OK, so it’s not reinventing the wheel or finding a cure for cancer. Still, the discovery of a recipe for a scrumptious sweet treat with no added sugar is pretty far up there for me.

One of my favorite pastimes (don’t judge. As my mother’s friend Geri used to say, “Whatever floats your boat.”) is to fiddle with a recipe to turn it from a delicious-but-not-good for-you one to one that qualifies as semi-healthy.

These Chocolate Chip-Prune Cookies fill the bill. There’s no sugar substitute in these goodies either. The only processed sugar comes from a half of a cup of chocolate chips.

This recipe is adapted from one created by Sunsweet Prunes. I changed a few things here and there, but the main difference is that instead of adding sugar, I substituted a very soft, ripe banana. The result was divine–lusciously moist and plenty sweet– from the prunes, banana and, of course, the chocolate.

This recipe is quick and easy and doesn’t require you to shlep to the store to buy all kinds of oddball ingredients that you’ll likely never use again. One more thing: you can probably swap the melted butter for a healthier oil such as avocado, but I haven’t tried it. Yet.

Chocolate Chip-Prune Cookies

1 cup of prunes
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup dry oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 very ripe banana
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place prunes in small bowl or coffee mug. Pour enough luke warm water over the prunes to just cover them. Let sit for five minutes, drain well and then dice prunes into small pieces–about 4-5 pieces per prune.Meanwhile, mix together flour, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add banana, melted butter and vanilla and mix together. Add prunes. Then chocolate chips and walnuts. Stir together. Batter may be dry and crumbly so mix it together with your fingers until ingredients are fairly evenly distributed. If dough is still dry, add a few drops of water.Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Form small balls of dough (about 1 tablespoon) with fingers and place on cookie sheet. Press dough down a bit.Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 14-16 minutes or until cookies are light browned on top. Let sit for 20 minutes or until cool. Makes about 24-30 cookies.