Healthy Chunky Monkey Breakfast Cookies- Kids in the Kitchen

(4 1/2 Years)

We love baking together.  The measuring, pouring, mixing, mashing, tasting.  We are in the kitchen baking something at least every other day, and there are weeks - especially during the rainy season and Christmas season when we are baking every day.

One of our favorite breakfasts and afternoon snacks is this cookie from Maryea at Happy Healthy Mama.  You've seen this on here before.  We started making her recipe (ok, we adapted it slightly) since they were two years old!

Chunky Monkey Breakfast Cookies aka Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bites
4 ripe small bananas, about 1 1/3 cups, mashed
2 cups gluten-free oats or regular rolled oats (also called old fashioned oats)
*1/3 cup peanut butter - we use Skippy Natural Dark Chocolate or whatever we have on hand
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup pitted dates, chopped small
*2/3 cup of chopped nuts, we usually use walnuts and pecans
*1/3 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut
*1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips or vegan chocolate chips

Mix everything together in a large bowl.  Let sit for about 15 minutes.  Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Drop the mixture using tablespoon portions on a silpat or parchment lined baking tray, press down slightly to look like a cookie, or leave rolled into a ball (these will not spread).  Bake for 15 minutes or until tops are golden.  That's it!

Look at how speckled our bananas are.  Those are perfect for baking!  Mash those bananas- forget the fork, when you make banana bread and banana muffins and banana pancakes as often as we do, we use a potato masher.  It's faster and easier.

Look at that smile!  He loves squishing and mashing the bananas.

Add in your rolled oats and walnuts.

Pour in the pecans and peanut butter.

Add in the chopped dates, unsweetened coconut and bittersweet chocolate chips.

Add the vanilla.  Mix well.  Allow to rest for 15 minutes.  This is when I start preheating my oven.

Bake for 15 minutes.  

Delicious!  Packed with healthy goodies and chocolate.  Enjoy!