No Waste Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you're like me, you always have a banana or two that are about to take a turn for the worst. For the most part, I freeze them and throw them in smoothies, but this time I wanted to try my hand in a new no waste baked good. Like I've mentioned before, baking isn't typically my thing. I'm Italian, I like to be willy nilly with my cooking. Patience for baking isn't in my blood, but every now and then, an hour or two baking in the kitchen is relaxing and fun! We've been doing a pretty darn good job of not throwing things away at our house. So, when I noticed my bananas were on their last leg, I decided to google over-ripe banana recipes and I stumbled upon this one. And its always a treat when I can use my KitchenAid Mixer that I inherited from my grandmother... she LOVED to bake! I hope you enjoy this recipe! Thanks to Averie Cooks for sharing this with us!
How are you saving your bananas?
Ingredients/ Equipment:
1 large egg
2 small/medium or 1 extra-large ripe bananas (about 1/2 heaping cup mashed banana)
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (1/2 of 1 stick)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned whole rolled oats (not instant or quick-cook because they act more like flour and aren’t suitable here)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon, added to taste
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (we used chopped dark chocolate chips)
KitchenAid Standing Mixer
Instructions:
To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and electric mixer) combine the egg, bananas (I leave them whole and don’t pre-mash them before adding to bowl), sugars, butter, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until well combined, about 4 minutes. The mixture won’t be smooth, fluffy, or ‘creamed’ like traditional cookie dough and will have small chunks of bananas present and it’s on the runnier side.
Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.
Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the chocolate chips, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
Using a large cookie scoop, 1/4-cup measure, or your hands, form approximately 14 equal-sized mounds of dough. Tip – Strategically place a few chocolate chips on top of each mound of dough by taking chips from the underside and adding them on top.
Place mounds on a large plate or tray, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 5 days ( we kept them in the fridge for 10 hours). This is a wetter, looser dough and isn’t suitable for baking until it’s been chilled. Do not bake with unchilled dough because cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and be more prone to spreading.
Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place dough mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet) and bake for about 13 minutes (for very soft cookies, longer for more well-done cookies), or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly under-cooked, pale, and glossy in the center; don’t overbake. Cookies firm up as they cool. Baking times could range widely due to the moisture content variances in bananas, climate and oven variances; bake until your cookies are done. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before serving. I let them cool on the baking sheet and don’t use a rack.
Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
This recipe was courtesy of AverieCooks.com.