Go bananas!

I let the boy choose a recipe again today, and he's getting good at this.

Meet the Banana Chocolate Chippers.

I adapted this recipe from the Martha Stewart Cookies book and I've been meaning to try them for a while.  (p.s. OMG! there's a Cupcakes book! anyway...)

To my delightful surprise they had a great banana flavor.  Usually when I try to make banana bread or cupcakes or whatever, they just don't have enough banana flavor.  Too cakey, too bland, I don't know, so to be honest, I kind of expected the same from these.

They came out deliciously!  Right out of the oven they had a chewy edge and surface and a cakey soft center - the boy loved them too!  I put them in a tin over night and the turned a little cakey.  I think I liked them a bit more last night with the harder "shell."  

I think I put them in the tin too early and if I had just let them cool completely they wouldn't have softened in the tin.  They still have a fabulous banana taste and the chocolate is perfectly paired, but I like chewy cookies instead of cakey.

Ok, have we sufficiently killed the cakey/chewy debate?  Either way, they'll be awesome at the reception. :)

Recipe (adapted from Martha Stewart's Banana Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies):

(We're trying to have minimal nutty cookies at the wedding because there are family members with nut allergies - not so bad that they can't be in the room, but we don't want to make only cookies they can't eat, so most of the time you'll see the nuts taken out of the recipes).

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 package Jell-o sugar-free, instant banana pudding

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) 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

3/4 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 large)

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flours, salt, pudding mix, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats and chocolate chips.

2. Using a cookie dough scoop, drop dough onto greased baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies until golden brown and just set, 12 to 13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers up to 2 days.