I love it when I can get out of my own way long enough to get something done. A friend shared a recipe with me for no-guilt (he called them sinless) cookies, and though I’m not usually an impulsive baker, I knew in a heartbeat I could and would make these no guilt cookies in just a handful of minutes. It was so worth it!
These yummy, healthy cookies could easily step in as a breakfast cookie, they’re so packed with good stuff. Bananas, oats, natural peanut butter, and chocolate chips is all it takes. I’m going to be honest that this recipe actually makes 13 cookies, not the dozen I list under the recipe. The 13th cookie I ate au natural without even baking it first 😉
Hold the phone. I WAS NOT NAKED, I just ate it without cooking it. Did I just give you a weird visual of me in the kitchen, holding a mixing spoon and spatula in strategically modest ways? SO SORRY! I hope my mother skips this post. Wait, never mind, she’s seen me naked. OK, that’s fine then. Right? Still weird. OK, I’m going to stop now. Just stop. Just. Stop. Typing.
{pauses to collect herself…}
I couldn’t bring myself to call them sinless cookies, as my friend did, because I am philosophically against applying any sort of judgment towards dessert. Guilt and food just don’t mix, right? Besides, it’ll give you a terrible case of dyspepsia (one of my favorite dietitian words!)
But I am OK with the ‘no-guilt cookies’ moniker. They are packed with fruit, grains, and plant-based protein – aka all the things I love in a healthy meal. These treats are also for anyone who loves cookie-shaped things, yet likes to eat healthfully. No added fat, salt, or sugar here!
You may be surprised that they can easily be made gluten-free, too, provided you use oats not processed in a facility that also processes wheat. While I know that gluten-free diets are popular as a fad diet, there are an increasing number of people being diagnosed with gluten intolerance, Celiac disease, or wheat allergies who legitimately need to follow a gluten-free diet. This is the recipe for you, as are these chickpea chocolate chip blondies. Who says you need flour to make baked goods? Fruit, grain, and nut, with just a wee bit of chocolate for fun. No-guilt cookies it is 🙂
Because I tend to love ANYTHING with these ingredients in them, I decided to get a broader audience to weigh in. Off I went to pick-up at my daughter’s elementary school toting a bag full of these babies. Most liked them a lot, including kids (not mine, naturally…) They are moist and chewy, with a definite banana background. I might ramp up the peanut butter more next time, but otherwise wouldn’t change a thing.
No-Guilt Peanut Butter Banana Oat Chippies
Makes ~12 cookies
Recipe from Rob
2 ripe bananas
1 cup oats
3 tablespoons natural peanut butter
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment. Mash the bananas well, then mix in the oats and peanut butter. Fold in the chocolate chips. Drop by large tablespoons full onto the baking sheet, about 1 inch apart (the cookies do not spread out, so closer is OK). Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until no longer sticky and lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack and store in tightly closed container.
YUM!!
Hi Julia! Thoughts on whether I can use frozen thawed bananas? They turn soupy when thawed, which is great for banana bread but maybe too much liquid for cookies?
Thank you
Hi Laurie – How’d they turn out? I would recommend draining off the liquid before adding them to the other ingredients. I do hate how frozen bananas fall apart once they defrost.
Has anyone tried using raisins or do you have an oatmeal raisin recipe? I can’t eat chocolate. Thank you!
Raisins in place of chocolate would work fine here, Betsy.
Betsy, I make the Chocolate chip ones for my husband and daughter. My son and I prefer Bananas, Oats, Apple Spice, chopped apples and raisins (I’m sure leaving out raisins or apples would be fine)..
Hi, just tried out tis recipe it same out really well!! I also would have ramped up the peanut butter, I found that 1/2 cups with the same amount of the other ingredients is a good mix:)
~~Hope
Thx Hope! Peanut butter in greater quantities is always welcome in my kitchen!!
I am just loving these cookies. I make them with almond butter and add almonds or walnuts for some crunch (any nut will work). I double the recipe, freeze them and then microwave a few when I want a little treat. They are yummy warm 🙂
I bet they are good warm! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
These look great! Has anyone tried making these with WOW BUTTER? My son has a nut allergy.
It would probably work well – similar consistency. Sun Butter may work even better, if your son is able to have sunflower seeds. Let us know!
I figured these cookies to have approximately 11 net carbs each.
Just made these but threw in a handful of butterscotch chips along with the choc chips, pure heaven if you like butterscotch. Kids just devoured them in minutes… Will become a go to so I can use up bananas
Wonderful!!! And who doesnt love butterscotch??
So glad you liked them! I have a cranberry/white chocolate version on the blog also. Check it out!
