Chewy Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

A recipe that was years in the making, plus the roller coaster that was this week in news

I, like probably most bakers, see brown-spotted bananas as an opportunity. I think it’s worth putting up with the occasional fruit fly and odd nail polish remover-like whiff that dying bananas give off for the warm and embracing joys of chocolate banana bread, bannoffee ice cream pie, banana trifle, banana breakfast cake, and banana peanut-butter cake. It’s easy to turn bananas into cake or pie. Moist and sweet, they not only add their signature flavor, but also ensure tender, lush desserts.

I’ve tried over the years to perfect a banana chocolate chip cookie, but my attempts have turned out wan, cake-y cookies. With a choice between a slice of banana bread or one of these pasty little pucks, the banana bread always won.

When I recently found myself with 2 bunches of bananas with skin worthy of the most elegant leopard, I focused my ADHD-addled brain on creating a chewy, ever-so-crunchy banana chocolate chip cookie. I wanted a cookie that resembled a traditional chocolate chip cookie but tasted like toasted banana bread.

(Sidebar! as writer Rebecca Makkai would say: Speaking of ADHD, Rebecca Makkai’s description of being a grown human living with an ADHD brain read so much like my life (save, oh, for the books Makkai has published), I am now concerned that Rebecca may be spying on me. That, or my pile of washed-and-folded-but-not-put-away laundry is visible from space. Or both.)

Some notes:

• This makes a polite amount, about 18 3” cookies. It is easily doubled, of course.

• These are made entirely by hand; no mixer necessary.

• I used a blend of whole wheat flour and oat flour, which not only boosts nutrition, but also adds a nutty-caramel note. You can substitute regular all-purpose flour, or King Arthur 1:1 gluten-free flour if you prefer.

• I have used both dark chocolate chips and semisweet to delicious effect.

• No, you do not have to add as many chocolate chips as I did.

• Yes, you could add chopped walnuts, peanuts or pecans.

• Yes, you could also forget all of that and smear a little Nutella on the top of the cookies about 15 minutes after they come out of the oven. (Daughter: Have you read this far? Do you actually read my newsletter? Because I put this suggestion in just for YOU.)

• The recipe only calls for an egg yolk. Bosco the Dog recommends scrambling the leftover egg white and giving it to him. You could also store the whites in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Once you have 6 egg whites, you can make my E. Jean’s popular white cake with vanilla frosting .

• As ever, lmk your thoughts in the comments!

Chewy Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Chewy Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 18 3” cookies

What You’ll Need:

1 small, ripe banana, mashed (about 1/3 cup)

1/2 cup (113 grams) butter, melted

3/4 cup (150 grams) light brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated white sugar (54 grams)

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup (118 grams) whole wheat flour

1/2 cup (74 grams) oat flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or to taste)

What You’ll Do:

1. In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter, mashed banana, brown sugar and white sugar until creamy and blended.

2. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and stir with gusto until well combined.

3. Stir in the whole wheat flour, oat flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

4. Fold in the chocolate chips.

5. Let the batter sit for 20 minutes to help hydrate the oat and wheat flours. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

6. Scoop large, walnut-size balls of dough onto the baking sheet. These things spreeeaddd. I only bake 6 per sheet. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes until golden, spinning the pan back to front once to ensure even baking.

7. Let cool on the baking pan for 5 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack.

8. Store in an airtight container.

9. Enjoy.

Calvin, a plant and me. Can you guess which is which?

In other news: I listened to the audio book of The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride this week and highly recommend it. It is a rich book full of compelling characters and important lessons about humanity. I was so entranced by the book I am now reading McBride’s memoir, The Color of Water, which it turns out was a New York Times bestseller for 2 years, has sold millions of copies, and proves I’m always late to the party.

And what a roller coaster of a week it was in news:

There was the the satisfaction of seeing Alexander Smirnov, the FBI-informant and spreader of Russian lies about President Biden and his son, Hunter, put in jail, but also the head-scratching disbelief I felt (I’m naive. I’ll admit it) that James Comer and Jim Jordan continued to pretend the lies that the Bidens accepted bribes.

I find myself this Friday afternoon filled with sorrow for the people who count on in-vitro fertilization to build a family, and anger that Tommy Tuberville, the senator from Alabama has barely processed what is going on in his own state. Whether he is actually capable of full-on understanding is questionable.

If you don’t mind my saying, my brother David’s latest piece for The Daily Beast is a must-read. We are vastly understating the dangers posed by the active, on-going collaboration between Trump, the MAGA GOP and Vladimir Putin's Russia. It has created risks of a European or even a world war that eerily echo the periods before World Wars I and II.

And, for those of us wondering if Trump will ever have to pay up, this little nugget from the afternoon news did make my schadenfreude-loving lips curl in a grin.

Onwards and upwards, my friends. Keep fighting the good fight and make good use of your bananas.

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