Note from Heather: Please welcome today’s amazing guest poster: Gabriella Schneider from Beyond the Bite! Gabriella has worked to heal herself of Lyme’s disease with an AIP diet and she shares amazing AIP recipes on her blog, as well as encouragement and health articles. Also check out her other website, Beyond the Bite Community, for more encouragement for those struggling with Lyme.
Take it away Gabriella…
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Today’s Frosted Banana Crunch AIP Cookies are completely flour-less (Paleo flours included), with no significant amount of sweetness due to omitting the typical “fruit sweetened” ticket – medjool dates. Ultimately, I wanted to create a cookie that could be enjoyed by those needing or choosing to eat very low amounts of sugar as Christmas and Thanksgiving roll around.
With it being over four years now that I have had to cut all forms of sugar out of my diet in order to heal from chronic Lyme, I can personally vogue for what it is like to scour the internet looking for something I could “treat” myself to (yet without completely knocking my body to the curb side). While there may never be a time that you completely stop loving the usual, sugar-filled cookie (after all, we are still human, right?), today’s recipe serves as the perfect replacement for those days that you simply need a cookie to feel somewhat “normal.”
Because of the certain individuals I had in mind while creating this recipe, I figured no one in my house would dare even try one of the AIP cookies, but man, was I wrong. Not only did everyone insist on trying them, but they all thoroughly enjoyed them, noting that the crispy exterior, yet moist and flavorful inside made the cookies quite delightful. My family also thought that the frosting was the perfect addition, and even suggested sprinkling a bit more shredded coconut on top.
Overall, not only was I thrilled on how these AIP cookies turned out, but also how loved they were by individuals with no alterations in their diet or health. According to my older brother, the cookies had no hint of “health food” in them, while my mother simply couldn’t help but hide the last one from the rest of the group.
- 3 cups [url href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IOUE0X6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00IOUE0X6&linkCode=as2&tag=coituppa-20&linkId=GCOFCLMKHZAKRSB6″ target=”_blank”]unsweetened banana chips[/url]
- ½ cup mashed banana (from 2 ripe bananas)
- ½ cup Vital Proteins [url href=”http://www.vitalproteins.com/collagen/collagen-peptides.html?acc=82aa4b0af34c2313a562076992e50aa3″ target=”_blank”]collagen powder[/url]
- ¼ cup [url href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B3COTYM/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00B3COTYM&linkCode=as2&tag=coituppa-20&linkId=W3JK4OPN23M3NUTG” target=”_blank”]coconut oil[/url]
- 2 tsp [url href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002UN7PI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0002UN7PI&linkCode=as2&tag=coituppa-20&linkId=75RNNY3MQQJBATJB” target=”_blank”]vanilla extract[/url]
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4th tsp sea salt
- 1 cup peeled and chopped apple
- ½ cup [url href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NAMDECG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00NAMDECG&linkCode=as2&tag=coituppa-20&linkId=UF2MIARE4QRNLZGU” target=”_blank”]coconut butter[/url]
- 1/2 tsp [url href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I9VAN90/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00I9VAN90&linkCode=as2&tag=coituppa-20&linkId=DSXQSPAJQRZ3JJPB” target=”_blank”]cinnamon[/url]
- Unsweetened, [url href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F4D5GC/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000F4D5GC&linkCode=as2&tag=coituppa-20&linkId=DAOZ4RCEVXKGIIKS” target=”_blank”]shredded coconut[/url] (optional – for topping)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, pulse the banana chips until broken down and fine, then add in the collagen, baking soda, and sea salt, pulsing until just combined.
- Transfer dry ingredients to a bowl and set aside.
- Back in the food processor, puree together banana, vanilla, and coconut oil until smooth.
- Add dry mixture to the wet ingredients, pureeing until a smooth batter has formed.
- Scoop batter onto the prepared baking sheet with a cookie scoop, use the back of a spoon to gently press the cookie dough down.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven to bake for 15-16 minutes until the cookies are golden brown around the edges.
- Allow the cookies to cool for a couple minutes on the sheet, then transfer them to a cooling rack.
- To make the frosting peel and puree the apple until smooth. Melt coconut butter and add it to the food processor a long with the cinnamon, allowing
- the mixture to puree until smooth.
- Use a spoon to spread the frosting out on each cooled cookie and sprinkle each with a bit of shredded coconut if desired.
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Blogger Bio:
Hey everyone! My name is Gabriella and I am the teen blogger behind Beyond the Bite. For over four years now, I have been battling the effects of chronic Lyme Disease, and it is throughout this time that I have realized my love for anything health and food related. While completely healing from the damage of Lyme is a very complicated task, I am determined to do just that by using both traditional medicine and diet by fusing AIP Paleo and Ketogenic, an approach that addresses both the neurological and autoimmune aspects of my Lyme. Overall, Beyond the Bite is a place where I not only shed light on chronic Lyme Disease, but also share my personal experiences, doses of encouragement, and all the kitchen fun and knowledge that I gain on the road to health.
Follow me…
Email: Beyondthebite4life@gmail.com
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Shared at Allergy-Free Wednesday
I loved the cookie very much but not the icing so I make them all the time without it…Thank you
These smelled wonderful while baking but for some reason mine really spread out. Instead of 18 individual cookies, I have a tray of crepe thin pancakes that all melded together! My scoop is just under 1 tablespoon and I spaced the cookies a couple inches apart. Even if they hadn’t melted together, they’re really thin, like a crispy wafer that snaps when you try to pick it up. Not at all like the regular “cookie” look from your picture.
At first I thought maybe I used the wrong type of collagen but I used the same “collagen peptides” as you, not the regular gelatin type.
Have you ever had this happen? Any ideas why these melted instead of baking into cookie form?
Hey there:) I am not familiar with the Vital Proteins gelatin, as I use the Great Lakes brand. Do you know which one of the Great Lakes brand (red or green) would be the equivalent to the Vital Proteins one you linked to? Thank you!
I think the green can, although I do like Vital Proteins because I think it tastes a little bit fresher. Hope you like the recipe! 🙂
OMG these are fabulous! and it is a miracle that they turned out because I made a huge error…I was going to halve the batch, but got carried away and only halved the banana chips. they still turned out AH-mazing!! Can’t wait to try the recipe exactly…Ive been on AIP since January and had started to cheat a little with foods not allowed (nuts, I’m looking at you…) so I have started a reset, also eliminating all sweeteners (I only used maple syrup before, but had gotten a little to free-handed with it). Thank you so much for posting this recipe!
I’m drooling! I’m in my 10th week of AIP and I thought vanilla wasn’t allowed? (it comes from a bean) Any substitutions?
I think some people on AIP use vanilla in moderation, but you could omit it.
Hi there! Would there be anything I could use to sub the collagen powder for? Or even omit it altogether?
Not totally sure because collagen is a pretty unique protein, sorry. Let me know if you try something though 🙂
These look uh-mazing. I can’t wait to make them!
Looks great! Thank you for the opportunity to share 🙂