🌾 Healthy Flour-Free, Sugar-Free Energy Cookies

Makes: 10–12 cookies
Prep: 15 minutes
Bake: 15–20 minutes
Total: about 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 large egg
• 1½ cups rolled oats
• ½ cup pumpkin seeds
• ½ cup almonds, roughly chopped
• ½ cup cashews, roughly chopped
• ⅓ cup sunflower seeds
• ½ cup unsweetened dried cranberries or raisins
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter or almond butter
• 1–2 tablespoons water or milk, only if needed

Optional: 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup if your bananas aren’t very ripe. For a strictly sugar-free version, leave it out.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C / 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mash the bananas in a large bowl until mostly smooth.
3. Add the egg, peanut butter, and vanilla. Whisk until well combined.
4. Stir in the rolled oats, pumpkin seeds, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, flaxseed, cinnamon, and salt.
5. Fold in the dried cranberries or raisins.
6. Let the mixture rest for 5–10 minutes. The oats and seeds will absorb some moisture, making the mixture easier to shape.
7. Check the consistency. It should be thick and sticky, not runny. If it’s too wet, add a few more oats. If it’s too dry, add 1 tablespoon of water or milk.
8. Scoop approximately 2 tablespoons of mixture per cookie onto the baking sheet.
9. Flatten each mound gently with the back of a spoon. These cookies won’t spread much during baking.
10. Bake for 15–20 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden and the cookies feel firm.
11. Allow them to cool on the tray for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

⭐ For cookies like the ones in your photo

For that chunky, nut-and-seed-packed appearance, don’t chop the nuts too finely. Keep some almonds and cashews in larger pieces and press a few pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries onto the tops before baking.

Storage

• Room temperature: 2 days in an airtight container
• Refrigerator: up to 5 days
• Freezer: up to 2 months

These are best thought of as naturally sweetened oat-and-nut energy cookies rather than a completely sugar-free food, because bananas and dried fruit still contain naturally occurring sugars.