Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Growing up, baking cookies was my favorite thing to do with my mom. I loved everything about it … even greasing the cookie sheets (a job always saved for me and my sister). The smells, the time spent in the kitchen … and, of course, the time spent EATING THEM! Not coincidentally, Cookie Monster was my favorite Sesame Street character. I totally got him and his crazy LOVE of cookies! So if a sweet tooth craving hits me (I should say when …), I typically crave a cookie over any other dessert. I have been toying with a recipe for Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies in my head throughout the past year, and I finally put my idea into action during a recent weekend.
I pulled out my cookie sheets, over-ripened bananas and got busy experimenting with the Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip recipe in my head. I say “experimenting” because it’s more difficult to throw together a new ingredient concoction for a baked good than, say, a dinnertime meal. A new baking recipe typically takes a few tries to get it right. Why? Baking is more science, and if you get the science wrong … you get something that’s a gooey blob, tough, chewy and/or hard as a rock. I say this from experience, because I’ve created all of those failed experiments in my recipe creation quests. So I was REALLY pleased when my first attempt at this recipe turned out incredibly delicious, with just the right texture.
Like most of my recipes, these can be made dairy-free — just use vegan butter and a dairy-free chocolate chip.
If you aren’t big on banana taste, rest assured that the banana is subtle. I only used one, so the cookies wouldn’t get too bread-like or mushy. The recipe makes about 2 1/2 dozen. If you need more, just double it (note: you made need to add an extra tablespoon or so of flour, depending on how large your bananas are).
The Secret Ingredient in These Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
I used dark chocolate chips, Earth Balance vegan butter (sticks) plus roasted cocoa nibs to give them a little crunch and take them up a notch in terms of flavor and nutrition. You can use your favorite chocolate chips, regular butter and leave out the cocoa nibs if you prefer, although I recommend at least trying them with the cocoa nibs.
At this point, you may be asking: what the heck are cocoa nibs? 🙂 Cocoa nibs are bits of fermented, dried, roasted and crushed cacoa bean. In other words: they’re chocolate that hasn’t been ground and mixed with sugar yet. Cocoa nibs are considered a “super food.” Like cocoa powder, if you’ve ever tried it by itself, they aren’t super tasty alone, but they are delicious when mixed into something like a cookie, and they have a nutty texture. You can find them at most grocery stores these days. I typically use Trader Joe’s Roasted Cocoa Nibs, but any brand will work.
Note: these also freeze well. I made more than I wanted to eat at the time, so I froze more than half (doubling up on freezer bags to be safe). I recently pulled them out to see if they got mushy (my fear) or not … and they didn’t. They were perfect!
Pin it, save it, give them a try! 🙂
Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened (I use vegan butter)
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 mashed ripe banana (medium size)
- 1 egg
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cup oats (I use quick oats)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp roasted cacoa nibs
- 1 cup chocolate chips of your choice (I use dark chocolate chips)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
- Mix butter, sugar, banana and egg well
- Add the dry ingredients and mix well; add the cacoa nibs and chocolate chips, then mix well
- Drop balls of dough on slightly greased cookie sheets; bake 9-11 minutes in oven; let cool and then enjoy! 🙂
