Banana Chocolate Chip Superfood Cookies

When I first started working on this recipe I had something totally different in mind. I was going to make a batch of date truffles that were loaded with super healthy ingredients. I started out with dates, bananas, chocolate chips, pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts, and chia seeds. Once I'd added the banana it was pretty clear I would not be making date balls because the mixture was just waaay too thin. So, I added a cup of oats and flax seed to thicken and bind the mixture together. Still no luck! I tried baking them for 10 minutes. Success! Super healthy and delicious cookies! They're a lovely banana chocolate chip cookie, loaded with healthy fats, plant proteins, vitamins and minerals. These cookies contain a lot of different seeds so they have a sort of soft, chewy granola bar texture that's speckled with crunchy seeds.

Ingredient Nutrition:

Dates: High in natural sugars and a good source of fibre and potassium. Dates contain a wide variety of essential nutrients such as protein, magnesium, and zinc. I used Sayer dates, a medium sized, orange-brown, soft-syrupy date.

Banana: A great source of vitamin B6, bananas also contain moderate amounts of potassium, vitamin C, and manganese.

Oats: Oats have cholesterol lowering properties and are high in soluble fibre which prolongs digestion and helps to keep you feeling satiated. Oats contain high quality protein and are a good source of iron, thiamin, phosphorus, manganese, and magnesium.

Pumpkin seeds: A real nutritional powerhouse! Pumpkin seeds are a good source of protein, iron, zinc, manganese, magnesium, phosphorous, copper, and potassium.

Dark Chocolate: Contains antioxidants and is a fantastic source of iron.

Flax seeds: Contains high levels of omega-3 fatty acids and a great source of fibre and contain a wide variety of micro-nutrients as well as antioxidants.

Chia seeds: Loaded with fibre, protein, and healthy with healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Chia seeds are also a good source of calcium, phosphorus, and manganese.

Hemp hearts: Packed with high quality protein and a great source of essential fatty acids.

sources: wikipedia.org and nutritiondata.self.com

I've been loving this recipe! The cookies are absolutely wonderful because they're quick to make, clean up is easy, and they're so versatile (and healthy!) I've been grabbing a few as a quick breakfast when I'm in a hurry, or packing them as a snack to take on the go. I've also been packing them as part of my lunch to satisfy my usual post-lunch sweet craving. They're delicious paired with an ice-cold glass of almond milk too.

What You'll Need:

• 1 cup (250 ml) soft pitted dates, packed
• 1 large, ripe banana
• 1 cup (250 ml) oats (quick or rolled, not instant)
• ⅔ cup (165 ml) pumpkin seeds (pepita seeds), plus extra for decoration
• ¼ cup (60 ml) vegan semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoon (30 ml) ground flax seed
• 2 tablespoon (30 ml) chia seeds
• 2 tablespoon (30 ml) hemp hearts (hulled hemp seeds)
• ½ tablespoon (8 ml) coconut oil, melted

Supplies: measuring cups & spoons, food processor, spatula, small mixing bowl, baking sheet, and parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

Dietary Requirements: Soy-free, Nut-free, Gluten-free (ensure oats, chocolate chips, and all other ingredients are certified gluten-free), No Sugar Added.

Clockwise from left: Chia seeds, ground flax seed, hemp hearts, and dark chocolate chips. Right: Parnoosh brand soft pitted Sayer dates.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and gather your supplies.

Before you begin adding ingredients to your food processor, check your dates for pits/pit fragments. I can't tell you how many times I've thrown dates into my food processor only to hear this awful "ca-chunk ca-chunk ca-chunk" noise. It's no fun having to pick through a half blended mess of sticky dates trying to find that one pit! I find that the easiest way to check for pits is to add your dates one at a time, giving each one a good firm pinch. You'll easily be able to feel any pits if there are any.

Check your dates for pits before blending them with ripe banana. Once the mixture is smooth you can add the rest of the healthy ingredients!

First blend the dates and ripe banana until the mixture is semi-smooth. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides as needed. My food processor is really cheap (about $10) so while it does get the job done, I couldn't get my dates 100% smooth. That's okay, they'll break up some more when you add the rest of the ingredients.

