My next experiment in cooking for diabetics took me to The Blueberry Girl’s blog for her amazing breakfast cookie recipe. She referenced it from here and, while both versions sound delicious, I put my own spin on it and made them for mom this weekend – instant hit!

Because these were intended for mom the sugar had to be kept really low on them, and the original recipe called for 1 cup of dried fruit. I upped the mixed nuts and lowered the fruits, and for a treat I added just a tiny bit of dried pineapple. You’ve got to be careful with the dried fruits because they can contain a ton of sugar. I also added more vanilla extract. Mmm…. vanilla extract….

• 1 1/2 cups regular rolled oats
• 1 cup coconut flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 cup of almond meal
• 3/4 cup mixed nuts, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup dried fruit (I used mostly raisins with just a few pieces of dried pineapple)

• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease up a cookie sheet or use parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine rolled oats, almond meal, mixed nuts and coconut flakes. Stir in allspice and cinnamon. Add dried fruit and stir until well and evenly mixed. Make sure the dried fruit do not stick together in big batches.

In another bowl, combine canola oil, mashed banana and vanilla extract. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

Take a large cookie cutter and press spoonfuls of the batter into it. Remove cookie cutter. Bake for about 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

They are delicious fresh out of the oven but also taste great the next day, they’re a good healthy serving of fibre, protein and iron… and the per-cookie sugar levels are not too bad (though if you’re trying to go for a no-sugar option then the dried fruits and banana may feel like too much). However, 1 cookie, at breakfast sounds perfect. I’ll be making a batch for myself as well!