I am REALLY excited about this recipe.  I have a major sweet tooth and I’ve been doing lots of browsing online to find something that would give me my fix.  I was inspired to try a recipe from @talesofakitchen.  The recipe is so simple and I made a few modifications that turned out deliciously well!  I still can’t believe that there is no dairy or egg in this recipe – banana is a great binder.  Who knew!?  I love a salty/sweet combo so I omitted the sweetener and added sea salt, vanilla, almond extract and hemp seeds.  I also added some almond butter for extra richness.  The result is a saltier, richer, moister cookie with only the subtlest hint of banana.  The chocolate chips add just a touch of sweetness.

A few notes: I’d never used quinoa flakes before and you can find them in the cereal aisle among the oats and porridge (at least that’s where my Whole Foods Market kept it).  The sweetness from the chocolate chips was enough for me but if you like it sweeter feel free to add something.  The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients:

Makes 15 cookies

1 ripe banana, smashed
1 cup quinoa flakes
1/3 cup ground almond
1/3 cup ground flax seed
1/3 cup hemp seed hearts
3 Tbsp almond butter
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (more or less depending on your preferred batter/chips ratio)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 350F.  Mix everything together in a bowl and roll into 1-2 inch balls.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and press each ball to flatten slightly.  Bake for 15 minutes in a 350F oven.  These do not rise so you don’t have to worry about them melting into each other on the baking sheet.

Enjoy!

Gxo