Healthy Peanut Butter and Banana Cookies

Peanut butter. Banana. Cookie. Awesome trio, right? I'm not lying here, folks, these Peanut Butter and Banana Cookies are The BEST! And better yet, they're sugar-free, gluten-free and SO flippin' easy to whip up! How can this even be possible? I just don't know...but it is! These Peanut Butter and Banana Cookies are packed with protein and make a great grab-and-go snack or lunch time treat. They're also very versatile, and can easily be enhanced with chocolate chips, sesame seeds, hemp hearts, raisins, berries, chia or whatever else your heart desires. Now, I certainly don't pride myself on being a great baker. Actually, to be honest, I don't really enjoy baking. There's too many rules involved, and because I'm a bad-ass rule-breaker in the kitchen, I naturally prefer cooking, where I can let my creativity soar. That being said, I am a housewife, and my husband and kiddo love cookies, banana bread, and chocolate muffins, so I have to get my "bake on" once in a while. It sort of comes with the job description, I suppose. But even though my baking skills are lacking, I am really great at healthify-ing unhealthy recipes. For example, this cookie recipe, believe it or not, originated from the side of a ripe-banana bag (and I'll never pass up a bag of price-reduced, organic bananas!) By swapping a few of the ingredients for healthier alternatives, a new and improved cookie was born!

How to Easily "Healthify" a Baking Recipe

• Fresh dates and a ripe banana are the best sweeteners when it comes to baking. Next time you see a recipe call for sugar, consider adding 10 dates and/or a ripe banana instead.
• Instead of white flour, opt for ancient grains such as einkorn or spelt flour, which are lower in gluten and contain more nutrients. For some recipes, like cookies and pancakes, gluten-free oat flour will also do the trick (recipe below).
• If your recipe calls for margarine, canola, or some other kind of refined, vegetable oil, swap it out for coconut oil or grass fed butter.
• Don't be afraid to add nutritious extras like nuts, seeds, chia, hemp hearts, berries etc.
• Last but not least, avoid Teflon and other non-stick bake wear. The toxic coating can end up in your food, or off-gas when heated. I prefer to use silicone baking mats and stainless steel baking trays.

How to Make Oat Flour

Make an easy, gluten-free flour in seconds using organic, rolled oats, like this. To make 1 1/2 cups of oat flour for this recipe, simple place 1 1/2 cups of rolled oats in a blender, and blend on high speed until you have a fine, flour. That's it! You're now ready to made the best sugar-free, gluten-free, peanut butter and banana cookies ever!