These cookies tick all the boxes - they're nutritious, cheap, easy-to-make, really yummy and they require the simplest-of-simple ingredients list. Seriously, we're talking mashed banana, rolled oats, desiccated coconut, dried apricots, a sprinkling of chocolate chips, and THAT'S ALL. They're also totally kid-friendly - get the kids involved in mashing the bananas, counting out the apricots and mixing all the ingredients together with their hands - it'll get a bit messy, but fun!
A wonderful way to get kids more excited about what they're eating is to get them involved in the preparation process - it may require a little extra patience and time (and most likely clean up), but it's a great educational activity with the wonderful follow-on effect of getting them more invested at meal time (and so hopefully more inclined to try whatever is being served!). Of course, this might not be needed when it comes to eating cookies, but definitely something to keep in mind next time you have a pile of veggies to peel in front of you...
Banana Oat Cookies
Ingredients
4 mashed ripe bananas
2 1/2 cups of rolled oats
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
12 dried apricots, diced
1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)
Sprinkle of cinnamon (optional)
Method
1) Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line an oven tray with baking paper.
2) Add all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix together until well combined (a big wooden spoon or just your hands will do!).
3) Spoon out large tablespoons of the mixture and assemble into cookie shapes on the oven tray. I say assemble as it will get a little messy! You might need to spend a little time shaping them. A quick way to do it is to get a cookie cutter and fill each one up with the mixture - when you remove the cookie cutter you'll get even circle shapes.
4) Bake the cookies in the oven for 12-15 minutes. Keep an eye on them for the last few minutes to make sure they don't burn.
5) Take them out of the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes before digging in. Enjoy!
Makes 10-12 cookies depending on how big you make them.