How big are the bananas used in this recipe? They can vary so much in size! Would the total volume of mashed bananas be about a cup?
That sounds about right, Mary. I’ve made them a few times and can say the amounts are definitely flexible!
I had this recipe pinned but my Pinterest app didn’t load fast enough so I came to Google. The comments about the pictures looking different were right! The viral recipe looks like regular cookie dough. So I’m going to pin yours and delete the other. Don’t wanna mislead the people. Oh. And I use carob chips wherever chocolate chips are called for. Healthier but just as yummy IMO.
I still haven’t seen this viral recipe you are talking about – will Google images and see if I can find it. So curious.
Just saw this recipe on FB. I was definitely intrigued. In response to the person that wanted WW points, it is actually 3 points per cookie if you use 1, 2 or 3T of peanut butter. (Odd, I know.) The FB recipe called for a heaping tablespoon, Julia’s calls for 3T. I think the picture on FB seems like they were rolled and not baked yet. Julia’s look far more appetizing. My only problem with this recipe is the term No Guilt or Sinless. Either implies you might be able to eat more than one. 3 points is pretty hefty, but it would make a great breakfast cookie. Thanks for all the information. Very informative. My first time visiting your blog. Just waiting for my bananas to ripen 🙂
Thank you so much for commenting, Margie! I am inclined to agree with you about the “no guilt” label, but then again, I am also against any guilt associate with food 🙂 These are a great breakfast item – packed with fiber and protein and micronutrients. Maybe a better phrase would be “power up” or something like that??
Power Up is perfect!!
are the nutrition facts available so I can figure the weight watcher points? will be making these…
I’m sorry, Chelsea, but I do not typically calculate the calories and such in my recipes.
I had just baked the cookies as per the viral recipe on fb. Mine look just like yours. Are they soft?
Yes soft and chewy.
Made these and loved them .I made mine in a 9×9 pan like bars. Kids loved them!
Perfect! Thanks for giving them a try 🙂
I decided to make these as I had friends who called and were travelling my way and said they were dropping by in less than an hour. They were delicious and not too sweet, as some drop cookies can be. I will be making these again soon, thanks!
Wonderful! Thanks for trusting me and going for it even when you had guests coming 🙂
Made these this morning and they were great. I did add about 1/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut (from Trader Joe’s) and 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract. I think kids would love these and they are so easy to make the kids could participate in making them. Thanks, Julia, for the recipe.
I love coconut! I bet they were even better. Thx for leaving a comment to let everyone know!
hi!
I also saw this recipe online recently and my cookies look more like yours than the picture on line. Do you know how many calories are in one cookie?
Thank you!
I did a quick review of the kcals per ingredient – you can do the math based on how many cookies your recipe made.
1 cup oats – 280 kcals
2 bananas – 200 kcals
3 T peanut butter – 285 kcals
1/2 cup chocolate chips – 400 kcals
If you make 1 dozen:
Just about 100 kcals per cookie!
How many sugars and fat and protein per cookie approximately
HI Brenda – I don’t generally do nutrition profiles of my recipes, though I don’t mind doing it once in a while. I will reply soon with numbers for you. ~Julia
What do you think about freezing these? I’d like to just pop them out of the freezer when I get a hankering forsweets.
I think they would do fine. I’m planning to make more tomorrow and will freeze a few myself to see. Thx for stopping in 🙂
I froze some yesterday. Took one out..had to let it thaw just briefly and it was yummy! Love these cookies!
Good to know! Mine never made it to the freezer 🙂
Great to know – thank you!
Planning on making these today but does it have to be natural peanut butter? Only have your typical Jif in the cabinet
They should work just fine with regular, sweetened peanut butter!
I made these last night from a post I saw earlier. They are yum! Then I shared the recipe with my Mom!
Nice! Did yours look anything like mine? Saw another pic of the same recipe and they looked completely different, as if the oats were processed first or something. Just curious…
Mine looked like yours, nothing like the other picture that seems to have gone viral lately on FB. In fact, I found this recipe because I am a baker and blogger and I wanted to debunk a viral recipe for a post. I saw that other picture and knew the photo did not match the recipe. I made it and they looked just like yours. I’m not sure what they did for that photo or if it is even a photo of the same recipe at all (I have uncovered many instances of people posting a recipe with an image of some other recipe and renaming it. Some sites do this so they can claim the content as their own and get a ton of likes/shares. Anyway, I am glad I found your true recipe!
Wow, thanks for sharing and corroborating my work! I have heard stories recently of food bloggers’ work being ‘adapted’ or outright stolen. My relative obscurity in the food blogging world protects me some, but hopefully not for long 🙂 Thank you for finding me and for getting involved in the conversation 🙂 ~Julia