Process the mixture, scraping down the sides as needed, until the ingredients are well combined and uniformly chopped.

Add the remaining ingredients (chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts, oats, ground flax seed, chocolate chips, and coconut oil) and pulse until most ingredients appear chopped and fairly uniform. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides as needed.

Spoon the dough onto a cookie sheet before pressing with a fork and decorating with extra pumpkin seeds.

Transfer the mixture to a small mixing bowl (you can skip this step to save dishes, I just find it easier to scoop the cookie dough from a bowl rather than my processor.) Use a tablespoon to scoop heaping spoonfuls of dough onto your cookie sheet. This recipe will make about 25 cookies. The dough spreads very little during baking so don't worry about leaving a lot of space between cookies.

Use a fork to gently press the cookies using a criss-cross pattern to flatten them evenly. They should be about an inch wide. Decorate each cookie by pressing 3-4 pumpkin seeds into the dough with the points towards the middle.

After decorating the cookies, bake in a 350°F oven for 10-13 minutes until firm to the touch and lightly browned on the bottom.

Use a fork to gently press the seeds into the dough to keep them from falling off after they've baked. Bake the cookies on a middle rack for 10-13 minutes, they should feel slightly firm to the touch with lightly browned bottoms. Allow them to cool completely on a cooling rack before storage.

Allow the cookies to cool completely before storage.

Once fully cooled, store the cookies in a vented container for the first day or two before storing them in an air-tight container. I found that leaving them open to air kept the texture firm, while storing them in a air-tight container from day one made them a little too moist. After a couple of days I sealed the container to keep them from becoming dry. These cookies store well at room temperature for up to a week. These cookies would be great to keep in the freezer to thaw as needed.

Banana Chocolate Chip Superfood Cookies

★★★★★ 4.6 from 5 reviews

• Author: Brittany | i love vegan
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 25 1x
• Category: Cookies, Dessert, Snack

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Description

An ultra-healthy, delicious recipe for Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies. These cookies are loaded with healthy ingredients, plant protein, vitamins, and minerals. They're dense and moist like a granola bar and studded with crunchy seeds. Absolutely delicious served with an ice-cold glass of almond milk. (Soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free, and no sugar added.)

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 cup (250 ml) soft pitted dates, packed
• 1 large, ripe banana
• 1 cup (250 ml) oats (quick or rolled, not instant)
• ⅔ cup (165 ml) pumpkin seeds (pepita seeds), plus extra for decoration
• ¼ cup (60 ml) vegan semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) ground flax seed
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) chia seeds
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) hemp hearts (hulled hemp seeds)
• ½ tbsp (8 ml) coconut oil, melted

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Ensure that there are no pits/pit fragments in the dates before adding them to your food processor. Add the ripe banana and process until semi-smooth. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides as needed.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and process until well combined and uniformly chopped. Use a spatula to scrape the sides as needed.
4. Transfer mixture to a small bowl (you can skip this step to save on dishes, I just find it's easier to scoop the dough from a bowl rather than my processor.)
5. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of dough onto your cookie sheet. They cookies won't spread very much so don't worry about spacing.
6. Use a fork to gently flatten the cookies before decorating with extra pumpkin seeds.
7. Bake for 10-13 minutes until the cookies are firm with lightly browned bottoms.
8. Cool completely on a cooling rack before storage.
9. Drop tablespoonfuls of cookie dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently flatten each cookie with a fork. Decorate with 3-4 pumpkin seeds and bake for 10 minutes.
10. Allow 10+ minutes to cool and enjoy! Great served with a cold glass of almond milk.

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Notes

Once fully cooled, store the cookies in a vented container for the first day or two before storing them in an air-tight container. I found that leaving them open to air kept the texture firm, while storing them in a air-tight container from day one made them a little too moist. After a couple of days I sealed the container to keep them from becoming dry. These cookies store well at room temperature for up to a week. These cookies would be great to keep in the freezer to thaw as needed.

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Nutrition

• Calories: 2037
• Sugar: 137 g
• Sodium: 35 mg
• Fat: 72 g
• Saturated Fat: 25 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 42 g
• Carbohydrates: 318 g
• Fiber: 60 g
• Protein: 53 g
• Cholesterol: 4 mg