Friday, April 3, 2009

[Cookie 008] Banana Walnut Chocolate-Chunk Cookies

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).

Cadbury Cadbury Cadbury
Cadbury Semi-Sweet ChocolateToastin Walnuts

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.

Ready to Mix!

Banana Walnut Chocolate-Chunk Batter

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.

Banana Walnut Chocolate-Chunk CookiesPerfectly Golden!

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.
****

{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!

16 comments:

Coco Bean said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Coco Bean said...

Great job!! Yeah, I told you they were good eh! I don't think there is a person out there that wouldn't like these cookies. So what cookie do you think you will do next?
BTW, I am all for using quality chocolate but the good thing about these cookies is that dark semi-sweet chocolate chips work just as well and they are pretty cheap.

Elaine said...

i find it hard to chop chocolates, how or what do u do?

Siri said...

Sounds so good! This would be a great cookie to take on a hike.

Great first photo.

-Siri

Lizzie said...

Elaine- Generally, I try to keep the chocolate at room temperature, so it doesn't get to hard (like it does when you refrigerate it). Then I just break off bits with my fingers! It's pretty messy that way, but it gives me more opportunities to eat bits of chocolate....

Lizzie said...

Coco Bean- I havent decided which cookie to do next, but a friend of mine is hosting a "fancy" wine and cheese party, so I was thinking of making something from the "light and delicate" section...maybe meringues?

Siri- I agree--these would be great on a hike! Good thinking!

Hayley said...

Your pictures are great, and those cookies look wonderful. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful pictures, Lizzie! they look delicious

-claire

RecipeGirl said...

They look great to me! Love that there's a good cookie option for ripe bananas (instead of using them for banana bread...)

Anonymous said...

not sure if someone already said this but if you use a banana, you can remove the egg and it works just beautifully! turn into vegan chocolate chip cookes (with a dairy free "butter") with the same taste.

Taylor said...

so many comments! i was going to write something dumb, like "i want cookies" but instead i will tell you again that these look really wonderful!

sweet alyssum said...

How did you toast your walnuts? The skins burnt a bit - I toasted them on medium in a cast iron skillet on the stove (so I could keep a better eye on them). But, now I worry they'll impart a burnt taste... perhaps I'll start again with others.

ErinsFoodFiles said...

Beautiful! I've been patiently waiting for my bananas to ripen so I can make these cookies again. I'm gonna bake some up this weekend!

Leslie-Anne said...

I made these last week, I thought they were too cakey and salty...but everyone else seemed to love them!

Lizzie said...

Leslie-Anne: I absolutely agree about them being too salty! My friends and I had that exact reaction after trying them! Generally, I like how these recipes have a little bit more salt than I'm used to, but you're right, these were a little too much.

Kayla said...

I made these and found them to be pretty tasty although the texture wasn't that great IMO. I didn't like how cakey there were. Is there any way to make cookies with bananas in them more crunchy/crispy? Any help is appreciated :)