Recipe: Banana-Oat Snack “Cookies”

A couple of weeks ago I read some blog post or article featuring a series two-ingredient recipes. I was especially intrigued with I saw banana-oatmeal “cookies,” but remained skeptical that they’d actually taste like cookies. However, a fellow Ukraine PCV tried them herself and maintained that they were delicious. So yesterday morning I looked at the ripe bananas on our counter and, while my post-run oatmeal was cooking I thought I’d experiment by mashing a banana, adding some oats, maple syrup, peanut butter, and cinnamon. I baked the “cookies” for 5-10 minutes and voila! Beautifully moist, satisfying results. F loved them — because they weren’t too sweet — and said they tasted more like oat snacks. I made more this morning, adding some raisins and using honey instead of maple syrup. I cut them into little squares with the thought that they could become our new go-to granola bars.

oat snack bar form

The recipe is easy to improvise — I didn’t measure anything so I’ve estimated amounts below. Feel free to experiment with other mix-ins, like chocolate chips or nuts, until you find your favorite variation. Happy snacking!

Banana-Oat Snack “Cookies” (inspired by borscht and babushkas)

Ingredients

• 1-2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 3/4-1.5 cups raw oats
• 1-3 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
• to taste: cinnamon
• optional: handful of raisins, chocolate chips, and/or nuts

Procedure

• Preheat the oven to 250F (100C). 
• In a bowl, mash the bananas until smooth. Microwave the peanut butter and sweetener in a bowl for 20-30 seconds, until soft. Mix into the bananas and stir in the cinnamon and mix-ins.
• Stir in the oats until everything is combined. Drop like cookies or spread the mixture on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, until the “cookies” start to dry out a bit.

Enjoy!