I posted these on Instagram and due to multiple requests from my cookie monster friends, I'm doing a short and sweet post on them.

As explained in previous banana-related posts, I absolutely cannot eat really ripe bananas. At the first sign of a brown spot, I've already shunned them to the freezer for smoothies or save them til baking. So imagine my feelings on these bananas below.

My eyes hurt looking at that. They're so ripe that the peel started ripping when I picked them up!

Okay, enough with the dramatics. I had 5 of these babyfood mush bananas at the ready, so I decided to make these banana oat cookies in two different flavors: Pumpkin Cacao and Peanut Butter Cacao.

PS: I call them energy cookies because they're filled with good carbs from those bananas and oats, and also raw cacao nibs- which contain theobromine, a compound in cacao beans that elicits a similar human reaction as caffeine by dilating the blood vessels. It also has phenylethylamine (PEA), a chemical our bodies also make naturally from our adrenal glands- this increases your pulse and makes you feel excited, focused, and alert. So when you hear about chocolate or cacao having caffeine in them, it actually refers to theobromine and PEA. 

Before I jump into the recipe, I'm going to talk about the "peanut butter" flavored one because it's a bit odd.

I didn't use actual PB in these guys, I used Just Great Stuff's Peanut Butter Powder. What this is is a dehydrated form of peanut butter of sorts. It's ingredients are simply peanuts, coconut sugar, and sea salt- all of which are organic, non-GMO.

In one serving is 45 cal/1.5g Fat/5g Carb/4g Protein, which is pretty damn awesome compared to the near 200 calories of 2 tbsp of real peanut butter. So you PB addicted friends, try this out! I love to use it in baking, or add it to my greek yogurt to make it feel a bit more indulgent. 

Now onto the split recipes!

Banana Oat Energy Cookies

*makes 20 small cookies

Ingredients

5 medium overripe Bananas
4 cups of raw rolled Oats

For Peanut Butter Cacao:
2 tbsp Just Great Stuff's Peanut Butter Powder
1 heaping tbsp raw Cacao Nibs

For Pumpkin Cacao:
1 heaping tsp TJ's Pumpkin Pie Spice
(cinnamon, ginger, citrus, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom)
1 tsp All-Spice
1 heaping tbsp raw Cacao Nibs

Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with EVOO.

2. In a mixing bowl, mash bananas with a fork until smooth. Add in oats 1 cup at a time and stir until well-combined.

*You may need less or more oats than listed, pending on the exact size of your bananas- mine were on the small side of a medium banana. You want the consistency to be chunky enough to hold in a cookie form, but not too dry. It should look similar to the photo on the right:

3. *Optional: Divide batter in two separate bowls, and add separate spices to make both flavors: the Pumpkin Cacao and the Peanut Butter Cacao. Stir until well-mixed. 

4. Drop spoonfuls of "batter" onto prepared baking sheet. 

5. Place baking tray in the oven, and bake for about 15 minutes and golden-brown. Remove from oven, let cool and transfer to a wire cooling rack if you have one. Then serve!

These also keep well in an airtight container for a few days- refrigeration keeps them freshest!