It’s probably pretty evident after 4+ months of blogging that I’m not much of a baker. The closest I’ve come to posting a sweet recipe is in this breakfast fruit crumble post!
It’s not that I don’t have a sweet tooth – quite the contrary! – it’s just that whenever I make my own sweets, I turn into an out of control sugar-crazed beast and somehow end up eating them all in record time. For some reason I’m totally fine eating things that others have made/that are store-bought or ordered at a restaurant… But then I make my own, and suddenly I’m thinking about cake while brushing my teeth, while showering, while making dinner… And it doesn’t help that Pieter doesn’t really care for desserts, so pawning off whatever I make onto him just isn’t a viable option. 😛

So yes. For the sake of my teeth and my general health and the sanity of those around me (the sugar rush is real), I’m not much of a baker. And for that reason, I also haven’t developed the level of comfort with baking that allows you to really get creative in the kitchen. I really wish I had though – I’m always so impressed by cooking show competitors when they casually whip out incredible and experimental desserts from classic base recipes!

Which brings me to these 5 ingredient Christmas cookies – because yes, Christmas is less than three weeks away. WHAT????!!! If you, like me, are a rather rusty baker, and/or if you, ALSO like me, are a last-minute *magician*, these are a great little festive option to whip up. Plus you can dazzle everyone with how healthy they are – they’re practically your morning bowl of oatmeal! (Unless you eat them all in one sitting, that is, which has totally never happened here ever.)

The base is made with mashed banana and rolled oats, which you’re likely to have already, and the level of skill required is pretty much zero. So: right up my alley.

These cookies obviously don’t have the texture of super decadent cookies made with traditional batter, but they’re nice and chewy – a bit like an oatmeal raisin cookie, unsurprisingly – and they stay moist and tender for several days… Or, you know, 2.5 days, which is the longest I’ve ever been able to make them last. 😎 That was actually quite the triumph, not gonna lie.

While the recipe I’m giving you guys here is for Christmas-themed cookies, these also work for triple chocolate chunk, white chocolate & macadamia, dark chocolate & cranberry… you name it! I wish I could take credit for the idea, but my friend Emily was the one to tell me about this genius trick (thank you!).

The weather’s been quite ‘balmy’ (humid and rainy) around here so I wasn’t in much of a Christmassy mood yet… Until we went out and did possibly the most adult thing we’ve done in our entire lives: we bought a mini Christmas tree! It is super adorable and adorned with makeshift garland and bowls, and Porgy is set on destroying it if it’s the last thing she’s does. Whether or not she succeeds, I’m well and truly in the Christmas spirit now, so LOOK OUT!!