Recipe: Soft Oatmeal Cookies

Credit: iStock

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium apple (or substitute 1?3 cup unsweetened applesauce)
• ¼ cup skim, rice or almond milk
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cups quick-cooking oats

Additions

• ¼ cup coconut flakes, raisins/dates or chopped nuts/flax seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Chop the unpeeled apple and bake in microwave or oven until soft.
2. When apple has cooled, combine with the milk and mix in a blender, or mash well with a fork. (If substituting applesauce, stir together with milk.)
3. In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas and mix in the apple and milk mixture.
4. Add the vanilla and cinnamon, followed by the oats and your choice of additions (coconut, or raisins/dates, or nuts/flax).
5. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto lightly greased baking sheets, flattening each cookie.
6. Bake in a preheated 350°F (180 C) oven for 15 minutes.

Yield: 24 cookies

Calories: 36 (with coconut) or 48 (with fruit or nuts/seeds) per cookie

Storage tip: These are soft cookies. (Only the combination of sugar and fat results in chewy and crispy cookies.) Store at room temperature in a sealed container for up to five days. Refrigerating them will result in dryness, so freeze for longer-term storage. Take a few frozen cookies at a time to work or school: by the time you’re ready to eat them, they’ll be thawed.