The excitement and celebrations of the last two months or so has calmed. It has felt like I have been on a hamster wheel ever since my husband’s 40th birthday in late July. The busyness came to a crescendo with the twin’s third birthday two weeks ago. And now it feels like things are settling to normal levels of chaos. For a couple of weeks anyway. But one thing for sure is that spring is in the air and more importantly, strawberries are EVERYWHERE. If you are living in Australia you are probably lucky enough to be able to grab a punnet of strawberries for one dollar. And they are goooood. Sweet and juicy. Just perfect. And the perfect excuse to make these delicious Strawberry Coconut Cookies that are free from added sugars and only sweetened with fruit.
Now I am going to put it out there – there are a few tips for baking these Strawberry Coconut Cookies. These cookies have a tendency to get little dry due to the coconut so to avoid this, take care with measuring the dry ingredients. Ensure that the dry ingredients are loosely measured, you do not need packed cups. Also, make sure you are using a large overripe banana (measuring around 200g). So if you do not have bananas that big, you may need two bananas. Using an overripe banana will ensure the cookie is sweet enough as there is no added sugar in these Strawberry Coconut Cookies other than the naturally occurring sugars in the ingredients.
These cookies are not overly sweet, they have a subtlety to them that I like. And I love the fresh strawberries in them.I have recently been working on more recipes that are sweetened only with fruit and do not have added sugar. Have you tried my delicious Apple Oat Cookies or my Carrot Cake Muffins yet? They are really yummy and I love giving my kids a healthier baking option.
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Strawberry Coconut Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 18 cookies 1x
- Category: Baking
Description
These delicious Strawberry Coconut Cookies are sweetened only with fruit and they are a healthier option for school lunch boxes or snacks. Nut and dairy free these Strawberry Coconut Cookies are also great for baby led weaning.
Ingredients
- 1 large (200g) overripe banana
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup low flavour extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 1/2 cup quick oats
- 1/2 cup wholemeal flour
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 150g strawberries finely diced (will result in 1 cup of diced strawberries)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180c and line a baking tray with baking paper
- Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl
- In a smaller bowl mash the banana thoroughly and whisk in the egg, oil, coconut milk and vanilla bean paste until combined
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together
- Add in the diced strawberries and stir to combine
- Spoon generous tablespoons of the mix and with wet hands shape the dough into cookies or with two spoons shape each portion of the mixture into cookies. The mix will be quite sticky.
- Bake the cookies for around 12 – 14 minutes or until they lightly golden and the mixture bounces back when touched lightly.
I hope you enjoy these Strawberry Coconut Cookies! If you do bake these, please share them with me on Instagram or Facebook!
Happy baking
Bernadette x
Can these be frozen and or how best to store and for how long? Many thanks. Been making your recipes for a while but haven’t tried this one yet.
Sorry for the delayed response, I generally freeze in a ziplock bag and they can last for around three months. Bernadette x
Hi was wondering can you use rolled oats instead of quick oats? Thanx
If you can give them a quick blitz first to cut them up a bit so the cookies hold together. Bernadette x
Can you replace the strawberries for another berry like rasps ??
You could – they may not be as sweet as with strawberries though. Bernadette x
Do you think these could be made with blueberries? I bought too many and we are leaving on vacation!!
I haven’t tried but I’d say so! Let me know how you go, Bernadette x
Hello, I love your recipe ideas but I have a little one who is allergic to banana – what would be a good substitute for this?
You could try 1/2 cup apple sauce or 1/3 cup brown sugar but I haven’t tested. Bernadette x
it’s 10.30 pm and I just took the cookies out of the oven. omg, they are so good! I already had two and I cannot stop.. thanks Bernadette.
p.s. I love your blog!
Ah thank you so much for taking the time to let me know Natalia! I am so glad you love them. Bernadette x
Delicious and not too sweet, perfect for my daughters lunchbox!
Ah thank you so much Annika! So glad you enjoyed them, Bernadette x
Can I use vanilla extract rather than vanilla paste?
Yes you can! Happy baking, Bernadette x
Just wondering is the flour plain or self raising?
It’s plain flour lovely, Bernadette x
Would I be able to use apple sauce instead of banana? My daughter doesn’t like bananas
Thanks 🙂
I haven’t tried but I believe you would be able to. Bernadette x
Hi, How Can I substitute the wholemeal flour, so it can be gluten free?
I do not bake with gluten free flours so I am not entirely sure. At a guess I would say GF oat flour would work well but I have not tried. Other people who have made my recipes use a GF flour from the supermarket and say that my recipes turn out well so I am guessing that would work too. Happy baking, Bernadette
can you replace the coconut milk with something else? saves me a trip o the store seeing I have everything else
I haven’t actually tried but probably just regular milk would be ok. Happy baking!
Hi, lot of your recipes u recommend are good to freeze. Don’t they are soggy after we defrezzed? Say these cookies in this case especially as it would be good to have a bit crunchy
They are not really a crunchy consistency so they are fine to freeze. I find even the crisper sort will still be crunchy though. Thank you, Bernadette
Hi!
How long would these keep in the fridge for? Especially being that the strawbs are fresh.
Thanks
Hi,
I haven’t tried to store in the fridge, and I normally find storing baking in the fridge dries them out. I tend to freeze after baking and then just grab our as needed. Then they last for two-three months. Thanks, Bernadette x
They’re really yummy! My 2 sons really enjoy cooking with me (even though I regret it sometimes – hahhaha). It was perfect to get them involved. The receipe is really easy to follow and they are delicious. Thanks for sharing. 🥰
Ah thank you so much for sharing with me! So glad these were a hit and the kids loved helping bake them! Bernadette x
Hi
The coconut milk, is it the thick kind or the one we use to replace cow’s milk? In Belgium we call them both coconut milk.
This recipe looks great. Can’t wait to try it.
Oh I am not entirely sure. I would use the coconut milk here in curries or smoothies. It is probably closer to a milk consistency and is really just to add a bit more moisture to the bake. Bernadette x
Are quick oats the same as instant oats?
Yes they are. Happy baking, Bernadette x
Thanks!!
Using bananas to replace sugar is such a clever trick! These cookies look super yummy and crunchy 🙂
They’re really yummy! They’re a bit softer than they look. It’s nice to have a healthier baked treat for school lunches…or even breakfasts right?! Bernadette x