These banana oatmeal cookies are soft, tender, and naturally sweetened! They're packed with ingredients like wholesome oats, ripe bananas, coconut sugar, and warming spices.
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Quickly pulse the rolled oats ~10 times in a food processor or blender.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the mashed bananas, coconut sugar, melted coconut oil, and vanilla extract. Stir until well combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the pulsed rolled oats, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined. Lastly, fold in your choice of chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or raisins.
Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop or measuring spoon to drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches in between each one.
Gently flatten the cookie dough mounds with the back of a spoon or your fingers, as these cookies won't spread much while baking.
Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the center is just set.
Allow your banana oatmeal cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Happy eating!
Notes
Use ripe bananas: For the ideal moisture and sweetness levels, wait for your bananas to be extremely ripe. Lots of brown spots are a must!
Pulse the oats: Pulse the oats to bind the cookies better, resulting in a more uniform texture.
Don't overmix: Avoid overworking the dough to prevent dense or tough cookies.
Use a cookie scoop: To help your cookies bake evenly and consistently, we suggest using a cookie scoop. For reference, we used a 2-tablespoon scoop.
Flatten the dough: The dough doesn't spread much as it bakes, so we suggest gently flattening the cookies with a spoon before adding them into the oven.
Don’t overbake: The cookies may seem slightly moist as they come out of the oven, but they will continue to set as they cool.
Cool first: Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the pan before moving them to a wire rack. This allows them to finish baking and setting.
Nutritional information is a rough estimate and should not be taken as health advice.