[Cookie 008] Banana Walnut Chocolate-Chunk Cookies

Well hello there. Look at what I made this week! Banana Walnut Chocolate-Chunk (with oats too!) cookies, thanks to the recommendations of a couple of readers. These cookies are really tasty, really robust, and I'm sure would be the perfect cookie to mail to someone because not only do they hold up well, but I think that the banana flavour increases with time (not too much time, mind you; moldy month-old cookies probably aren't a good idea).

Now, as I might have alluded to in previous posts, being a college student strapped for cash, I tend to have to cut corners where I can--sometimes this works out just fine, but other times it definitely doesn't. In this case, I was torn between buying Lindt dark chocolate bars, or the Cadbury ones which were about half the price. Uh, yeah, you can guess which one I chose. To me, the difference was noticeable, but it's not like the cookies tasted BAD, so in my book, it's a-ok. Not ideal, but more than passable.

In addition, I got my bananas from the dining hall in my dorm, and left them in a bag for a day to ripen up a bit. They weren't as ripe as I would have liked, but you can definitely taste them, so I would consider that a (rather) frugal success.

What I really love about these cookies is how much stuff is in them! It's like every cookie you ever imagine put together (but minus the raisins). You got bananas, walnuts, chocolate, oats...so hearty! And toasting the walnuts is really crucial because when you do, the walnutty taste really stands out. The one complaint I have with the recipe was that there was a little too much salt. Usually, I am totally gung-ho about salt in cookies, but I use this super coarse stuff which is really really noticeable, and in my opinion, a whole teaspoon was just a bit too much. Next time I would cut it down to 3/4 or 1/2--key words being "next time," as I would definitely make these again!

Banana Walnut Chocolate-Chunk Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen

Ingredients

Makes about 3 dozen

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4-inch chunks
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (about 2 ounces), toasted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flours, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks, and walnuts.
2. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 12 to 13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers up to 2 days.

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{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 1/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 4/5
Tastiness: 4/5
Attractiveness: 2/5 (Not a "pretty" cookie--but what you see is what you get!)
Is it worth it?: Absolutely. Definite crowd-pleasers!