No Flour, No Problem — These Cookies Only Require 3 Ingredients

Who knew you could make delicious, well-balanced cookies with just three ingredients, which don't include flour or eggs? Making cookies with just oats, bananas, and a nut butter mimics the traditionally long ingredient list that many cookies have.

The oats contribute to the cookies' texture. Rolled and quick oats both work for this recipe, but the onus is on you to decide which type to use. Rolled oats have a mild flavor and soft texture, while quick oats take less time to cook. The banana naturally sweetens the cookie, binds the ingredients together, and softens the oats. The bananas should be very ripe and mashed well. While many recipes call for almond butter, other nut butters like peanut butter or cashew butter can be used as well. The nut butter brings the fat, binds the oats, and offers a chewy texture and rich flavor. 

The cookies only need about 10 minutes in the oven, and the end result is delightful. While these cookies are praised for having such minimal ingredients, you can also add your own mix-ins. Spices like cinnamon offer diverse flavors, while chocolate chips, dried fruit, or nuts can elevate the cookie's flavor as well. If bananas aren't your favorite, other fruits can supply the same level of sweetness. And if minimal-ingredient cookies are your niche, there are tons of other combinations to try (all of which don't include flour or eggs).

Flour, eggs, and added sugar are commonly found in cookie recipes, prompting some bakers to try out more nutrient-dense alternatives. The simple combination of nut butter, oats, and mashed fruit can produce a great cookie, but it may be objectively boring to some. Adding fun mix-ins and toppings, like chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts, or a mixture of all three, can make things more exciting. 

If you want to continue to go down the nutrient-dense route, replace your average chocolate chips with cacao nibs. Cacao nibs are sugarless, low in fat, and full of antioxidants. If these are hard to find, opt for dark chocolate chips with at least 70% cocoa. Some bakers have experimented with several types of dried fruit, but in my own humble opinion, you can never go wrong with the classics, like dried cranberries, raisins (oatmeal raisin cookies are my all-time favorite cookies), or dried apricots. Nuts add bold textures to the cookie. Pecans are a classic choice, but I personally love cookies with pistachio or macadamia nuts as well.

The three-ingredient cookie calls for mashed banana, but other mashed fruits can offer the same natural sweetness and binding properties as bananas. Take dates for example — specifically Medjool dates. They're large in size, have soft flesh, and mimic the bananas' glueyness. Their naturally high sugar content will give you the sugary-sweet taste you crave in a cookie.