Seems like it just started! But today marks the last day (phew!!) of the Crave Eat Heal Blog Tour that made stops at over 30 beautiful blogs. I plugged myself into the last spot on the tour so that I could properly celebrate this momentous occasion – – not only with a recipe for sugar-free, oil-free, easy recipe for soft and tender Banana Bread Cookies – – but with a giveaway for TWO U.S. winners to each receive a copy of my cookbook, Crave Eat Heal, plus the whole shebang of Natvia products pictured below.
As an aside…I’ve hopped onto the bean-water-as-egg-replacer bandwagon. Not as a meringue (I was never a fan), but instead of flaxseed meal or chia seeds (which can lead to gummy baked goods). I followed Vedged Out’s example and used bean water straight up in my cookie dough. My little twist was using the liquid you get when you press tofu. Sound gross? It isn’t. You won’t taste even a hint of tofu in these cookies. And the light, cake-like result is unbelievable. I encourage you to give the recipe below a try – and stop pouring that tofu water down the drain!
Entering the giveaway is as easy as baking my cookies – just scroll down below and take off in the Rafflecopter. The giveaway runs through June 17 and is open to those in the U.S. only. Before you do, though, be sure and print off the Banana Bread Cookies recipe so that you’ll be ready to bake when you win those Natvia products!
Oil- and Sugar-free Banana Bread Cookies
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 14
- Total Time: 24
- Yield: 18 1x
Description
A light and fluffy cookie with a cake-like texture and rich banana bread flavor. These guilt-free cookies have zero oil and zero refined sugar. The secret to their texture is tofu “water!”
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 Tbsp. wheat germ
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/2 cup Natvia Baking Blend
- 3 very, very ripe bananas
- 3 Tbsp. water from pressed tofu (see Notes)
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350-degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the tahini and Natvia until creamy. Add the bananas, tofu water, and vanilla extract and continue to mix until well-combined, smooth, and creamy. Turn off the mixer and pour in the flour mixture. Starting on the lowest speed, begin to mix the dough. You can turn up the speed another notch and continue to mix until you don’t see any more flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary.
- Drop generous tablespoonfuls of dough onto the baking sheets. You should get between 16-18 cookies. Bake them for about 12 minutes, switching the pans halfway through for even baking.
- Let the cookies rest on the pans for a few minutes and then carefully transfer to wire racks for cooling. Store in an air-tight container for up to 3 days, or wrap individually and freeze.
Notes
- Do not use the water that the tofu is stored in – rather, you want to press the tofu (I use a Tofu Xpress) and reserve 3 tablespoons of that water. It will be slightly thick and slightly yellow. Trust me, you do not taste even a hint of it in the cookies!
- Add raisins and/or chocolate chip cookies!
I have a craving for anything sweet and salty.
Anything resembling yogurt–tangy, creamy, and thick!
I crave chocolate & salt the most.
I crave crunchy, salty, sweet…
I have to say I crave chocolate the most ~ and I’m diabetic ~ (type 1.5), so sugary treats are not an option for me! So happy I’ve found you Annie! 🙂
I get different cravings at different times… depends on my mood! Usually it’s chocolate, fresh fruit, avocado toast, or salty popcorn!
Salty and sweet! Thanks for the giveaway!
I always crave sugar. It is my downfall for sure.
I crave sweets the most!
Congratulations again Annie! I’ve seen quite a few of the reviews and they’ve all been singing the book’s praises.
Intrigued by the tofu liquid thing here. I still haven’t got around to trying the chickpea liquid in baking. Mainly because I usually cook my chickpeas from scratch…but I have a packet of tofu in the fridge!
Thank you, Emma!
Give the tofu water a try! It’s kinda cool . BTW, I think you can use the cooking liquid from homemade beans just like the canned bean water. Haven’t tried it myself yet.
I didn’t realise that! Thank you. I guess as long as there’s not too much water than the concentration of starches…or whatever it is (!) will still be high enough.
Do you need the tofu water or can you substitute anything for it?
You could use chickpea or white bean water/brine – or try unsweetened applesauce, but the texture will be different (with the applesauce).
I crave salty most but sweets are good too..
CHOCOLATE!!
I crave salt. Like, ALL the time. haha:)
I crave chocolate the most, always have. But over the past few months I’ve also been craving dark leafy greens.
Congratulation again Annie 🙂
I’m really intrigued with your tofu water ?! Cool…I must try that. I have a question regarding the Natvia Baking Blend. I don’t have access to that product in Canada but I’m wondering if I could use my stevia from Nu Naturals ?! This kind of stevia is liquid though ?! What do you think or should I use other kind of natural sugar ?
Thanks 🙂
Hey Jessica! The NuNaturals stevia is different and won’t work without other modifications. I suggest substituting with another granular sugar.
Perfect ! Thanks for your reply Annie
I always crave the carbs.
Creamy whether it’s sweet or salty.
I crave crunchy and salty quite a bit
I love sweets 🙂 Always craving those!!
my cravings are always changing, but lately I have been craving sweet and chewy things!
I crave chocolate the most. I try to eat it in a healthy way–sometimes successfully–sometimes not. 🙂
Creamy followed closely by the combo of sweet and salty!
I mostly crave salty/crunchy flavors. Thanks for a great giveaway!
I love crunchy, I love sweet, and I love CHOCOLATE!
Annie, using the tofu water is a brilliant idea. One question: Are the cookies “heavier” and harder to digest?
Thank you.
Your banana cookies look utterly delicious! I must make them soon!
You’re the queen of cookbooks, giveaways, and cookies!
I always crave salty-sweet…whether that means tortilla chips followed by banana soft serve, or just a bag of kettle corn popcorn!
Sweet
Annie, I just noticed that you described the cookies as “light and fluffy.” Please disregard my previous comment. When I mentioned this recipe to a vegan colleague, she wondered if they would be dense like some Black Bean brownie recipes tend to be. So, I asked the question without paying attention to details. I have agreed to prepare this recipe and she can decide. Thank you.
No worries! These are definitely NOT dense like recipes that include whole beans. Hope you love the cookies!
I crave salty foods like chips.
Banana bread cookies – excellent! I like the unique set of ingredients in these ones. 😉 I think the texture will be great, I look forward to trying them out!
I crave sweet and salty tastes.
dark chocolate has been my craving lately
I absolutely love any banana recipe. What a fun take on banana bread!
Thanks, Mallory!
I crave crunchy, salty and dark chocolate.
Crunchy foods (cabbage, crunchy romaine lettuce) and salty nuts/seeds.
Dark chocolate has always been my strongest craving.
I’m almost always craving sweets
I crave peanut butter the most – the taste, the texture, the sweet/saltiness. Yum!!
Chickpea water is kicking black beans out as the new up-and-coming vegan secret ingredient, but tofu water is new! I like the idea of actually getting a use out of it since it takes forever and a day to process. I crave so much, actually…..but being from Wisconsin, I always crave a really good creamy custard. Coconut milk ice cream always tastes a little too much like coconut when I really want an untainted vanilla flavor.
Very clever Annie! I wouldn’t have thought of using tofu water! I’ll ever look at that stuff the same! X
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