Banana Peanut Butter Oat Cookies

These are legitimate healthy cookies! No sugar or oil added (although there is some in the peanut butter). My toddler loves these and so do I! I usually add chocolate chips to mine so they aren't too healthy, but he eats them plain or with raisins now that he's old enough. 

I like to keep a batch of these in the freezer. When the kiddo asks for a cookie, I can give him something that I feel is still healthy enough for a snack (or even breakfast on the go). I just pop them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds and they are ready to eat! He hasn't quite figured out that mine have chocolate chips and his have raisins... and I hope it stays that way for awhile! He is in love with raisins anyway, so I think I'm good for now ;)

Everyone who's tried these cookies likes them and I hope you do too! 

makes about 2 dozen small cookies

Ingredients

1 cup Quick Oats

1/4 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

1 Banana, Mashed

3 Tbsp Peanut Butter

Dash Vanilla

1/3 cup Applesauce

optional: 1/4 cup chocolate chips or raisins 

Directions

Mix wet ingredients and then add in dry and stir to combine.

Add raisins or chocolate chips if using.

Drop by spoonfuls on to parchment paper and flatten a bit (cookies won't change much in shape)

Bake at 350 for 15 mins or until they are starting to firm up a bit.

 

wet ingredients

mix and add dry

drop by spoonfuls and flatten with a spoon

bake at 350 (some with chocolate chips and some plain)

Baked Oatmeal

Baked Oatmeal

The baby is napping and I think I have time for a quick post. He is 2 months already and I can't believe how long it's been since I've blogged. It's tough when you have such a cute little guy taking up all your attention! Although I can't say I'd want it any other way.

Baked oatmeal is a great breakfast for company or when you just feel like regular oatmeal isn't gonna cut it. You can make a big pan, cut it in to squares and freeze it for a quick breakfast during the week too. It's super easy to make; you don't even need to dirty any mixing bowls!

makes 1 square pan (8x8)
Ingredients

1 1/2 cups milk
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp Oil
1 Tbsp Vanilla
2 1/2 cups GF Quick Oats
3/4 cup Brown Sugar (or less)
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Salt

Directions

Beat eggs, oil, milk and vanilla in your baking dish.
Stir in dry ingredients.
Bake at 350 for 35-45 mins
Serve warm with milk.

Mix ingredients together in baking dish
 

 

Bake at 350 for 35-45 mins

Serve warm with milk

Granola Cookies

Gluten Free Granola Cookies

I found this recipe on pinterest the other day and just had to try it. I love that there is no sugar or sugar substitute, but it's still sweet from the mashed bananas. I made a few minor changes, but the idea is the same. This blogger called them breakfast cookies, but I decided to call them granola cookies because they are very similar to granola bars, only in cookie form. They do make a great (and healthy) breakfast on the go, and I'm sure kids would be ecstatic to have cookies for breakfast! With all the protein and fibre, they are a satisfying breakfast or snack for anyone.

(makes about 2 dozen small cookies)
Ingredients

3 Medium Mashed Bananas
1/4 cup Canola Oil
1 Egg (may be omitted)
1 tsp Vanilla

1 1/2 cups GF Oats (I used quick oats but rolled would work too)
1/2 cup Dried Coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
1/2 - 3/4 cup Dried Fruit (raisins, craisins, apricots, etc)
1/2 cup Chopped Nuts
1/4 tsp Salt
11/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg


Directions

Combine wet ingredients in a large bowl.
Add dry ingredients to bowl and mix thoroughly
Drop spoonfuls of mixture on parchment lined baking sheet and form into desired shape.
Bake at 350 for 15-20 mins until they just begin to brown.
Store any left over cookies in freezer.

Before Baking (line with parchment - unlike me)

After Baking

Granola Bars

Gluten Free Granola Bars

I love granola bars, but not many are gluten free, and the ones that are cost way too much! I love the idea of making your own. You can customise the add ins to suit your tastes or allergies. It's also much easier to avoid the added preservatives that are in most store bought granola bars. As always, make sure your oats are wheat free!

