Minimal-Waste Healthy Cookies

As surprising as it might be, cookies are some of the most environmentally friendly snacks that you can make, in the fact that there is a very minimal amount of food that is wasted. As opposed to other sweet treats such as cake, cookies use up all of their batter, with the only scraps that are leftover being egg shells, fruit peels, and baking sheets. But, the one problem that one may find with cookies is how unhealthy they are. Traditionally, cookies use large amounts of butter and sugar, which make them unhealthy. However, below is a recipe for a fun, easy, minimal-waste, and a healthy cookie!

Minimal-Waste Healthy Cookies:

Yield: 12 cookies Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 Minutes Cool Time: 7 minutes

Total Time: 32 minutes

Nutrition:

Calories: 98

Fats: 3g

Carbohydrates: 13g

Sugar: 4g

Protein: 2g

Ingredients:

• 1½ Cups of Oats
• 2 Cups of Applesauce
• 2 Ripe Bananas
• 2 tbsp. of Peanut Butter
• ¼ Cup Dark Chocolate
• 5g of baking soda
• ½ tbsp. of Salt
• ½ Cup of Water

Instructions:

1. In a food processor or blender, blend your oats until they become a fine and flour like substance. This will serve as your substitute for flour in this recipe.
2. In a food processor or blender, blend your bananas until they come to a smooth and easily whiskable liquid. 
3. Put your peanut butter in a small bowl and microwave for 1¼ minutes or until it is melted.
4. In a medium bowl, add your applesauce, blended bananas, melted peanut butter, and water. Whisk these ingredients together until they are blended.
5. Add your oat flour, dark chocolate, baking soda, and salt to this mixture. Again, whisk these ingredients together until they are blended.
6. Once you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350^oF. On a baking sheet, place approximately 1 tablespoon of batter at 1 inch apart from each other. When you have completed this, gently flatten your cookies with your fingers.
7. After your oven has preheated, bake your cookies for 15 minutes or until they start to become firm at the edges. 
8. Take your cookies out of the oven and cool them for 7 minutes.
9. The only thing left now is to enjoy!