Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Refined sugar free, nut free - Chewy Raisin Snack Cookies

I am always on the search for a healthy snack option that isn't a store bought granola bar.  I have made a few granola bars recently, but haven't had a lot of success making ones without refined sugar in them.  I came across this recipe on the "Deliciously Ella" blog that my good friend told me about.

There were a few things that I really liked about this recipe:

1)  No refined sugar
2)  No gluten
3)  No dairy
4)  No nuts, which mean pretty low in fat content then
5)  Shredded apples in a cookie?  Say what?

I gave it a try and was pleasantly surprised.  The texture is very different then normal cookies, but the flavor makes up for it.  These are a healthy nut free snack that I will definitely be making again!

Chewy Raisin Snack Cookies

Adapted and converted from Deliciously Ella blog

2 1/4 cups old fashioned oats

4 ripe bananas

3 TBS Honey

1 1/2 cups raisins

3 medium apples (I used pink ladies)

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grate the apples (no need to peel them) and place them in a small bowl.  Drain the excess liquid from the grated apples using a sieve. (fyi, drain the liquid into a bowl so you can drink some really delicious freshly squeezed apple juice - this step of straining is super important or the cookies will be too wet and fall apart) Then in another bowl mash the bananas. Then mix the grated apples and bananas with all the remaining ingredients in a bowl.  Line a baking tray with parchment paper.  Scoop a heaped tablespoon of the mix and pat it lightly into flat cookies shape on the tray, do this until all the mixture has been used.  Batter will be slightly loose so you may have to squish the batter together.  If you don't want to bake them all at once, you can scoop some onto a parchment lined pan and stick them into the freezer.  Once frozen you can throw them in a freezer bag until ready to bake. Should yield 30 cookies.

Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes until they turn golden brown, at this point take them out the oven and let them cool slightly.  If the raisins look like they are burning then they are most definitely done!  You can store them in an airtight container on the counter or in the refrigerator.