BANANA AND DATE COOKIE DOUGH BITES
Combining milk and banana is an Ayurveda digestive “no-no,” so banana milkshakes are out — but, thank goodness, banana cookies are still in. These little cookies, with their nostalgic banana flavour, remind me of being a kid. Mixing banana with dates and desiccated coconut makes an easy dough, which is then baked into cookie shapes — filling the kitchen with a delicious aroma. Watch the children and adults alike descend on you! One of these cookie bites is the perfect way to begin your lunch.
Find it in East by West on page 106.
PS: If you have the book, you may have noticed a bit of a typo: you don't need a dump truck of dates — about 7 dried ones will suffice!
INGREDIENTS
Makes 18
2 ripe medium bananas (each around 150g peeled)
2 tbsp butter or coconut oil (for a vegan option), at room temperature
125g (1½ cups) desiccated coconut
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of sea salt
65g (scant ½ cup, and not 675g like it says in East by West, whoops!) whole dates, rough chopped
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180ºC (fan 160ºC/gas mark 4).
Place everything in the food processor except the dates. Pulse until well blended. Then add the dates and pulse again until evenly distributed.
Divide the mixture into 18 balls, place onto a lined baking sheet and flatten so that they are around 1cm thick and 4cm wide.
Bake for 15 minutes, then turn them over and bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown all over. They will still feel a bit soft, but get crunchier when they cool. Place in the fridge to cool.
East by West tip: These delicious bites are a great way to introduce the magical world of spices to kids, and since the batter is good to eat even when raw you can add, taste and adjust. Try a sprinkle of cinnamon, dried ginger or even some crushed cardamom to help develop their taste buds - go easy at first and then build them up!
If you’re mixture is a bit wet try adding some rice flour/gluten-free flour/buckwheat flour etc 1 tbs at a time so it comes to a more workable texture.
If you don’t have a food processor you can of course mash and mix everything together by hand!