Banana Coconut Macaroons

Recently, I noticed that I had a couple of very ugly brown bananas. Now, for some people that might be a distressing realization, but not for me. An unsightly over-ripe banana is something I find inspiring! It's an excuse to bake something really delicious!

I though about making some banana bread, or some muffins (I'm practically obsessed with muffins!), but I've been thinking about coconut macaroons for a little while now and I was really in the mood for some kind of cookie. Coconuts and bananas are both tropical and delicious, so naturally they should go together!

Banana Coconut Macaroons:
1 medium very ripe banana
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C butter (room temperature)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C brown rice flour
3/4 C almond flour
1 C (be generous!) sweetened shredded coconut

Cream together the banana, sugar, butter and vanilla. In a separate container, stir together the flours and salt, then add to the banana mixture. Blend well. Stir in the shredded coconut until well incorporated. Chilling in the fridge for at least a half  hour is very helpful if your dough is too soft. Place spoonfuls of dough onto a greased cookie sheet, or use parchment paper. The cookies will not change shape with baking. Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes or until bottoms are well browned, tops are barely browned, but cookies are still soft. Let cool then eat.

I love how these turned out. Crisp at the edges, chewy and soft in the middle. They are very sweet, so if you don't like your cookies very sweet, you might consider using unsweetened coconut instead. I don't eat a lot of sugar, but every once in a while, I want something sweet and these are delicious! We've been practically fighting over them here. No one cares that they are gluten free! That's how good they are!

My brother stopped by the next day, and I pulled out a plate full of these macaroons... He was only here for a few minutes, but by the time he left the plate was empty! Not even a crumb was left! My husband admitted later that he had snitched three of them... My brother ate the rest! I'll take that as a compliment!

 Shared at these great blogs:

Gluten Free Fridays at Vegetarian Mama
Sunday Linky at Suburbs Mama
Silver Pennies Sundays at Finding Silver Pennies
Clever Chicks Blog Hop at The Chicken Chick
Manic Monday at Serendipity and Spice
What'd You Do This Weekend at Tumbleweed Contessa
Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do
Monday Funday at Lines Across
Mostly Homemade Mondays at Homegrown and Healthy 
Rock 'N' Share at The Shady Porch
Tuesdays with a Twist at Stone Cottage Adventures
Link Party Tuesday at A to Zebra Celebrations
Allergy Free Wednesday ay Tessa The Domestic Diva
Gluten Free Wednesday at The Gluten Free Homemaker
What We Accomplished Wednesday at Green Willow Pond 
Two Girls and a Party at Life With the Crust Cut Off 
BFF Open House at The Answer is Chocolate

Thank you Chicken Chick!

Millet Almond Oat Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are a necessity in my house! However when you have special dietary needs, it can be difficult to find a chocolate chip cookie that satisfies. Since going gluten free, I've tried a few different chocolate chip cookie recipes and not all of them worked. In fact, the first recipe I tried was so disappointing that I nearly cried! This recipe is one I will make again. It is sweet enough to be yummy, but is low in sugars. Plus, my little niece who can't have milk or eggs can also enjoy them! Replace the honey with agave syrup or another plant-based sweetener and this recipe is vegan!

Millet Almond Oat Cookies: (original recipe here)
Mix together the following ingredients in a bowl and let them sit for a minute or two so the flax meal can become squishy.
2 TB warm water
1 tsp flax meal
2 TB oil
4 TB honey

In a separate bowl mix together:
1/4 tsp ginger powder
pinch of salt
2 TB sugar
1/2 C ground oats (gluten free)
1/4 C millet flour
1/4 C almond flour

Combine the wet and dry ingredients, then stir in:
1/3 C chocolate chips (semi-sweet or dark)

Spoon into greased cookie sheet and smooth dough into flattened cookie shaped patties (cookies will not noticeably change shape). Bake at 350 degrees F. for 10-15 minutes. Cookies should be lightly browned on the bottom. Let cool before eating.

These cookies hold together really well, which can be a problem with some gluten free cookies. No problems here! They are great in lunches and I've taken them on hikes and they don't turn into crumbs!

I made a large batch earlier this week and froze them because sometimes during the summer I want a treat, but I don't want to turn on the oven. These cookies thaw out very nicely!

Note: I made my own oat and millet flour using a food processor which doesn't make a perfectly smooth flour (but is much less expensive!). I personally like the texture of these, however for a smoother cookie texture, you may want to use finer milled flours.