Banana-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

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I don’t know what you’re feelings are on this, but in our home baked goods are often eaten for breakfast. Not by me though. Yes, CK has a serious morning sweet tooth. Cookies, brownies, cupcakes, or pie are all fair game in his eyes. His rational for consuming sugar laden treats before 9:00 AM is as follows: if I can eat a muffin, why can’t I eat a cookie? I don’t know guys…it makes sense to him. So while I’m choking down Grape Nuts or a Sweet & Salty Granola bar, he digs into a plate of cookies and a tall glass of milk. At least he chases it all with a multi-vitamin.
Instead of discouraging his habit though, I’m an enabler and make recipes like this one for Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. At the very least this cookie has some actual breakfast appropriate aspects to it (hello?! bananas! oatmeal!). I might even go so far as to call it a “breakfast cookie” if that label takes away any guilt we might feel after secretly scarfing down this amazing concoction in the wee hours of the morning.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Elinor Klivans’s The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook published by Chronicle Books
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup oatmeal (not quick-cooking)
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
2 bananas, cut into 1/4 to1/3 inch pieces
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper (Note: I just used a silpat).
In a small bowl, stir the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together, set aside.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smoothly blended, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until blended, about 1 minute. The mixture may look slightly curdled. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated. Mix in the oatmeal. Mix in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Use a large spoon to mix in the banana pieces, mixing just until they are evenly distributed and some of the pieces are mashed but most are still visible, about 20 seconds.
Use a tablespoon to drop heaping spoonfuls of dough (about 3 level tablespoons each) onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies 3 inches apart. Note: I used a large scoop.
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the edges are lightly browned and the tops look dry, about 18 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, than use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container, layered between sheets of wax paper, at room temperature for up to 3 days.








16 Comments Leave a Comment
sharon
June 12, 2008
It’s ok. I’m an enabler too. Problem is I’m an enabler for not only my husband but myself too. I subscribe to the same theory about breakfast. I stay away from fried foods so dessert is my indulgence! These cookies look absolutely heavenly.
Sues
June 12, 2008
These look delicious! I just posted about “cupcakes” for breakfast…just call them muffins.
I say eating cookies in pie for breakfast is better than my dad’s breakfast eating habits at 7 a.m….he eats whatever was for dinner the night before (steak, buffalo wings, tacos, lambchops, etc.)…I can’t even watch him.
Deborah
June 12, 2008
Bananas, oatmeal and chocolate chips? A match made in heaven!
EB
June 12, 2008
Um… my vote? The most perfect breakfast…ever.
Chuck
June 12, 2008
Anything containing oatmeal qualifies as breakfast! These breakfast cookies would be great on the go with a little milk carton and flexi-straw. I bet you’d get a ton of envious looks from MBTA riders.
Mary
June 12, 2008
These look wonderful. Thanks for the recipe.
Sherrie
June 13, 2008
Looks DIVINE!
This great product is a MUST HAVE in your kitchen if you love to bake, highly heat resistant and extremely durable!!!
http://www.panhandlerinc.com
Mike
June 13, 2008
These look delicious! And while I wouldn’t have thought of cookies for breakfast, the point about muffins is dead on. I equate cupcakes to muffins, and so if muffins are ok, so are cupcakes…and therefore, normal cakes…and therefore, all dessert, lol. But seriously though, this sounds like a great cookie
My Sweet & Saucy
June 16, 2008
Wish I had one of these cookies right now! They look so yummy!
Tarah
June 19, 2008
I just baked these cookies! They turned out so good!
And I’m totally guilty for baked goods in the morning. I just can’t help it ;]
RecipeGirl
June 21, 2008
Ha! I just made these the other day. I liked that they weren’t so much a cakey-kind of cookie like the usual banana cookie recipe.
I’m lovin’ this cookbook too!
Mari
June 23, 2008
How could you possibly pack more goodness into a cookie?!
P.S. You’re the recipient of an E for Excellent award from yours truly. Please stop by and pick it up!
Carsten
June 25, 2008
That’s a great recipe. Unfortunately I discovered it too late to enter the competition.
http://www.garlicoon.com
Michele
October 8, 2008
My family and I LOVE COOKIES! This is a wonderfully delicious recipe. I did not include the chocolate chips but rather used another banana and 1/2c Pecan Pieces.
darles chickens
October 10, 2008
i made something like this, only it was oatmeal chocolate chip and i just substituted half a banana for the egg
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