Banana oat cookies are about as simple as home baking gets — no mixer, no fancy ingredients, and no added sugar needed, since ripe bananas do all the sweetening on their own.

The riper and softer the bananas, the sweeter and more flavorful the cookies turn out — those with dark, spotted skins mash down easily and bring the most natural sweetness. Old-fashioned rolled oats work better here than quick oats, giving the cookies a heartier, chewier texture, while quick oats tend to blend into a softer, more uniform crumb.

Unlike a classic sugar cookie dough, this batter doesn’t spread much in the oven, so the cookies keep roughly the shape you give them by hand — flatten them to whatever thickness you want the finished cookie to have.

These cookies keep well in a sealed container for several days, and thanks to the bananas, they stay soft even on day two. They make an easy snack for anyone who wants something sweet without a long ingredient list.