This recipe is adapted from the Looneyspoons cookbook by Janet and Greta Podleski.

makes 15-20 bars
Ingredients

2 1/2 cups GF Quick Cooking Oats
1/2 cup Coconut Flakes (sweetened or unsweetened)
1/2 cup Chopped Nuts or Seeds (Almonds, Pecans, Cashews, Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, etc)
1/2 cup Dried Fruit (Craisins, Apricots, Raisins, Blueberries, etc)
1/3 cup Oat Flour (grind GF oats in coffee grinder)
1/4 cup Ground Flax Seed
1 tsp Cinnamon or Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Pumpkin Puree (canned or home made) (or 3/4 cup mashed bananas)
1/2 cup Liquid Honey
1/4 cup Canola Oil, Melted Butter/Margarine, or Melted Coconut Oil
1 tsp Vanilla Extract


Directions

Stir together dry ingredients.
In a smaller bowl, mix together pumpkin puree (or banana), honey, oil and vanilla.
Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well.
Line 9x13 baking dish (or baking pan) with parchment paper and pour in mixture. Press evenly into pan.
Bake at 350 for about 25 mins (until top begins to brown).
Let cool in pan, then transfer to cutting board and cut into granola bar shapes.
Wrap individually in plastic wrap and freeze.

Note: For nut free (and school friendly) granola bars, use sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds only. For the granola bars pictured, I used 1 bag of Enjoy Life Not Nuts seed and fruit mix in place of the nuts and dried fruit.

Dry ingredients

Granola Bar Mixture

Press mixture into baking pan

Bake until golden brown 

Let cool and cut into granola bar shapes

Mmmm...

Great for snacks or lunch on the go!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Gluten Free Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Of course I'm still making pumpkin recipes... it's still fall, I have pumpkin puree in my freezer (and a pumpkin waiting to be roasted), and I love it! The problem is, pumpkins are usually made into desserts (pie, cheesecake, cupcakes), and while my body craves sugar, my mind tends to steer me in a healthier direction. So, I tried to get the best of both worlds! This cookie is actually pretty healthy with the oats, whole grain flours, flax, pumpkin, and not too much sugar, and still delivers that comforting pumpkin pie flavour.

These cookies don't rise up or spread out much during baking, so shape them how you want before sliding them into the oven. Feel free to add your own extras to the batter like cranberries, white chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, or pumpkin seeds. They are good for a day or 2 on the counter, but you should freeze the rest and reheat in the microwave.

(makes about 40 small cookies)

Ingredients

1/2 cup Brown Rice Flour (or white rice flour)
1/4 cup Buckwheat Flour (or millet)
1/4 cup Tapioca Starch
2 Tbps Ground Flax
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
2 cups GF Oats (I used half rolled oats and half quick oats)
2 Eggs
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 cup Margarine
2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
3/4 cup Pumpkin Puree
1/3-1/2 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips (optional. you can substitute up to 1 1/2 cups of whatever you want)


Directions

In a mixing bowl, cream together sugars and margarine.
Beat in eggs, pumpkin, and salt.
Add oats, pumpkin pie spice, flours, flax, baking powder and soda and mix all together.
Add in chocolate chips and stir to combine.

Scoop heaping tablespoons of batter onto cookie sheets. Smooth and flatten a bit.
Bake at 375 for 10-14 mins.
Transfer to wire rack to cool.
Eat warm with milk!

before baking

after baking

mmm...

I didn't shape this pan of cookies and they turned out a little spikey. Still tasted great though!

spikey cookies before baking

see what I mean?

Apple Crisp

my backyard Oct 2011

Fall is in the air. Although it doesn't officially start until later this week, here in Saskatoon the leaves are already turning and crunching under my feet. For some reason, the trees around the river always burst into colour first, making for beautiful (and still fairly warm) late summer strolls. I have appreciated the changing of the seasons more this year than ever before, and right now, I am totally in love with autumn - the crisp air, beautiful colours, and amazing smells. As we all know, along with autumn comes the familiar and comforting flavours of apples and pumpkin paired with warm spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. How can that not inspire love?

My sister has a few apple trees in her backyard and I have been the lucky recipient of some beautiful, large, sweet ones that I have been busy peeling, chopping and freezing for the winter (and of course baking up an apple storm - more apple recipes to come). My freezer is full of baking apples some of which may make their way into muffins or coffee cake, but the majority will be tossed into a gluten free apple crisp!

Now I know some celiac's cannot tolerate oats, and it is possible to make a similar creation from crushed up cereal (rice, corn, etc), but this recipe uses pure oats, which are fine for most individuals on a gluten free diet.

