Banana Chocolate Chip Bites (GF)

I have been trying several different recipes for cookies using banana and oatmeal as the star ingredients. Some, admittedly, were not all that great. I made some modifications to this recipe and came up with what I consider a winner. I decided to call them "bites" instead of cookies because David, who loves them, said, "You can't think of them as cookies or they don't taste right, but they are very good." I thought that was a fair evaluation. We all loved them, but they really don't taste like a cookie.

Oatmeal, banana, cinnamon, and chocolate chips all shine in this cookie bite. They are a delicious, filling, and nutritious dessert. If you are looking for a snack that satisfies your family's sweet tooth with healthy ingredients, I think you will really enjoy banana chocolate chip bites. I love these especially hot from the oven. The oatmeal and banana makes them rather filling so they even make a nice breakfast with your morning coffee.

A small word of warning to my calorie watching friends. Just because a food is nutritious doesn't mean it doesn't have calories. When I made these I had a little trouble with portion control and went way over my daily calories! I think Mark got a couple at lunch, but the rest David and I split. Poor Jon didn't even know this little treat was made while he was at work. I know that is horrible and I shouldn't be admitting that to the whole world, but now you have been duly warned. Moral: Have many eaters at home when baking.

Recipe makes 24-30 cookie bites (124-155 calories per cookie)
modified from recipe on mylittletable

3 large or 4 medium bananas, mashed (1 1/2 cups)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c coconut oil*
1/4 c honey
2 c rolled oats or quick oats
2/3 c oat flour (simple instructions for making your own**)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp kosher salt or 1/4 tsp table salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mash bananas either by hand or use your mixer. Add to the bananas the rest of the ingredients until well blended. Divide dough into 24-30 mounds*** on a prepared cookie sheet (I use a silicone mat). Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 12-14 minutes. You want the bites to cook as long as possible without burning on the bottom and they turn out just the right texture. You'll know they are done when they are firm to the touch. The bites remain soft and chewy and don't crisp up like cookies. They don't continue cooking after you remove them from the oven, so be sure not to under cook them.

Additional Notes
*I have only tried coconut oil in this recipe. While I think coconut oil is the best option for this cookie, another oil could be substituted if you do not have this ingredient.

**To make oat flour, simply grind dry rolled or quick oats in a food processor or a clean coffee grinder until flour consistency. The convenient part is that the oats measure the same before and after grinding so you can measure them before you grind them for the perfect amount.

***These bites do not spread in the pan, so you can get by with putting them an inch apart on the baking sheet and not worry about them running into each other. You should be able to easily get all of these on two baking sheets allowing you to cook them all at once. A bonus time and money saver.