Recipe: For Real Healthy Pumpkin Cranberry Cookies (AIP, paleo, grain free, dairy free)

One of my favorite recipes from Danielle Walker is her breakfast cookies. I've shared before how I've remixed her recipe, and I've now come up with a great variation that we love! 

These are a favorite of all three of us. Lincoln loves to eat them, and we love how easy it is to hand him a cookie– and we SUPER love that they are dairy, grain and refined sugar free. The sweetness comes from ripened bananas and a few dates and they are a perfect breakfast on the go, snack stand alone or companion to an afternoon cup of tea while the baby is sleeping. I like to batch cook these guys and freeze them in sandwich baggies of 4-5 cookies. They don't stick together as much and I can just grab a little baggie and stick them in the fridge over night or grab one if we're headed out on some errands or an adventure for the day.

This fall I plan to experiment with spices to come up with a solid pumpkin spice cookie. I shall report back! Also, if you happen to pick up a tub of the Coconut Spread at Aldi, you can spread some of that on these bad boys and try not to eat 12 in one sitting. AIP pumpkin cream cheese roll. Not kidding. Also, just a disclaimer, these are not crispy or crunchy like you may be thinking a cookie should be. They definitely are more of a soft and crumbly cookie, which make them an excellent early food for babes and toddlers.


Ingredients (makes about 30 cookies):

• 4 super ripe bananas (mashed ~2 cups)
• 1 can pumpkin puree (~1.5 cups)
• 4 tablespoons palm shortening
• 6 pitted dates 
• 1 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• juice from half a lemon 
• 1 1/2 cup finely shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• you'll need parchment paper or foil with coconut oil for greasing. 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Put bananas, pumpkin puree, shortening, dates in food processor (we have/love this one) and puree until smooth (30 seconds to a minute or so-- may take a minute to get the dates chopped if you don't soak or pre-chop ahead of time)
3. Add coconut flour, cinnamon, vanilla, baking soda and lemon juice. Pulse to combine. 
4. Add coconut and dried cranberries. Pulse to combine. 
5. Scoop golf ball sized balls of dough onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil greased with coconut oil to keep from sticking. Flatten balls and shape into the size cookie you want, they will not expand in the oven. 
6. Bake 20-25 minutes or until cookies are brown all over and slightly firm to the touch. Cool on wire rack and store in airtight container in the fridge or freezer. 
7. Try not to eat them all in one sitting.