I called this recipe apple crisp, but you can pretty much make any kind of fruit crisp the same way. I like to add different combinations of peaches, cranberries, blueberries, rhubarb, etc to the apples. You may need to adjust the amount of sugar depending on the fruit you use (cranberries and rhubarb will need more).

I really don't have a written recipe for crisp. I tend to throw ingredients together in estimated amounts until it looks right. To be honest, it's pretty hard to screw it up. You may want more or less sugar, crisp topping or other spices. The recipe does not need to be followed exactly.

Apple Peach Crisp

makes 9x9 baking dish (I used a circle shaped casserole dish that holds a similar amount)

Ingredients

enough apples to fill the dish about 2/3 full (peeled, cored and sliced) - probably 2 1/2 - 3 cups
3 Tbsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
   (or use an apple pie spice blend)
1/2 Tbsp corn starch

Topping
2/3 cup GF quick oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup GF flour (i use half tapioca starch and half rice flour)
1/2 t cinnamon
2-3 T butter or margarine

Directions

Apples and Peaches with sugar and spice

Fill baking dish 2/3 full with the sliced apples (and any other fruit). If the fruit is frozen it helps to microwave them for a couple minutes (but not necessary). Add spices, sugar, and sifted cornstarch to the apples and mix together.

In a separate bowl, combine oats, brown sugar flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter then mix with your fingers until the mixture is crumbly and no large pieces of buter remain. Sprinkle the mixture over the apples in the baking dish.

Bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes or until apples are soft and crisp is bubbling around the outside. Let cool for a few minutes then serve with ice cream.

Before baking

After baking

Granola

This recipe is courtesy of Nanna (my husband's grandmother). She leaves it out as a snack when we're too impatient to wait for dinner. I prefer mine with milk for breakfast. Other's like it on yogurt for an afternoon snack. Whichever way you like it, I'm sure you will find that a batch doesn't go quite far enough... if you are planning to share, I suggest you make a double batch ;)

store in airtight container

You can pretty much add any seeds, nuts, or dried fruit that you want. Feel free to add your own variations to my original recipe. Just make sure you don't add the fruit until after the granola has baked... raisins and craisins tend to become hard as a rock.

(makes about 4 cups)
Ingredients
3 cups GF Rolled Oats (Can use quick cooking or old fashioned)
1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/2-3/4 cup coconut flakes (sweetened or unsweetened)
2 T ground flax seed
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 tsp salt
 2 Tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup br sugar
1/4 cup table syrup (or any syrup)
2 T honey (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4-1/2 tsp nutmeg

(optional - sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pecans, craisins, etc)


Directions

Stir together all ingredients except for dried fruit.
Spread out on 2 cookie sheets (ungreased) and bake at 350, stirring well every 6 minutes for about 18 minutes or until mixture has browned but not burnt.
Be sure to stir after taking it out of the oven for the last time. Granola will become crunchy as it cools.
Combine raisins and any other dried fruit with the granola mixture.
Once cooled completely, store it in an airtight container at room temperature.

before baking

after baking

Monster Cookies (Flourless)

gluten free monster cookies

These cookies are chewy and gooey fresh from the oven and go beautifully with ice cold milk. They crisp up a bit when they cool but still have an amazing taste. They keep well in the freezer so you can make a nice big batch. I have made these cookies many times and they are pretty hard to screw up... unless you add about 4 times the baking soda... then they become one huge burnt cookie... I may have done this once... blame it on my sous-chef husband ;)

I should probably just call these oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookies because I rarely make them with the classic M&Ms. I prefer the taste of chocolate chips and they are cheaper anyway.

(makes about 40 cookies)
Ingredients

1/4 cup room temperature (or slightly softened) Margarine*
1/2 cup White Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Smooth Peanut Butter
2  Eggs
dash of Vanilla extract (optional)
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 1/4 cup GF Quick Cooking Oats
1 cup Chocolate Chips or M&Ms

Directions

Cream together sugar and margarine.
Add peanut butter, eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
Add oats and baking soda together. Stir.
Add chocolate chips and stir.
Drop heaping tablespoons of cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet.
Cookies will expand during baking, so leave lots of space between cookies if you don't want to have to cut them apart later. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 F.

Cookie Dough

Cooling

* If the margarine is too soft, the cookies will spread out a lot (like pictured). Slightly soft or room temp margarine will help keep the cookies smaller and taller.