Banana Nut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mr. C and I have been running around all day, trying desperately to prepare for next week's camping trip. Yes, camping. No internet. No beds. I'm talking real, down and dirty, poopin' in the woods camping. All we'll have is a tent, a couple of sleeping bags, and (hopefully) a roll of toilet paper. Oh, and I'm sure Mr. C has packed a couple of Tolkien books - you know, just in case of a emergency.

A couple of days ago, I took on the task of cleaning out all the foodstuffs in the kitchen. God forbid we come home to a mutant pile of fermented fruit and vegetables sitting in the bottom of our fridge. Bananas are one of those things that I'm on the fence about - I could bring them along on the road trip. But, lets face it - once you put bananas into a closed space then everything starts to smell like banana. Smelling that all the way to the Oregon Coast would drive me a little nuts. My other option was to bake them into something tasty. Yes, I'm all about that option.

I had a bit of a Dr. Frankenstein moment in the kitchen that day. I combined a handful of recipes to create one tasty little monster. Banana nut bread is good. Chocolate chip cookies are good too. Banana nut chocolate chip cookies? Holy crap, are they amazing.




Banana Nut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about two and a half dozen cookies

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup 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
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (about 2 ounces), toasted

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flours, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside.

2) Place butter and sugars into a large bowl and mix until light and fluffy. Slowly add the egg, then the vanilla, mixing until combined. Mix in banana, making sure that no large chunks remain.

3) Slowly stir the flour mixture into the batter and mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks, and walnuts.

4) Drop ~ 2 inch balls of dough onto baking sheets, 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.





We'll be on vacation until next weekend - hopefully we'll bring back tales of beautiful beaches, lovely hikes, and super tasty cupcakes. See you soon!