BANANA OATMEAL BREAKFAST COOKIES

Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Ripe and Spotty Banana
• 1 1/2 cups Gluten-Free Rolled Oats, divided
• 2 tbsp Unsweetened Applesauce (I used milk)
• 1 tbsp Maple Syrup, for added sweetness (Optional)
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/3 cup chopped Walnuts, or another Nut of choice
• Needs some kind of fat - Peanut Butter, Butter, or Coconut Oil 

1. First, Preheat the oven to 350F. Peel the ripe Banana and break it off into “chunks” in a medium bowl. Mash the Banana with a fork until it forms a paste.
2. Next, add 1/2 cup of the Rolled Oats to a blender and process for 30 seconds, or until a fine flour forms. Add the Oat Flour, remaining Oatmeal, Applesauce, optional Maple Syrup, Cinnamon, Baking Powder, and Salt to the bowl with the Banana. Mix until everything is evenly incorporated.
3. Fold the chopped Walnuts into the batter, then line or grease a Baking Tray. Use around 3 tbsp of batter to form a “Cookie”, then press each Cookie onto the Tray – they will not spread out in the oven, so shape them how you’d like them to be!
4. Bake for 15 minutes, flip, then bake for an additional 5-7 minutes.
5. Once cool, store in a loosely covered container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also freeze these and reheat as needed!

Thanksgiving is Coming!!!

Wow! Thanksgiving is almost here and for the first time in MANY years I will not be cooking.
I'm not hosting, and I'm not going to a relative's home with a side dish...I'm going to be on vacation and will probably be eating my turkey in a restaurant.

Now, I usually LOVE hosting Thanksgiving because it means making the turkey - which we always brine Alton Brown style.
The sides are typically the traditional.....mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, bread and sausage dressing (never stuffed into the turkey!), cranberry sauce and applesause.

But I was thinking, what if you're tired of those typical sides? What would you make?
So I dug into my archives for some inspiration:

For some simple pre-turkey munchies you could put out some pickles! They're crispy, zesty, nutritious, you can make them WAY ahead of time, and you can plan in variety!

For a twist on the use of pumpkin/squash/sweetpotatoes you could do a soup! If you don't want the Thai influence simply leave out the curry powder and the coconut milk and add some allspice and nutmeg and you've got a nice standard butternut squash soup starter to your meal.

Instead of the usual greenbean casserole you could try a greenbean saute! And it's one less item for the oven!

If you have the time, fresh applesauce is a real treat!

And to finish the day Thanksgiving Cookies can't be beat....of course they are good ANY time!
Please share your traditions or breaks from tradition with me!

Whatever your traditions and whatever you make, I hope your Thanksgiving is delicious and good for your soul!

Thanksgiving Cookies - Yum

On Sunday I made pumpkin cookies with the boys...and modified the recipe a bit.
Let me just say that 2/3 are already gone.

Cream together 1 stick of butter and 1 1/2 C sugar
add 1 egg and1 tsp vanilla and beat till combined
add 1 C cooked pumpkin or winter squash (canned is ok) and stir till combined.

Blend together dry ingredients:
1 1/2 C White All Purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Mix wet and dry ingredients together

Add 1 C of your favorite chocolate chips (I added Ghiradelli dark)
and 1/2 C dried cranberries

Stir until combined evenly.

Drop by spoonfuls on baking sheets

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or to desired doneness.