These fluffy, soft, gluten-free banana cookies are perfect for a busy morning or can be a healthy afternoon snack with a cup of tea. They are super moist, low in added sugar and high in flavour.
The internet is full of banana bread recipes at the moment: with nuts, without nuts, vegan, keto, gluten-free, flour-free, banana free. OK, I am exaggerating, but you get me. Basically, you can find anything and everything on the internet. I am guessing that you don’t need yet another variation of banana bread. But well… here is a new recipe for you, because… I felt as a food blogger, I need to have my own banana bread recipe. Also, who knows, maybe you’ve been boycotting the internet for the last six months and you haven’t heard about this culinary trend called make your own banana bread. But do not fear, I have you covered, and I have a perfect recipe for all those lovely, ripe bananas sitting in the fruit bowl, just waiting to be used up. You’re welcome.
Food Waste
Jokes aside, bananas are one of the most wasted foods. 1.4 million completely edible bananas are thrown away each day in the UK. This is a shocking and devastating number – how can so much good food simply end up in the bin? Besides individual households, supermarkets play a large role in creating waste. All the single bananas left on shelves are thrown away every evening by workers. They are perfectly edible, in good condition, but according to the rules they are not saleable. I still cannot get my head around this nonsense. How is it possible that we’ve reached a point where it’s OK to get rid of food just because… well… I still don’t understand why. Because is less likely to be bought by someone!?
I don’t want to sound too emotional, but food waste is a hard and painful topic. For many years, people were grateful for a chance to serve dinner to their loved ones or just to have something to eat in the fridge. Now, with so many choices and better economies, food is no longer as precious as it used to be. To be honest, one of the reasons why I created this platform is to talk about food waste, help to minimise it and provide ideas on how to use the ingredients laying in your fridge or cupboards.
On a side note, you may have heard that not every fully-grown vegetable or fruit arrives on shop shelves. According to EU law, these crops need to meet specific requirements and be unified in their shape and look. On the one hand, it’s argued that this gives shoppers the best quality produce, but on the other hand – these laws are one of the main reasons why food waste is such a massive problem. Perfectly edible and delicious food is being thrown away just because it might be too short, too dark, too wonky. So, if you feel like saving those unloved crops give oddbox.co.uk a go. This is an amazing platform which fights against food waste and the ridiculous laws that force us to disrespect our wonderful, natural produce.
On the bright side, after we identify the problem, it is so much easier to approach it and find solutions. So, take those humble and sunny bananas and use them! Instead of throwing them away – freeze them, bake them in muffins or a cake, bake a loaf of banana bread or fry them and serve them with fluffy pancakes or crepes as a delicious breakfast on a lazy Sunday morning.
You have so many options! Even if you think there is no way I am going to do anything with these black, old, mushy fruits – put them in the freezer and I promise, you’ll have a day when you will be craving something sweet and they’ll come to your rescue. In just 5 seconds, you can have delicious and healthy ice cream – what’s not to love? Don’t forget, one tiny change can be the reason for a bigger and more powerful wave, so be that one small ripple in this vast ocean.
To get back to the cookies, the initial idea came from my busy and (only occasionally!) manic lifestyle. Those mornings – when you wake up at the crack of dawn, run around the house half-dressed like a maniac in search of your keys, and totally forget about breakfast. Yes, those mornings. Prepare these cookies in advance and they will help you look after yourself and your wellbeing, in both body and mind. Just have a cookie in one hand and type that email with other (female multitasking super-power). If you don’t have gluten-free flour options, use regular flour – it will work just as perfectly. As a choice of nuts, I selected cashews and walnuts, but please do not limit yourself – you can use pistachios, toasted hazelnuts, blanched almonds or macadamia nuts. The choice is yours.
So why not give this recipe a go, be a food-waste hero – and let’s save those sweet, mushy and ripe bananas!
Recipe
Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
150g coconut flour
100g ground almonds
50g sugar
½ teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 eggs
50g coconut oil
50g nuts mix (cashews and walnuts)
Pinch of salt
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
- Mash the ripe bananas in a bowl. Add coconut flour, ground almond, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and eggs. Mix everything together.
- Chop the nuts and add them to the mixture together with salt.
- Melt the coconut oil and add to your mixture. If the batter is too dry add another spoon of coconut oil.
- Make the balls from the dough (I made 12 balls) and place them on a baking tray lined with a baking paper. Press them down with a fork.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- And there you go! These amazing fluffy banana cookies are perfect to have for breakfast with a cup of coffee or a snack anytime you like. Enjoy.
