Banana Cookies

Banana isn't a flavor I usually associate with Grandma so I was a little surprised to find this recipe in her box. However, after reading it over, I realized it was exactly the kind of recipe Grandma would make. She loved fruit-based cookies filled with oats. Proof of that can be found here and here, with more to come in future tests. This recipe moved to the front of the line for testing because I had brown bananas on hand and a vacation on the horizon. 

The time was ripe (sorry, I couldn't resist) for a test!  

How to make Banana Cookies

I started these cookies in the usual way by creaming together the sugar and butter and then adding the eggs.

 It wasn’t until I added the mashed banana that I noticed the recipe says to throw all of those ingredients together and beat them well. 

Sorry Grandma, but you trained me too well. My default setting is always to beat together the butter and sugar before adding any liquidy stuff, such as eggs or bananas. Otherwise, I would have ended up with chunks of butter instead of a smooth and creamy mixture. 

Actually, my mixture didn't look very smooth and creamy after I beat in the mashed bananas. Curdled would have been a better description. 

However, I did not fear. Once I mixed in the flour, oats, and chocolate chips, the dough came together as it should.    

Portioning it out was a lot easier than it used to be. Grandma always used two teaspoons to drop the dough onto a cookie sheet. I now use a scoop, and, for me, it ranks near the top of the best kitchen inventions ever. 

I stuck the pan in the preheated oven, and when it came out, most of the cookies looked great. One, however, did not. 

It had spread at the edges, which told me I hadn't thoroughly mixed my dough. Let that be a warning: the oats do a good job of soaking up the extra moisture from the bananas but only if they’re completely incorporated. 

I let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for as long as I could stand and then took a test bite.

The Verdict

Yum. 

Full disclosure: banana might not have been a top five flavor of Grandma’s, but it is one of mine, especially when banana and chocolate are combined. If I ever have to request a last meal, Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream will be the dessert. And maybe I’ll ask for a helping of these cookies on the side. They’re a little chewy and oh, so rich in banana flavor that's slightly warmed by the spices. The chocolate balances out the banana’s sweetness, creating, in my opinion, a perfect combination of flavors. 

Give these cookies a try, but don’t forget to mix them well or you will suffer casualties as I did. Click on the link below the recipe card to download and print it out.