Superpowered Cacao & Maca Oat Cookies

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I love my oatmeal, but sometimes I need a breakfast I can just grab and go. As in, grab on the way out the door, knowing there is no desk and a microwave at my destination. Or something I can just eat whilst walking. Walking and eating is not a way I usually like to eat my meals, but sometimes? Sometimes life doesn’t give us another option. And so – for when those days arrive – I like to prepare myself some “cookies”. I use the term cookies lightly only because these are free of all the usual cookie ingredients. There’s no eggs or dairy (obviously), as well as no sugar or chocolate either. No, these superpowered cacao & maca oat cookies are charged with natural goodness only.

But these maca oat cookies aren’t just useful for the days when I need a dash out of the front door. The first time I made them, they actually came about from a lonely, very ripe banana.
No, really. A sad banana inspired this cookie creation! Because I can’t stand waste, and that single overripe banana was threatening to become bin-fodder. There are so many different ways to use foods these days that I see it as a personal failure on my part!

So – this banana. It was a very, very ripe banana. The kind you can smell when you walk into the room. And unfortunately, my freezer was already full of all the frozen bananas it could possibly hold. But was I going to throw the banana away?

No, I was not! I had a hankering for cookies, and chocolate. I resolved to make use of the poor, final banana before it softened any more and turned into a liquid mush. Also, since I’d been quite tired lately, I wanted to boost my energy levels and quick search in my kitchen turned up some maca powder so included some maca powder.

Natural super powers

I’m recommending these for breakfast or a snack, so I thought I should explain some of the whys. How are they superpowered? Of course, I’m no expert (literally, not an expert. Nothing medical about me!) but I can research like everyone else. I also feel a bit of a need to balance out my dessert-style, cake-inspired breakfast like my gingerbread smoothie bowl and black forest oatmeal

• Maca powder: there are many benefits to adding maca to your diet, some of which include increased energy, overall brain health, and its natural antioxidant properties
• Cacao powder: cacao is anti-inflammatory and also an antioxidant, has been shown to lower blood pressure, and is a great source of magnesium
• Maple syrup: maple syrup has a relatively low Glycemic Index score, is an antioxidant and may even help protect against cancer
• Cholesterol free: no eggs and no dairy mean this is a naturally cholesterol free breakfast recipe
• Refined sugar free: these use the natural sweetness of the dates and banana, with the addition of maple syrup, to stay refined sugar free. It means they’re not as sweet as you’d expect, but also kind of better for you (in my completely, non-medical opinion anyway)

Superpowered Cacao & Maca Oat Cookies

Need a breakfast you can grab and go? Or have a lonesome, overripe banana? These healthy cacao and maca oat cookies are the perfect quick solution, trust me!

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Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 6 cookies

Calories 111 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 30 g dried dates
• 1 very ripe banana
• 1 cup oats
• 1 ½ tsp maca powder
• 1 tbsp cacao powder
• 1 tbsp maple syrup

 

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan)
• Boil the kettle, then add the dates to a bowl and cover in water.
  30 g dried dates
• Meanwhile, in separate bowl, mash the banana until the are no chunks (it'll be kind of like a paste).
  1 very ripe banana
• Once the dates have soaked for about 5 minutes, put them in a mini blender with about a tablespoon of the liquid, and process until a rough, chunky texture (or alternatively chop up and mash together using a fork and a little of the soaking liquid).
• Add the blended dates, oats, maca, cacao and maple syrup to the banana and mix thoroughly.
  1 cup oats, 1 ½ tsp maca powder, 1 tbsp cacao powder, 1 tbsp maple syrup
• Spoon onto a lined cookie sheet and press into round shapes.
• Bake in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes, until firm.

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