Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Cookies

The trend on the blogosphere lately seems to be bananas.  Banana muffins, cupcakes, doughnuts, pies, breakfast bowls, smoothies.  This is actually one of the main reasons I love bananas - they are so versatile!  Plus they have an amazing flavor and healing powers.  And unlike other fruits, even when they seem to be a little overripe it just opens up even more possibilities to use bananas!  In this house, when our bananas go overripe we mash them up with some flour and brown sugar and make the most heavenly banana bread you could ever imagine (no I am not exaggerating).  But when I saw these cookies on How Sweat Eats I knew I had found another use for my overripe bananas.  I had also found a use for my leftover Easter chocolate.

You can use either creamy or crunchy peanut butter in this recipe depending on your preference.  I love the crunchy peanut butter because of, well, the crunch.  I thought it would offset the mushy banana and melted chocolate chips nicely.  If you're anything like me, you still have some leftover Easter chocolates that you forgot about, so I chopped them up and threw them in these cookies.  Chocolate chips would work just as well too.

When you begin to mix the wet and dry ingredients, it will take a while to come together (at one point, I was even using my hands) but keep at it!  After a while, it will come together and you will have a nice, creamy batter.

These cookies are heavenly.  They fall in that category between cookie and cake; the inside is chewy and soft and the outside is slightly crispy.  And these cookies will stay soft for days (not that they'll be around that long...).  Plus, they have some of the most delectable flavors around - peanut butter, chocolate, and banana - all in one cookie!  For those of you that get turned off by peanut butter cookies (myself included), do not fret - the peanut butter taste isn't that strong.  The cookie isn't terribly sweet, which is a great and terrible thing at the same time because you can literally eat them for breakfast.  And then again for dessert.  And in between lunch and dinner.  And breakfast and lunch.  Believe me, you'll be letting your bananas go ripe just for an excuse to make these cookies!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Cookies

Yield: about 30 cookies

Prep Time:  20 min

Bake Time: 10 – 12 min per pan

Ingredients

-                8 tbsp butter

-                1/3 c peanut butter

-                2 c + 2 tbsp flour

-                ½ tsp baking soda

-                ¼ tsp salt

-                1 c brown sugar

-                ½ c granulated sugar

-                1 egg yolk

-                2 tsp vanilla extract

-                2 small ripe bananas, mashed

-                1 c small chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 325F.  Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.

In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and the peanut butter.  Set aside to cool.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, melted peanut butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until well combined.  Whisk in egg yolk, vanilla extract, and mashed banana until combined.  Add the dry ingredients about ½ c at a time, combining completely after each addition.  Fold in the chocolate chips.

Spoon dough onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 – 12 min, or until the edges are golden.  Allow to cool on pan for about 5 min and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.   Store in an air-tight container. 

Adapted from: How Sweet Eats

Posted by Ali B at 12:41 PM