If you have a hankering for banana bread but don't have the time, these soft, cakey cookies will fit the bill! Adapted from one of my favorite food blogs -- Simply Recipes.
1/2 C butter, room temp.
1 C sugar
1 egg, room temp.
1 t vanilla
1 C mashed bananas (around 2 large)
1 t baking soda
2 C flour
1/4 t salt
2/4 - 1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t ground cloves
1/4 t pepper
1 C pecans or walnuts
--Optional: 1/2 - 1 C raisins, soaked to plump (or cover w/ water & microwave for 40 seconds; drain) or 1 C butterscotch chips or 1 C chocolate chips -- use your imagination!
-- Optional: 1/4 C turbinado (natural) sugar for sprinkling on top before baking
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar together 5 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and continue to beat until light and fluffy.
In a small bowl, combine mashed bananas and baking soda. Let sit for 2 minutes. The baking soda reacts with the acid in the bananas to help the cookies rise.
Add the banana and baking soda into the butter mixture. Mix til combined. Mix together the flour, salt, and spices and sift into the butter and banana mixture. Mix until just combined -- don't over mix.
Fold pecans, raisins and/or chips into the batter. Drop in teaspoon-sized dollops onto silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. If desired, sprinkle tops with turbinado sugar. (Gives cookies a bit of crunchiness like a banana nut muffin.) Bake for 10 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.
Transfer cookies to waxed paper to cool. I like to turn the cookies upside down after cooling for 15 minutes or so to help dry the bottoms thoroughly. This helps to keep cookies from sticking together. Store after completely dry, and leave the container lid open a bit for a day or so to help prevent sticking. You can freeze these cookies individually on a cookie sheet and then plop into a ziploc bag to store up to 3 months.
Makes about 30 cookies.
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