Recipe #11: Banana Everything Cookies

Intro

My brother challenged me to bake my way through the New York Times Top 11 Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes, mostly so maybe I would send him some to “taste-test.”

And why not?

I printed all the recipes, scanned the ingredients and spent about $60 on the stuff I did not have, like cake flour and coconut sugar - not including the cookie scoop that I have always wanted and finally bought. I did not buy any super special ingredients. No chocolate feves, no Maldon salt.

The Recipe

Wait, what happened to Recipe #10? Holiday Baking Extravaganza 2021 happened. Between a book club cookie exchange, gifting the relatives, a few gatherings…I baked hundreds of cookies from late November to mid-January. Decorated cutouts, tassie (mini pecan pies), snowballs, all the favorites…even a few batches of chocolate chip cookies.

I did actually bake Recipe #10 “Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies” - and we all thought they were excellent and definitely a contender, but did I take any photos or make any notes? Hell no. My tasters will be terribly burdened by the need to eat. them. again. Oh noes.

So these banana things. I used plain old oatmeal, and I did not have any walnuts so used pecans. I think you could really toss all kinds of odds and ends in here - craisins or any kind of dried fruit, nuts, m&ms or chips, etc. I did use vegan chips (which are delicious if you haven’t ever had any).

The cookies are more of a breakfast biscuit perhaps (and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that!) - not sure I would call them a cookie. They are not terribly sweet, which is fine, and you can taste more than the “hint” the banana suggested in the description. The texture is very “soft granola bar,” IMO. But also - yum. The dough is delicious - and vegan, so no “raw egg” concerns, if you are One Of Those People. You could easily make these gluten-free with GF flour and oatmeal, I think. I avoided the rather complicated instructions about sticky dough and wetting your hands by using this high-tech tool called a dough scoop <insert eyeroll>.

With a 1.5 TBS scoop, my cookies were little bigger, so I baked them for 12 minutes. Makes about two dozen cookies.

The Reviews

Verdict: These are tasty. Great breakfast, or afternoon snack - but I am not sure I would serve these as a cookie. A great additional to the vegan baked goods collection, for sure.

Guest reviewer CR was not impressed either: “And now for something very different. What type of cookie is this? We had to look into this a bit.” (Ed Note: I am sure this is code for What The Hell This Is Not A Cookie) “This cookie includes oatmeal, walnuts, and bananas, along with chocolate chips. Ok, that’s fine!” (Ed Note: <narrator voice> It was, in fact, not fine) “In fact, as presented this cookie fills an important need: a well mixed source of energy for a quick pick me up. I’ve had several types over the years. Rearrange the mix just a bit to your taste and you will be right there! And for some of you, this cookie may already be there. However, compared to the wonderful range of chocolate chip cookie introduced to date, this one is a bit heavy. (And yes, I myself prefer a touch more sweet and chocolate.) So, let us give this a 6.5, and recognize that for some a slight tweak may quickly be a 7-8 for you.”