chocolate and melt half of it in a heatproof bowl set over a pan with simmering water. The bowl can't be touching the water. Stir around until the chocolate reaches the melting point of 53°C.

7. Remove from heat and stir in the second half of the chocolate - keep stirring until it melts.

8. Spread over the biscuits and let cool.

9. Eat fresh or  store in an airtight container - the cookies will keep for about a week.

Let me know if you try these, they are honestly the quickest cookies ever. You can use the hashtag {how cool} #EatKatberries if you post them on social media!