Happy New Year everyone!!! I hope 2012 is off to a great start for you.  Have you made any New Year resolutions?  I have made a few, and unsurprisingly, most of them, relate to food.

This year I would like to learn more about bread baking.  While I’ve made a few loaves of bread here and there in the past, this year I would like to take that up a notch and learn how to bake a variety of different breads.  One particular type of bread I want to make is sourdough, which is a well loved bread here in the Delicieux house, and in fact I have some dough for sourdough set aside.  Fingers crossed it comes out right.

I’d also like to experiment with the use of different flours, both for bread and general baking.

Over the course of 2011 I became comfortable with making pastry for tarts, and this year I want to expand on that, and become comfortable with a variety of pastries.

Finally, I want to increase my vegetarian repertoire.  When I find something delicious, it tends to become part of our regular dinner rotation, so I’m not always trying new vegetarian dishes.  This year I want to change that and spend more time trying new recipes.  Sure, there will be hits and misses, it’s part of the fun of experimentation, but I’m sure I’ll discover a whole raft of new delicious vegetarian meals.

So, in the spirit of doing things a little bit different this year, when I went to bake some banana bread the other day I decided to do something a little different.  We’re lovers of banana bread at the Delicieux house, but I’d remembered seeing a number of banana cookie recipes over the course of last year, so I decided to try making banana cookies.

For my first foray into banana cookies I turned to a Martha Stewart Recipe.  The combination of walnuts, oats, banana and chocolate sounded delicious, and it was.  But like the Orange and Poppyseed Cookies I had made last year, the texture is nothing like one would expect at the mention of the word cookie.  When I think of cookies I think of a texture that is crumbly and crisp, but these cookies are soft, almost cake like.  That’s not to say they aren’t delicious, because they are, especially when served a little warm and the chocolate inside oozes with each bite.

So while these cookies are delicious, and smell divine when being baked, I think I will continue my quest for a firmer, more crumbly banana cookie.

So, do you know of a great banana cookie recipe?  I’d love to hear from you.  And have you made any food resolutions for 2012?  What are they?

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4.7 from 3 reviews

Banana, Oat & Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

13 mins

Total time

23 mins

 

Recipe ever so slightly adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

• 1½ cups wholemeal flour
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 170g unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup mashed ripe banana
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 200g of dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
• 60g of chopped walnuts

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 190 celsius (375 Fahrenheit) and line a sheet pan with baking paper.
2. Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitter with a paddle attachment and whisk until light and fluffy.
4. Reduce speed to low and add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until just combined before addng the banana.
5. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined before stirring in oats, chocolate chunks, and walnuts.
6. Use a tablespoon to scoop the dough into balls and place onto the prepared baking sheet and space about 2 inches apart.
7. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes and let the cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to wire wracks to cool completely.

Notes

Cookies can be stored in airtight containers up to 2 days. Makes 24 cookies.

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