Double Chocolate Banana Cookies, a sweet cinnamon banana muffin in cookie form! Paleo (Gluten Free * Dairy Free)
I promised you cookies, I bring cookies! Today I want to take a second to talk about why I make paleo baked goods, especially cookies. First of all, if you are like what is paleo? I am definitely not the world’s expert on the diet, but I’ll give an explanation a shot.
Paleo or primal eating excludes all grains, beans/legumes, and dairy. Fierce controversy exists in the paleo world regarding potatoes and dairy. I do not wish to join in the controversy since I don’t consider myself a strict follower.
If you want to get into the science behind their theories Mark’s Daily Apple or Rob Wolf are two great places to start. Let me be old lady seeing into a crystal ball clear, I’m not advocating for arguing against the paleo guidelines. You know me, I think something a little different works for everyone, go find what works for you. (Like these cookies.)
Here is my thing, typically, baked goods are made by combining refined flour, coated with refined sugar, mixed in with dried sugar (aka dried fruit), refined sugar & cream (chocolate chips), and topped with more sugar if possible. Holy sugar rush!
Talk about a blood sugar spike and dip, followed by cravings and hunger. Typically, paleo flours are made from nuts or seeds, the most popular options being almond flour and coconut flour.
Instead of being full of refined carbohydrate, these flours are high in healthy fats, fiber, and protein. Those things will keep you full and help promote a more stable blood sugar response, plus they still taste sweet and delicious!
Whole wheat flour will also offer more fiber and protein than refined version, but will still pack a large dose of carbohydrate. Knowing that I’m going to add in a TON of sugar (comparatively to the size of the food), I’d rather not stack carbohydrate on top of carbohydrate.
Yes, what I’m saying is I want my cookie to balanced, and yes I’m aware of how insane that sounds. As you probably already know, we typically avoid gluten in our house because Mr. Hungry is sensitive to it.
So, I could use whole grain gluten-free flours such as millet, oat, bean flour, etc. Again, though, those are mostly carbohydrate. The other thing is while whole grain flours offer some nutritional benefit including nutrients and fiber, they don’t offer as many nutrients as nuts and seeds do.
So, most often I opt to make recipes with paleo flours and I opt to cook paleo style meals. Not because I have opinions on the diet, but because I find potatoes to be more nutritious than grains when I compare them side by side. Not that I don’t eat brown rice, quinoa, etc, just that I chose potatoes and squashes as my starch more often. (Keep in mind, fierce controversy in the paleo world about white potatoes, sweet potatoes are generally accepted.)
Okay, so now you know why I bake with paleo flours, now let’s talk about these delicious cookies! They basically take like a slightly chewier top of a chocolate banana muffin aka the best part.
I adapted the recipe from the back of the Trader Joe’s Almond Flour bag, mostly because I can’t help myself, I just can’t follow recipes anymore. Lucky for you, these are delicious, but did I mention they taste like banana muffins?
So, if you don’t like bananas do not make these cookies and tell me they taste too much like banana. These are double chocolate BANANA muffins, don’t be surprised when they taste like bananas. Banana lovers only, please. If you aren’t a banana lover, hold out a chewy delicious cookie recipe is coming your way later this week!
Double Chocolate Banana Cookies (Paleo)
Ingredients
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons chocolate baking powder
- 1 banana mashed
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips use these for dairy free
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl (almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, salt, and chocolate.)
- Combine all wet ingredients in a medium bowl (banana, coconut oil, egg). Combine together until smooth.
- Add wet ingredients to dry mixture and mix with a large spatula until well combined.
- Use a cookie scoop to drop dough two inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until cookies are slightly darkened on the edges.
Nutrition
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