My Go-To Vegan, Gluten-Free Dessert

I'm vegan and follow a low-FODMAP diet, so there's a lot I can't eat. Well, there's a lot I choose to not eat in order to control my endometriosis-related gastrointestinal symptoms.¹ I cut out meat, dairy, and wheat. And while I might eat a banana or some blueberries with lunch, refined sugars are a no-go for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

But I do eat dessert every night.

After trying the low-FODMAP diet, a group of mostly healthy foods that make some people gassy and bloated, I realized I have an issue with fructans (a carbohydrate in wheat), not the gluten protein.² That meant I had to find an alternative to all-purpose flour, my favorite cake and cookie-making ingredient. I'll admit, most of the gluten-free options I've tried in the past haven't worked out. My cakes would come out too dense or my cookies were too grainy. But after about a year of trying different recipes, I created a mostly fruit-sweetened dessert that's actually pretty good. And it doesn't leave me in digestive distress.

My chocolate-chip banana cookie pie

I mix oat flour with a DIY gluten-free blend I found online from the Minimalist Baker.³ The DIY mix seems like a pain — it's a mix of four other flours — but I just make a big batch once a month and keep it next to the oat flour. For most of the sweetness, I use applesauce (single-serving packs are the perfect size) and mashed bananas, which  I keep frozen and just microwave when I need them. Then I toss in some brown sugar along with dairy-free and soy-free chocolate chips. You can leave out the chocolate chips and the brown sugar if you want to avoid added sugars but still have a sweet treat at the end of the day. (It's not as good, but it's still good.)

The end result is a chocolate-chip banana cookie-pie that I cut up, store in the freezer, and warm up every night! One pie lasts me about a week and a half if I eat one serving a day.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup brown sugar (replace with 1/2 cup banana if you want less refined sugar)
• 1-1/2 cup mashed banana
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbl. melted coconut oil (you can leave the oil out, but the coconut adds a nice flavor)
• 3/4 cup oat flour
• 3/4 cup gluten-free mix*
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 cup to 3/4 cup dairy-free, soy-free chocolate chips (depending on chocolate preference)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the sugar, banana, applesauce, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. Add in the flours, salt, and baking soda. Combine ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into an 8 or 9-inch dish. I use a pie plate, but a bread loaf tin works too. Bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on how gooey you want it. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers to keep fresh longer. Enjoy!

*Gluten-free mix

• 1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1/4 cup white rice flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1 tsp xanthan gum (optional)