These monkey cookies are incredibly easy to make, the children love them because they are SUPER chocolatey and delicious (even if you don’t use/forget chocolate chips) and are pretty dang healthy!

They are sugar free (if you don’t use the chips), dairy free, gluten free (if you use GF oats), and egg free!

But my kids honestly love them!

This is actually a great recipe to make WITH your kids because it’s super easy, is made in one bowl, and comes together really quickly.

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Preheat oven to 350

Ingredients

• 4 Ripe bananas

• 2 Cups old fashioned oats (organic if you can afford them)

• 1/4 Sunflower seed butter (Almond butter is also delicious and so is pumpkin seed butter!)

• 1/4 Cup Cocoa powder, unsweetened

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 Cup good quality chocolate chips.

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Mash the banana up in a good size bowl

3. Add the seed or nut butter and combine

4. Add the oats, cinnamon, cocoa powder and carefully mix together. The dough will be a bit of a sticky mess.

5. Stir in chocolate chips if using.

6. Let sit for a few minutes. — A great time to do the dishes, wash your little “helpers” hands up, or test out the cookie dough… because it’s just oats and bananas so why the hell not? ;)

7. Scoop the dough (batter?) using a heaping TBSP (either a measuring spoon or just the regular old one from the cutlery drawer is cool. If you use a measuring spoon aim for a bit more of a heap) and plop onto your baking sheet. No need to worry if they look like a pile of #2 on your sheet, we will go back and sort them out after.

8. Once you have all your messy piles of #2 on the cookie sheet go back and shape with the back of a fork or spoon into a nice round (still messy) ball, then gently flatten until they are about 1/4 inch thick.

   Try to make sure they are all about the same size and shape and allow for a bit of space between each cookie.

9. Bake 12 - 15 minutes.

   Allow to cool completely and then store in the fridge in an airtight container.

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Final Thoughts

To be honesty, this feels like one of those non recipes that is so basic it’s a bit silly to share. But it’s something the kids really enjoy and it’s a great healthy school lunch option, or after school snack.

Ok ok, once or twice it’s even been on the breakfast table.

It’s basically oats and bananas guys!

Give this a try and see if you’re kids would want to make them with you. It’s really a great recipe to get them involved in, and from my experience, if I involve the kids in the cooking they are much more excited to do the eating. Even if it’s just to pour the chocolate chips into the bowl! (Who doesn’t love that job?)

Let me know how it goes for you and if you enjoy these healthy sugar free cookies. If you do, please share the recipe far and wide.

Xox,

Gwen