What do you do with old bananas?  Make banana bread of course.  Well in our household that sure equation has gotten a bit boring.  With preschoolers our house is always stocked with bananas which at times disappear in seconds and at other times linger enough to turn brown.  Plus my little ones have their banana preference, meaning they have to peel it.  Which is a great step in becoming independent but not so great when you try to persuade a three year old to finish a banana they took one bite off 5 minutes ago, or to finish one their twin decided they didn’t want after peeling.

Whichever way you get your bananas (most likely fresh from the store) this is a great recipe for a fun cookie, packed with all the breakfast goodies.

You will need: 1 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 1/2 sticks of butter (3/4 cup) at room temperature, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 1 large egg,  1 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1), 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats, 8 oz semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips, 1/2 cup chopped pecans.

Adapted from Martha Stewart who uses walnuts, but I am sure hazelnuts and almonds would do pretty well too.

Mix together 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and salt in a bowl

add 1/2 tsp baking soda and incorporate.

Preheat oven to 375 deg F.

In a mixer cream together 1 1/2 sticks butter and 1/2 cup of both granulated and light brown sugar

When pale and fluffy add 1 egg and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Add mushed banana.  If you have a fresh fruit and not an old one put it in a microwave for about 30-40 sec which will make the mashing part a lot easier.

mix until combined

add flour mixture

and mix until it becomes to come together, turn off

pour in the nuts, chocolate and oats

and stir well together.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper and using an ice cream scooper or table spoon drop dough into a baking sheet.  Bake 12-13 minutes until golden brown and just set.

Cool for about 5 minutes before consuming.  Cookies can be stored in a ziplock bag or airtight container in room temp for up to 2 days.  Personally I think they are a perfect alternative to an oatmeal raisin cookie for those that still want to get their oatmeal fill.

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