I really have been cooking regular balanced meals in my kitchen lately, not only sweets as my blog may imply! I have had an urge lately to bake something with banana, but unfortunately bananas almost never last until they are ripe enough for baking in our house. During my last trip to the store I bought a bunch of bananas specifically for ripening and baking (off limits for eating!) I used some to make these fabulous cookies and froze the rest. These cookies are wonderful! Very soft and cakey as you might imagine. I think they have just a touch too much spice (nutmeg and cloves in particular) and it may overwhelm the banana flavor. I will probably reduce those two spices a teensy bit next time, but otherwise this recipe is great. Simple and quick so you have yummy cookies in no time.
Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: 25-30 cookies
Ingredients:
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1 cup of mashed bananas (about 2 ½ large bananas)
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups flour
pinch of salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. ground cloves
1 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue to beat until well incorporated.
In a bowl, mix the mashed bananas and baking soda. Let sit for 2 minutes. The baking soda will react with the acid in the bananas which will in turn give the cookies their lift and rise.
Mix the banana mixture into the butter mixture. Mix together the flour, salt and spices and sift into the butter and banana mixture until just combined.
Fold chocolate chips into the batter. Drop into dollops on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Let cool on wire racks.
Source: adapted from Erin’s Eats, originally from Simply Recipes
