Don't you hate when you spend so much time researching the perfect recipe for a toddler, that you know they will love, and then when you finally master it, they won't even touch it? That is exactly the case with these Allergy Friendly Banana Cookies! It's not that these cookies are bad; they're quite good actually. My husband, with no allergy issue, was gulping them down. The problem is, my kid is 2. Anyone who has, or has had, a 2 year old, can understand that a toddlers wants and needs, change with the snap of a finger.
I was feeling rather guilty that I was going to be baking some yummy allergen filled treats, especially given that she has been begging for "cookie, cookie pweease" all week, so I decided to be a good mommy and make her some cookies that she could safely enjoy.  The girl loves bananas, and as always, I had a few overripe ones in the pantry.
So the thing is, I've used bananas to replace eggs in the past and it hasn't always worked out. Remember those brownies where I had to throw away the pan? And, how can I add more banana to a recipe that already has banana in it? I remembered that I bought xanthan gum, a few weeks ago, when I was testing out a gluten-free recipe for a fellow blogger's future cookbook.  I think I read somewhere that xanthan gum
can replace eggs but I couldn't find much on the subject (let me know if this is not real). I decided to throw caution to the wind and give it a whirl. Worst case scenario is that they are gross and I toss them and she's none the wiser.
I was so proud of myself when I pulled these out of the oven, they smelled fabulous! Even further proud of myself when I tasted them. Good. No. Great. I call her in, so excited "Look what mommy made you....Cookies". She picks it up and throws it on the ground and walks away. So not only did she not get any cookies but now the rest of the family got two special treats because I still made the allergy filled treats and we got to eat these yummy allergy friendly banana cookies! That'll teach her!
I do think I'll make them again for her. Because like any 2 year old, what she won't touch today, might just be her favorite tomorrow. I think next time I'll add a cup of Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
, I think a little chocolate makes everything better!
This recipe was adapted into an allergy friendly recipe.  The original base recipe (contains allergens) was found on Simply Recipes.
I guess I should mention, for those of you who may be new here and wondering why I'm interested in allergy friendly recipes,  Nora is my 2 year old who is allergic to soy, egg, peanut, tree nut, sesame & chickpea. She recently outgrew a dairy allergy! Hooray!
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Printable Recipe Card
Allergy Friendly Banana Cookies
Ingredients
- 2-3 bananas mashed (about 1 C)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ C butter softened (or Earth's Balance dairy free/soy free if dairy allergy)
- ½ C brown sugar
- ½ C white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 2 C flour
- â…› teaspoon salt
- ½ cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- Optional: allergy friendly chocolate chips 1 C
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- In a bowl, mix the mashed bananas and baking soda. Allow baking soda to react, while mixing together other ingredients (at least 2 minutes).
- Using a hand mixer, cream together butter and sugars. Add xanthan gum.
- Add banana mixture to butter mixture and mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, add flour, salt and spices and then add that to the banana/butter mixture. Stir well until combined.
- If using chocolate chips, stir them in now.
- Drop spoonfuls of batter onto parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 9-12 minutes.
- Cool on wire racks.
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Kelly says
These look good, even if you don't have allergies!
Joanne T Ferguson says
G'day and yum! Wish I could slip through the screen and try one now!
Cheers! Joanne
foodyschmoody says
Thanks Joanne!
Nicky says
I don't have allergies, but would love these. Sometimes you just need something different. These look great. Your little one doesn't know what she's missing. I agree that she'll probably want them when you don't have any left in the house. That's always the case around here.
DesignedByBH says
Great recipe!!! Pinning! 🙂
(Oh, and I'm really glad your daughter outgrew her dairy allergy! Do you/the Dr.'s think she'll outgrow the others???)
foodyschmoody says
They say most of them are a toss up, just wait and see. Dairy is the most commonly outgrown. But we were especially excited for her to outgrow that because she's so tiny and needed to get some weight on her. Soy is the most troublesome, it's in EVERYTHING, so I have to make just about everything from scratch for her, including crackers! It's crazy. Thanks so much for dropping in and taking the time to comment!
Becky @ lovetobeinthekitchen says
What a great idea to make cookies with bananas! My boys don't love bananas but usually if I bake something with bananas they will eat it. Pinned this!
foodyschmoody says
Oh, I hope they like them! Thanks for dropping in.
Amy says
Love the recipe Christine! I have a 2 year old so I know how they can be. Thankfully mine hasn't developed any allergies because she's picky as it is. I'm definitely going to make these for her since she loves cookies and bananas. I've heard that you can replace eggs with applesauce. Its worth a shot in the future if you ever want to try it out 🙂
-Amy
foodyschmoody says
Thank you Amy. I have tried the applesauce, sometimes successful, sometimes not. I think it depends on the other ingredients in the recipe. Thanks for the tip though!
Mel says
These look lovely. My allergy baby cannot have any nuts so I am not sure whether she could have nutmeg. I will have to ask her allergy specialist. I will still be pinning! Mel #AllergyFreeSimpleRecipes
foodyschmoody says
My daughter is also allergic to peanut and tree nut and she does well with nutmeg
Elaine Livingstone says
I like the sound of the spices in these. Eggs are the easy ingredient to leave out,in most recipes you dont even miss them.
Little monkey not even wanting to try them after you have made them. Thank you for linking up.