Healthy Banana Cookies

As noted before, i am trying to lose some weight and get into shape. Unfortunately, i have a weakness for cookies. After searching the vast internet, i have found a recipe that is supposed to be healthy!

There were oodles of comments from users attached to the recipe, all with simple variations that people had tried. Different fruits, different spices, some things substituted to make them even healthier. The recipe is below, and in brackets i put what substitutions and suggestions i took from the comments.

3 ripe bananas
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup dates, pitted and chopped (1 cup raisins)
1/3 cup vegetable oil (1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce)
1 tsp vanilla extract
(1/2 tsp nutmeg)

In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Stir in oats, dates, oil and vanilla. Mix well and allow to sit for 15 minutes.

Drop by teaspoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 20 minutes in preheated 350 F oven or until lightly brown.

So this is the batter while it was sitting. No oil, no flour, no added sugar. It smells really good, but looks kinda funny. 

A few of the comments suggested greasing the pan, because the natural sugar in the bananas crystallizes and sticks. I have always used parchment, so i did not worry about that, and there was no evidence of crystallized sugar on it. Maybe i did not cook them as long as those folks. 

Another comment said to make them as big as you need them, because they do not grow in the oven. I should have taken this piece of advice, because i have tiny cookies. I also had to cook them the full 20 minutes, although i checked them after 15. 

The recipe came with no storage suggestions, but because of the fruit, and that i am not going to eat them all in one day, i am keeping them in the fridge. They taste good, but not the best cookie that i have ever eaten. They are chewy and banana -y, not to sweet. They could probably do better with come chocolate chips. The comments stated people had tried adding different flavored chips, dried cranberries or blueberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, almond extract, and many other things.

They might grow on me, but we will see.

I am editing this a few days after the fact to state that these do not keep! Eat them up in about 2 days! I had some in the refrigerator and on the counter, and they went bad. It might be all the fruit, it does not tend to keep well. I think i will only be making these again if i have folks over to eat them up, because for one person who only eats a few cookies a day, like me, this recipe is a waste.