I know what you all are thinking: I’m all bark and no bite. After my cookie marathon back in December I swore off cookies for “months to come,” warning my readers that they wouldn’t find a cookie recipe within a mile of this blog for a long time. Well, here we are, a mere 40 days later, and I’m already posting a new cookie recipe. So much for my empty threats.
To my credit, it was all my daughter’s fault. As I mentioned here, one of Juanita’s current obsessions is baking, so I couldn’t resist when she begged me to make cookies yesterday. She loves oatmeal cookies, so I decided to try a healthier recipe that I had seen on David Leibovitz’ blog a while back. By adding a banana and applesauce to the batter, I was able to cut down significantly on the sugar and butter, which made me feel slightly better about breaking my promise. When they were ready, and Juanita and I smiled at each other over a plate of hot cookies, I realized that some rules were made to be broken. And a ban on cookies is definitely one of these cases.
Oatmeal Banana cookies
recipe loosely adapted from David Lebovitz, who adapted it from Nick Malgieri’s cookbook
- 3/4 cup (100 g) whole-wheat flour
- 1/4 cup (30 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon molasses or honey
- 1 egg
- 1 small banana, smashed with a fork
- 3 tablespoons (50 g) unsweetened applesauce
- 1 1/2 cups (130 g) rolled oats (not instant)
- 1/2 cup (80 g) dark raisins (or dried cranberries, or chocolate chips)
For about 30 cookies
Preheat the oven to 190°C, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the molasses, then the egg, smashed banana and applesauce, blend well. Carefully stir the dry ingredients into the wet, then fold in the oats and raisins.
Drop the batter by rounded teaspoons 2-inches apart on the baking sheets and use a fork to gently flatten the dough. Alternatively, use an ice-cream scoop to portion and drop the batter on the baking sheets.
Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they look dull on the surface but are still moist and soft. Rotate baking sheets during baking for even heating.
