Healthy cookies :-)

NO...not an oxymoron...these babies have got me through many a training session and famished attack and they are packed full of nutrients...

Of course just as I started making them I noticed something.  The biscotti I'd got as a contraband Christmas gift (wheat, dairy etc) and was proffering my children as their father discovered an apparent love of these delightful hard Italian cookies following a pizza making and movie night a su casa, had chocolate in them!!  So I ate two, greedily, yet regretfully, then went back to my wheat free, dairy free, sugar free numbers which I do actually love...particularly when I find dark chocolate in the fridge which can add chocolate chips to 'em!

So the basic ingredients for 12-15 filling cookies are:

• 300g oats, (definitely nicer with old fashioned whole oats and not 'quick oats' which as far as I'm concerned may as well be the bits they sweep off the factory floor when they've finished packaging the real oats....)
• 2 bananas, mashed - as ripe as you like
• 1-1½ tbsp of cocoa ....depending how much of a chocoholic you are.  I also use grated local cocoa sticks when I have it which is less chocolatey but more flavourful
• 2 handfuls of cranberries or golden raisins (I know I know, not a precise measurement, but I usually guesstimate all of the ingredients before flinging them all in the big bowl, I tried to stop myself at each stage and measure for your benefit, but it was too late in the case of the cranberries as by the time I remembered they were already coated in cocoa powder...)
• 1 tsp cinnamon (or nutmeg)
• 2 tbsp peanut butter (or a healthier nut butter as lots of holistic health practitioners are down on peanuts these days due to that yucky mould issue...)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp olive oil (or I guess any other fancy oil which may even have miraculous health
  
  properties...)

...and that's about it.  Sometimes I add in a grated Granny Smith apple, particularly if I'm out of bananas or dried fruit.  I've also added protein powder on occasion when out of peanut butter or feeling for a more specific training boost. Almond milk, or whatever your favourite fad milk is, can be added if the mixture seems a bit dry, or you can even add a second egg, but I don't usually bother....and I'm sure there's a plethora of other substitutions which would suit multitudinous tastes like the choccy chips I mentioned earlier...but as a creative human being I'm sure you know that.  And if your OCD tendencies need more specifics...a I'm sure you would've switched out long ago...

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200° C
2. Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix
3. Add the wet ingredients and mix, making sure the peanut butter is evenly distributed. I tend to add the oil last as you might need more or less than the amount suggested above to get a moist consistency which holds together.
4. Oil a baking sheet
5. Shape and flatten the cookies onto the sheet 
6. Cook for 14-18 minutes, until golden brown on the top. Some people prefer them crispy right through, some like moist middles so it's down to your taste when choosing cooking time.
7. Leave to cool on tray for a while ....unless of course you just can't wait to taste this yummy creation!

And voila! You have yourself healthy cookies and the perfect post or even during workout snack as I find they digest pretty fast.

Enjoy!!  I know I will....with a nice cup of coffee :-)