“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last. “What's the first thing you say to yourself?”
“What's for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?”
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“I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet
Pooh nodded thoughtfully, “It's the same thing,” ~ A.A. Milne
— —
There are days when life, as a verb, seems big and overwhelming
Thick days, stuck days. Where we tip the maple syrup bottle just one more degree, hoping for something, anything, to seep out. And we're disappointed to discover that no, we didn't keep any morsels in reserve.
We used them yesterday, and the day before, and promised ourselves we'd make a grocery stop tomorrow.
The kinds of days we live through, waking the next morning to realize life may never quite be the same again
“Morning Sweetie, how'd you sleep?”
“Still traveling for work today? Can I make you a bit of breakfast?”
“Did you realize it's Friday the 13th?”
“Mom, We're at the hospital. Do you have a minute to chat?”
“They're inducing her labor .. today?”
— —
“Oh no, You guys are in the ER?”
“There was a saw? Lots of blood? And he drove himself to the hospital?”
— —
“Sweetie, are you still on the road?”
“I've got the strangest feeling about today. Mind if I talk to you for a minute?”
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“The contractions are how far apart?”
— —
“Oh my, surgery? How many stitches?”
— —
“Doing ok? Did your Mom say which hand he cut?”
“Any word about the baby?”
“Still going to the neighbor's for dinner tonight?”
“She's pushing?”
“You're able to see the top of his head?”
— —
“How's he holding up?”
“How are YOU holding up? Any fainting moments at the mention of blood?”
— —
“Have you asked how we can help?”
“Am I going to have time to finish the cookies for tonight?”
“Should I stop for a bottle of wine, or three(!) on the way home?”
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“Ten fingers and ten toes? How much does he weigh?”
“How soon can I visit?”
“I love you; you know that, right?”
— —
“You made it home?”
“Following Doctor's orders (and those of your wife) .. to rest?”
“I love you; you know that, right?”
— —
“Can I have a hug?”
“Is it all going to be OK?”
“I love you; you know that, right?”
A new cookie recipe to share
One that's butterless, flourless, eggless, and potentially sugarless.
With a primary binding ingredient of mashed banana, it's softer than a typical cookie, and taste-wise it's a hit. The oatmeal and popcorn bring extra chew, while the chocolate chips provide hints of sweetness.
The honey-ed banana dough isn't overly sweet, and the fruit doesn't overpower the flavor.
The beautiful thing about this recipe is that it's endlessly adaptable. The original calls for almond meal (instead of whole wheat flour) .. coconut oil (instead of butter), and whole peanuts (instead of something smaller like sunflower seeds)
Enjoy!
xoxo
ps: The secret to a really good cookie? Let the dough rest 72 hours before baking your cookies .. here
— — —
~ Adapted from Delightful Crumb and originally from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson
Carnival Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup (~ 3 large) bananas, mashed
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ cup coconut oil, warm, but not hot
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- ½ cup almond meal/flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp fine-grain sea salt
- 1 cup bittersweet or dark chocolate chips (or 6-7 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate bar)
- ⅔ cups peanuts
- 1 ½ cups (heaping) popcorn
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the bananas, vanilla and coconut oil. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the oats, almond meal, baking powder, cinnamon, and sea salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until combined.
- Fold in the chocolate, then the peanuts and finally the popped corn. (** Note: the dough will be on the loose side)
- Shape the dough into small balls (~ 1 heaping Tbsp each). Place them an inch or so apart on the prepared pans.
- Bake for 15 – 17 minutes, swapping the sheets from top to bottom in the middle of the baking time, until the bottoms of the cookies are deeply golden.
- Remove the pans from the oven and after 5-10 minutes, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
23 Comments
I love how many alternatives there are for baking which can be made completely vegan friendly without even noticing x
I have not heard of carnival cookies. These look very good, and I always like any cookie that has banana in it. My kids seem to eat those kind of homemade cookies the best.
Those are great baking alternatives. The Banana as a binder is genius! Plus, it looks amazing! I love all of the quotes you have there.
I love anything banana. I could eat all of them!
These carnival cookies look and sound so delicious. I can’t wait to try this recipe this weekend. I know my whole family, especially the kids, are going to absolutely love these cookies. There’s something special and magical about baking cookies together as a family!
Love Winnie the Pooh :). I haven’t heard of these cookies before. It sounds like an interesting combination. I like the taste of almond, but never had almond meal/flour before. I’ll have to see if I can try making these.
What a delicious sounding recipe. It’s not one I am able to try myself, as our daughter is allergic to bananas. But it sure sounds good. I love this blog post by the way.
Was the woman in labour you were referring to you, yourself? Beautiful poignant words as always and these carnival cookies look so good x
What a lovely recipe and simple to make too. I love bananas in baking.
These cookies look truly divine and a twist to Add popcorn just sounds too heavenly. Just thinking of the combo makes me feel I’ve out on weight lol
Really liking the idea of a cookie like this! I would like to ask about your story, what was the purpose? Beautifully written, just curious to be completely honest!
I really like the way you write. A lovely post, like always. Those cookies look delightful. I didn’t know that you can allow the dough to rest for 72 hours before baking. I sure would love to try that one.
What a fun post to read also love all the ingredients in this recipe. Bananas, dark chocolate and cinnamon are all favorites of mine. It seems pretty easy to make too, will be sure to try it out!
A loving story, I am guessing this is your birthing story? The popcorn element sounds scrumptious. I can not believe the main element of this soft dairy free cookie is banana, which we are major fans of in my home, sounds a true delight!!
We call these Monster cookies. I dont know why! lol . I love this story. Food always brings back memories for me.
This recipe sounds so good! I have been on the quest for a healthier cookie recipe, and this just may be the ticket! I am intrigued by the addition of popcorn! I can’t wait to see what my family thinks of it.
So you have a new member in your family? Congratulations! I bet that when he will grow up he will love these cookies, they do sound really yummy. I would have never thought of adding popcorn to cookies made out of banana 🙂
ah i wish i could eat this right now, the corn and peanut are so interesting!
Banana, chocolate, and cinnamon? That’s a fun combination and it seems easy to make too
Whom did you refer when you mentioned the woman in labor? Was that your daughter? Also, loved your new cookie recipe. I’m fond of oatmeal cookies and they are my all time favorites along with my evening coffee. Thanks for sharing this amazing cookie recipe. Can’t wait to try!
Those cookies look delicious. Actually, after the week I had, those look almost divine! I may try them this weekend. Odd combination, but I like trying new tastes. 🙂
This would be perfect for my Vegan husband. Looks so yummy but I must say it looks like preparing it is hard work. I’ll try
I love our conversation style writing. very well written as always and this carnival cookies sounds and look yum. I love the fact that it’s vegan and it has “carnival” in its name