I’ve been pretty busy lately and unable to “play” in the kitchen.  My son has been feeling neglected for this and has asked that we make cookies.  He is already the best 14 yr old cook I know and loves to bake so….time to decide what shall we create!

When it comes to cookies, he is all about chocolate.  And even though I am a chocolate person, believe it or not, I would rather have an oatmeal cookie.  I’ve made oatmeal with chocolate chips, but they just don’t do it for me (I know…there is something wrong with me, but most of my friends already know that).  We were at the store and they had bananas at the perfect stage of ripeness.  It made me think of a pie at Tippins.  It had banana slices on the bottom, then chocolate filling, then chocolate whip cream and chocolate shavings…..mmmmmm!

I also like bananas and oatmeal together.  Maybe the bananas could be the bridge to “bind the galaxy together!”  I suggested we make oatmeal cookies with bananas and dark chocolate chips….lets throw in some walnuts too.  His eyes light up (I was almost blinded).  We could hardly wait to get home and see what we could come up with.

I played with a couple of different recipes and came up with a game plan.  Aidan and I got to work on them.  I wanted banana flavor, but to not let it dominate.  I also wanted the cookies to be firm, but not hard.  This recipe actually accomplishes this.  It was a hit for everyone in my house.

You’ll need:

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder (aluminum free)

1/2 tsp (heaping) ground cinnamon

2/3 cup butter(softened) or vegetable shortening

1/3 cup molasses

1/3 cup raw sugar

1 egg

1  1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 medium banana (ripe) mashed

2 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat your oven to 350F

In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda and powder, and cinnamon.  Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, cream butter/shortening with molasses and raw sugar.  Mix until fluffy.  Add egg, banana, and vanilla; beat until incorporated.  Add flour mixture and mixed until just combined.  Add oats, chocolate and nuts and mix again.

On parchment paper lined cookie sheets, drop spoonfuls of dough (cookies do not spread much) and bake for 12-13 minutes.  Remove from sheet and cool completely before storing.  Makes 3 dozen cookies.  Enjoy!