I made these banana cookies this weekend and it was love at first bite. I'm already planning on making them again one night this week and shaping them into bars! SO FREAKIN GOOD! As per my usual, there is no oil or butter. These things are all about healthy, so moist, decadent, can't stop eating, I really wish I had some with me right now... ok you get the point! I can't believe how sweet these actually tasted considering the only sweet added is the bananas and the coconut, no added sugar here. Bring on the all natural baby!!

Did I mention there are flax seeds in these too? I'm currently having a love affair with flax seeds, I know it doesn't sound glamorous, but they are just so nutty and happy :) Neva can you eat flax seeds or are those an allergy too? Although I just realized these have both almonds and coconut in them :( I really am a bad friend constantly tormenting you with nuts galore! Sorry my dear :(

Go buy bananas now and stick them in a brown bag so they are super brown and happy by the weekend so you can make these!


Banana Oat Cookies or Bars
These are adapted from 101 cookbooks Nikki's cookies.

3 large, ripe bananas (the browner the better!), well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup almond meal (almond slices + food processor for a few pulses)
1/3 cup flax seeds
1/3 cup coconut, finely shredded & sweetened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup dried cherries or other dried fruit of your choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the top third.

In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla extract, and apple sauce. Set aside. In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, flax seeds, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks and dried fruit. Drop Tablespoon-fulls, onto a Silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes.

Makes about 2.5 dozen bite-sized cookies. I'll let you know how many bars once I make these again.

you know you want to chow me ... go buy some bananas!

UPDATE: So I made these in bar form last night! I put them into a 9" stoneware pan and cooked them for about 30 minutes. I cut them into 12 bars and brought them to the office. The results: "delicious" "these are sooo goood" "mmmmm" I like those kind of reactions! Sounds good to me!

Happy Earth Day everyone! It's absolutely beautiful here. AMAZING weather for april. It's been in the 70's and even 80's (normally it's in the 50's this time of year here).... yeahhhh so wonderful but kind of makes you stop and think... global warming much???? Ohh the irony of my earth day theme cupcakes!

Yes it's that time again cupcake hero time!! This is my third time competing and I must say it's wicked fun. The first month theme ingredient was liquor, the second marshmallow, and now... EARTH DAY!!! So immediately my mind went to dirt cupcakes with gummy worms (compost cupcakes love it!), then something vegan and all locally grown ingredients(excuse to hit the farmers market) Pistacio cupcakes (get it they are green haha)... perhaps a no bake to save on oven energy use??? I thought and thought and really wanted something different that hopefully no one else would think of.

Then my mind wandered to the cute pictures of penguins and polar bears on the reseeding ice caps... poor cute fluffy things sitting on a tiny little ice cube thinking "where'd all the ice go?" With that image in mind I decided to plead the case of the polar bears! So people stop global warming and save the polar bears!!


I also decided since my earth day was more about decorating I'd pay homage to my last two months of cupcake hero and make new versions of the theme ingredients... so we have a liquor based Amaretto cupcake, with a marshmallow seven minute frosting on top! See it's all about brining it full circle. Hope you guys love this one or at least get a laugh. I left the above image with sign in the refrigerator for my roommate (also named stephanie) and her boyfriend (also named John) to find. They were rolling hehe. And yes I know only I would live with someone with the same name who is also dating someone of the same name.. makes it super interesting when we are all there and someone is trying to call someone else ha!



Amaretto cupcakes

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup splenda blend for baking
1/4 cup finely chopped sliced almonds, toasted (about 1 ounce)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fat-free milk
2 Tbs butter or stick margarine, melted
1/4 cup amaretto (almond-flavored liqueur)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, almonds, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Combine milk, butter, amaretto, and eggs; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

Spoon batter into 6 lightly greased and floured muffin tins and 10 mini muffin tins (we aren't using paper holders, come on we are being green!).

Bake mini's for 10 minutes, regular size cupcakes for 16-17 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully.

Marshmallow, or Seven Minute Frosting

2 large egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Combine frosting ingredients with a pinch of salt in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and beat with a handheld electric mixer at high speed until frosting is thick and fluffy, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and continue to beat until slightly cooled.

Assemble the polar bear cuBcakes
6 regular + 10 small cooled cupcakes
batch of frosting
coconut (amount will depend on how heavily you coat your bears! I used half a small bag)
11 large white gumdrops 5 small white gumdrops
chocolate chips (regular and mini) (I just cut a normal chip in half for the mini ones)
6 m&m

First, frost the top, sides, and bottoms of both a regular-size cupcake and a mini cupcake with white frosting. For each cupcake, frost the bottom first; then use a fork stuck into the bottom to hold the cupcake while you frost the rest of it.

Roll the cupcakes in shredded coconut; then, working on waxed paper, set the cupcakes on their sides with the top of the smaller cupcake stuck to the bottom of the larger one (use the icing like glue) to form the bear's head.

Add 2 horizontal slices from a large white gumdrop for ears, a m&m for a nose, and 2 chocolate chips for eyes. For each cub, frost a mini cupcake and a large gumdrop, then roll them in coconut and arrange them on their sides as shown. Add 2 horizontal slices from a small white gumdrop for ears, a chocolate chip nose, and 2 mini chocolate chip eyes.

seriously how freakin cute are these cupcakes!