Honey Peanut Butter Oat Cookies #OurHearts

Soft, chewy peanut butter oatmeal cookies sweetened with honey and banana and laced with dark chocolate chips, these cookies will win over your heart in more ways than one. Because these yummy peanut butter cookies are chock full of heart healthy ingredients, these cookies are actually GOOD for your heart!

February is American Heart Month. It’s a month dedicated to spreading awareness and encouraging all of us to adopt heart healthy lifestyles to prevent heart disease. Because of my family history, I work hard at taking care of my cardiovascular system: eating healthy to lower my cholesterol, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, getting enough sleep. Yoga is both my exercise program and my stress relief and it helps me stay connected to my many yoga friends.

My son recently talked me into getting an exercise bike because he wants to take care of his heart, so we’ve ordered one and planned out where we’re going to put it. We’re rearranging our family room in the basement to make space for it and I’m excited to add some more cardio exercise into my life, and bike through virtual terrains all over the world. Stationary bikes sure have changed over the years!

Okay, enough about the bike: let’s get back to cookie talk.

How can Cookies be Good for your Heart?

Cookies aren’t usually on the list of heart healthy foods. Typically laden with sugar, butter, and highly processed white flour, cookies are about the opposite of anything you might think of when you’re trying to take care of your heart. But we all need a sweet treat every now and then, and cookies are a nice bite-sized bit of deliciousness that bring so much comfort.

If you replace the butter, sugar and flour with healthier choices, you can actually make a cookie that you can count as a heart healthy friend. These chewy good honey peanut butter oat cookies are a wonderful sweet treat that’s healthy enough to eat for breakfast or a sweet snack anytime. Especially good for those of us trying to lower our cholesterol through food, these cookies are full of heart healthy ingredients:

• oat bran (or oatmeal) – oat bran is the outer layer of the oat groat and it is linked to many health benefits, including improved blood sugar control, healthy bowel function, and lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
• fiber – fiber lowers both blood pressure and cholesterol and fills you up, which helps you eat less and perhaps lose weight.
• white whole wheat flour – white whole wheat flour is much less processed than white all-purpose flour, so it’s better for your body, plus it contains more fiber
• dark chocolate – rich in antioxidants, dark chocolate helps reduce blood pressure and lower risk of heart disease
• banana – rich in potassium, pectin and fiber, bananas provide nutrients that are essential for heart health
• honey – studies show honey helps reduce “bad” cholesterol and raise “good” cholesterol and can also lower triglycerides. Also, honey provides relief from constipation.
• peanut butter – high in protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, peanut butter is a heart healthy snack

Can I substitute oatmeal for the oat bran?

Yes, you can substitute oatmeal for oat bran. While it’s not as high in fiber, oatmeal is also a heart-healthy choice and in my first version of these cookies, we used oatmeal and brown sugar.

Can I make these cookies gluten free?

Yes, you can! Simply use brown rice flour in place of the white whole wheat flour and make sure you use certified gluten free oats and fibers. I know this will work just fine because I did make a gluten free version of these cookies, which I shared with my gluten free friend Kelly.

How much will the cookies spread?

When baking the cookies from room-temperature dough, the cookies will spread and flatten during cooking, so be sure to leave plenty of room between the cookies. If you want thicker, softer cookies (like shown in the photos), refrigerate the dough in an airtight container for at least an hour before baking.

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