Low-fat banana oat chocolate cookies made with only 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, the rest of fat is replaced with Greek yogurt and mashed bananas. These cookies are soft and chewy! A Holiday version, with sprinkles!
These have been my favorite oat cookies this year! I like them to be on the chewy side (vs. cakey), and this recipe fits the bill, thanks to the old-fashioned (or rolled) oats, bananas, and Greek yogurt!
Only 2 tablespoons of oil are used in this recipe, and, instead, very ripe mashed bananas and Greek yogurt make these banana oat cookies moist, sticky, chewy, and very well put together, if you ask me!
Since we're in the middle of the holiday season, adding sprinkles seemed like a perfectly good idea, especially because I don't have anything else right now to decorate the cookies. And, because the sprinkles are the easiest way to dress up a cookie! Now, I can rightfully call these banana oat chocolate cookies my holiday cookies!
Remember, if you want the cookies to remain thick as they bake, chill the cookie dough for about an hour before baking. If you want them to be flatter - you don't have to chill the dough.
This recipe for low-fat oatmeal chocolate cookies has long been my favorite - give it a try - it might become your favorite, too!
Low-Fat Banana Oat Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups flour , sifted or aerated (see important note below!)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt or ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 banana ripe
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt plain
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, mash the banana. Add the egg, oil, brown and granulated sugars, yogurt, and vanilla and whisk to combine.
- Add the banana-egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in the oats, then fold in the chocolate chips.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Take a tablespoon of dough, form a ball and drop the cookie dough ball on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat, spacing the cookie dough balls about 2 inches apart. At this point, I would refrigerate baking sheets with cookie dough balls for about an hour to chill the dough. This will ensure that cookies, when baked, will not flatten out, and that they will remain tall, so that we end up with thick and chewy cookies!
- Bake for 12 minutes until cookies are slightly golden brown. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
How to decorate these cookies with sprinkles:
- There are two ways to do it.
- The first method is to form cookie dough balls, let them bake for half the time (5 minutes), quickly remove the baking sheet from the oven and sprinkle the sprinkles on top, then put the cookies back into the oven to let them continue baking for another 5 or 7 minutes.
- The second method is to add sprinkles to the cookie dough as you are forming the cookie dough balls. I personally prefer the first method, as it results in better texture and better looking cookies.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Oh drat! I think I messed these up. I had a tin of steel cut oats, so I used those. I'm not sure...
Steel cut oats are probably to rough for these cookies. The cookies might still be ok but a little too much chewy. 🙂
Here are 2 good articles on the differences between old-fashioned (rolled) oats, steel cut oats, and quick oats:
http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-steelcut-138355
http://vegetarian.lovetoknow.com/Difference_Between_Rolled_Oats_and_Steel_Cut_Oats
I just made these and after finding the recipe on pinterest. I was recently diagnosed with gallstones so I have to be very careful of my fat intake to avoid agonizing stomach aches. I love that this recipe is lower in fat and still tastes pretty great. I added a splash of flax seed to mine. I think next time I'll go for a finer salt instead of kosher. I kept getting big, crunchy grains of salt in every other bite which I didn't really like. Otherwise a great recipe. Thanks!
I got to say I am not a big fan of using too much salt in baking myself. I just updated the recipe to include regular salt because I think it just works better in this recipe (or no salt at all! :)). Very glad that otherwise you liked the recipe! 🙂
oooh I love that these are chewy, and those melty choc chips-MMM!
Have I been eyeing on rainbow sprinkled desserts on your blog lately? I need to use some bright decorations in my desserts like yours! Hope you had a wonderful holidays! Wishing you a Happy New Year, Julia!
You have convinced me to make these Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies for the holidays, Julia! Oatmeal cookies are just divine when chewy and crunchy vs. cakey and I adore Greek yogurt!
Love chewy and crunch texture! So yummy! And Greek yogurt is always amazing in baking!
< 3 These turned out great! I added a tablespoon of peanut butter, 1/2 tsp of nutmeg and 1/4 tsp of ground clove in addition. Also baked for 15 minutes. Thanks for the recipe!
I am glad you liked them, Michael! You made them even more flavorful with the addition of nutmeg and ground clove! I have to try that combination!
I am such a sucker for oatmeal cookies. I've always preferred them to the classic and reputably more decadent options… I've never tried them with banana, though! This will be a fun one. Thanks Julia 🙂
Hi, Irina, I love oatmeal cookies too. This one is my favorite recipe at the moment - very chewy, almost like a granola bar! Love it this way!
Julia,
Thank you so much for sharing the low fat banana oatmeal cookies. They looks so perfect. I just need to go get a couple of bananas and I will be all set to make these for my friends and family. Thanks so much for the tip on the sprinkles, I will go with the first method you mentioned. I just wanted to say thanks because your attention to detail is inspiring. Happy Holidays from Texas!
Kerry
Kerry, thanks for stopping by! These are truly good cookies - the chewy kind, not the cakey type. I like oatmeal cookies to be chewy and almost crunchy! Thank you for your kinds words! 🙂 Happy Holidays!
It is true, one can never have enough sprinkles at the holiday! Especially when they arrive atop the scrumptious Banana Oatmeal Cookies!
Sprinkles is such an easy way to dress up an otherwise brown cookie! 🙂
Oh, yeah... chocolate, melted chocolate, and banana. I need to make some of these 🙂 ela
Yes, make them! 🙂
Definitely making these this weekend!
Healthy cookies are the best! They look gorgeous with all those sprinkles :--)
These look like a hit. You can see how chewy they would be and they are rather healthy too.
Hi Suzzanne! Yes, these are definitely on a healthier side compared to most cookies! 🙂
truly sensational cookies....with the oats it is definitely addictive....thanks for sharing 🙂