Banana Bread Cookies

Prior to moving down South, I spent quite bit of my time working at a children's boutique, Snapdragon, in Grand Rapids.  It started out part-time in the evenings for something to do and a way to earn some extra cash to go towards bills, food, shopping, etc.  Unfortunately, the company I had worked for closed their doors so I ended up spending even more of my time at Snapdragon!  I have to say that it was, by far, my favorite job ever!  For me, it wasn't work....it was fun and I got to be creative doing the things I love: shopping and socializing, with customers, of course!

What brought me to the vision of these delectable cookies was this cute little cafe right next door to Snapdragon, CG's Prep Kitchen.  They were definitely known for their great soups and sandwiches as well as their make-ahead-meals, but what really got our boats floating over at Snapdragon, was their baked goods!  Man, did they have some goodies over there!  I will say that I certainly put on some extra pounds making regular trips over there at night!  I guess while me leaving Snapdragon to move to the South was bittersweet, it was much more like a blessing in disguise to prevent me from further gaining anymore weight!

But my favorite thing was their chocolate chip cookies.  Chocolate chip cookies are most everyone's favorites, but I'm pretty particular about my cookies and while they were usually a little more crunchy for my liking, I certainly overlooked that with the great flavor they had!  There was always a subtle hint of banana and possibly cinnamon in them, but it wasn't enough to really overpower the chocolate chip flavor.  For some reason though, I seemed to always find myself wanting a little more of that banana flavor to come through.

So, I decided to try my hand at recreating a sister version, but more to my liking: more banana and more chewy.  What was once my classic, everyday chocolate chip cookie recipe is now reminiscent of the sweet, moist and delicious banana bread cake my Mom always made growing up! 

Banana Bread Cookies

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups Flour
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Cinnamon
6 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar, packed
1 Egg
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 cup Old Fashion Oats
1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
3 Bananas, chopped

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and cinnamon; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and brown sugar until it resembles a crumbly texture (about 1 minute).  Add in the egg and vanilla and continue beating until mixture becomes smooth and creamy (about 1 minute).  Add in half of the flour mixture and blend in at a low speed.  Add in the remaining flour mixture and continue blending in on low.  Add in the oatmeal and chocolate chips; mix until evenly distributed throughout the mixture.  Using a wooden spoon, carefully mix in the banana pieces.
Using a tablespoon, drop the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake until the edges are lightly browned (about 15 minutes).  Carefully remove from the oven and let cool on pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.  Finish baking the remaining dough, following the same steps.

Store in an air-tight container or resealable bag for up to 4 days (or longer if kept refrigerated).

Yield: 18 Servings
Source: With a Cherry on Top