Banana Oatmeal Raisin Sugar-Free Cookies

Sugar. Free. Cookies. 

Yup, I went there. Only in the third day of my sugar-free Lent and I’m already being inspired to create new recipes. Some may think that it’s pointless to give up  something if you’re only going to replace it with something else, but the point for me is giving up something (added sweets) that I so often think I “need” and realizing there’s plenty without added sugars that is just as enjoyable. It’s proving that you don’t truly need something your body desires.

So, what’s the catch with these cookies? I said natural sugars like raw agave are ok in moderation, so these cookies are loaded with agave, right? No?  Stevia, then? Xylitol? Splenda? Nothing?!

It’s true. And I’m rather excited about these, because they taste like delicious, doughy balls of oatmeal raisin cookies. And they’re sugar-free. And vegan. Love!

Banana Oatmeal Raisin Sugar-Free Cookies

• 4 bananas
• 2 almond milk flax eggs (2 T.ground flax + 6 T. unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
• 1/4 cup almond butter (preferably without any added sugars!)
• 1/4 cup vegan protein powder
• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup unsweetened reduced fat coconut
• 1/2 cup unsweetened raisins

After following the below directions for mixing the dough, you’ll bake the cookies for ten minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. The result will be a little short of four dozen delicious, vegan, sugar-free cookies!

All the sweetness of these cookies come from the bananas. Mash four very brown and ripe bananas in a medium sized bowl.

I switched up my standard flax eggs a bit. In a ramekin I combined two tablespoons of ground golden flax seeds with six tablespoons of unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Then standard procedures of letting it sit a few minutes.

Measure out a quarter cup of almond butter.

In a small container thoroughly mix the almond butter and the almond milk-flax mixture.

Combine with the mashed bananas.

Next up, team dry! To boost the protein of these cookies a bit, I added a quarter cup of chocolate brown rice protein powder. It’s the only protein powder I have, but any other vegan protein powder would work. To keep the sugar-free factor of the cookies going, try to use protein powder that has no (or limited) added sugars!

What oatmeal raisin cookie would be complete without oats? Two cups of old fashioned oats can get tossed into the pot next.

Then a half cup of whole wheat pastry flour (any other whole wheat or whole grain flour would suffice, too).

I chose baking powder because I wanted the cookies to be little round doughy balls of yum. If you want yours to spread, use baking soda.

Now what oatmeal raisin cookie would be complete without cinnamon? To me, oatmeal raisin cookies and spiced oatmeal cookies should be the one and the same.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet.

Time for add-ins! I went with a quarter cup of unsweetened reduced fat shredded coconut and a half cup of raisins. Make sure your raisins are simply that – dried grapes! These are added sugar-free cookies, so let’s keep the trend up!

Mmmm, the dough was tasty! (Number one best thing about vegan baking: there’s no risk of salmonella when you sample the dough! And let’s get real – who doesn’t sample the dough?)

I placed the cookies by tablespoonfuls onto my silicone cookie sheet liners. Someone had asked about silicone baking ware recently, and my thoughts on it. I’m not a fan of silicon baking ware like silicone muffin pans, silicone cake pans or the like. I just don’t feel they’re stable enough for the goods, and plus the sides of the cake, muffins or whatever doesn’t brown up as nicely.

I do, however, love my silicone liners for my cookie sheets. I used to use parchment paper to line my baking sheets, but this is so much easier. You still don’t have to worry about cleaning up the cookie sheets, and it takes no more than thirty seconds to clean both silicone liners! Plus there’s never any incidents  of cookies sticking to the sheets and leaving a mess. Love them!

After ten minutes of baking at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, where you should be scouring the internet  for silicone cookie sheet liners if you don’t have them, your cookies are done!

They turned out even better than I could have hoped for! They’re definitely not your standard buttery, sugary cookie (aka a compete 180 from my secret recipe vegan chocolate chip cookies), but they’re so good in their own healthy sense. These would make a great pre or post-workout snack, or an addition to a smoothie for breakfast.

Delicious! Time to workout! Can’t wait to enjoy another one of these afterwards.