Pinterest Gem: Sugar/Flour/Egg/Butter Free Cookies

I decided to have a post every-so-often on something I found, made and loved via Pinterest.  What's the point in such a lovely tool if I'm not going to make some of those goodies?  Some of you may know I am doing a 90-day sugar free challenge.  It is going awesome and I am already on Day 26!  My kids have some withdrawals, however.  No cookies again, ever?  (And just to clarify, they are not on a sugar-free diet.  I do not have cookies in the house, though.  Too tempting for me.)  When I found this recipe on Pinterest I tried it and...loved it!  Ainsley loved!  Alexa loved it!  Brandon, not so much.  ;)

image via pinterest

These were originally called Banana Pecan Granola Bars, but they have been evolving into cookies.  I made them both ways and prefer them as a granola bar.  So here is the deal-e-o with these babies.  No sugar.  They are sweetened with fruit.  No flour.  No eggs.  No butter.  I noticed the original recipe called for sesame seeds instead of almond meal.  I actually ground up almonds in my Vita-Mix until it  looked like flour.  Worked for me!

Banana Pecan Granola Bars

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 cup coconut flakes

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 cup almond meal 

1/2 cup mixed nuts, finely chopped

1 cup dried fruit (I used craisins)

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup canola oil

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 175.

In a large bowl, combine rolled oats, nuts, almond meal and coconut flakes. Stir in allspice and cinnamon. Add dried fruit and stir until well and evenly mixed. Make sure the dried fruit does not stick together in big batches.

In another bowl, combine canola oil, mashed banana and vanilla extract. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir until well combined. 

Spread the batter evenly onto the baking sheet, about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch high.

Alternatively, use a large cookie cutter and press spoonfuls of the batter into it. Remove cookie cutter. Bake for about 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown. The granola bars tend to get brown at the bottom first. Make sure not to burn them. Let cool completely, store in airtight container and keep in the fridge.

I used heart cookie cutters for mine.  These took longer than 20 minutes, though!  Maybe my 175 is lower than hers?  After 20 mins, I upped the temp to 250 and left them another 15 minutes. 

Give these a try and let me know what you think!  For more of my pins, follow me on Pinterest!