Over the summer, our friend Nick moved to Seattle. We were sad to see him go, but excited about the new opportunities he had there. I was particularly sad to see him go because I always counted on him to eat lots of dessert when he came over for community groups each week. While there was always one or two people who avoided the sweet treats or stopped at one, I never had a hard time convincing Nick to take a few extra for the road.
Though he's too far for treats, we can still share recipes! He keeps up on The Sweets Life and in return, passes recipes along to me. These banana oatmeal cookies are a favorite of his that he told me about over dinner in Seattle a few months ago. Always looking for new ways to use up the brown bananas that are always taking up space in our freezer, I was excited to give his recipe a go! I couldn't resist changing it a bit, reducing the sugar and butter and adding chocolate chips and candied ginger instead of raisins.
There are so many variations of these I can't wait to try. I'd like to use raisins, like Nick did, or dried cranberries. I think adding some whole wheat flour or ground flax could further healthify these. For the first two days we enjoyed them fresh--cakey with a mild banana flavor. I stuck the rest in the freezer and discovered they were just as good cold and crunchy! Keeping them in the freezer certainly doesn't help my "clear out the freezer" problem, but I'd much rather grab one of these than a black banana!
One Year Ago: Foodie Finds - Connecticut and New York City
Two Years Ago: Sautéed Cabbage, Apples, and Zucchini
Three Years Ago: White Chocolate, Cranberry, Oatmeal Cookies
Banana Oatmeal Cookies with Candied Ginger and Chocolate Chips
slightly adapted from Nick
Ingredients:
-1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
-3/4 cup sugar
-1 egg
-2 ripe bananas
-1 1/2 cups flour
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp cinnamon
-2 cups rolled oats
-1/2 cup chocolate chips
-1/4 cup candied ginger, finely chopped
Directions:
1. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Cream the butter with the sugar and the egg, beating until smooth. Mix in the bananas.
3. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and oats. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and candied ginger.
4. Chill dough for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375F. Place tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto prepared baking sheets. Bake sheets for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned and cooked through. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.
