{A Must Try}

How many of you like bananas?
How many of you always need bananas in the house?

How many of you, who answered yes to the above questions, wind up with oodles overripe bananas on their counter cause they bought too many and consequently wind up with bucket loads of said overripe bananas in their freezer that they then have to use up in some sort of baking?

(my apologies to my high school English teacher for that horrible run-on sentence)

Anyone?

No?

.....just me then.......ummm, alright.....that's cool.

I'm going to write this post anyways.

My husband loves to have baking in the house so I've been making a focused effort to keep the glass cake stand in the kitchen filled with yummy sweets for his lunch. I've also been trying to delve into new recipes. If I've got bananas to use up, it's always been mini banana muffins but on Wednesday when we were down to our last Chocolate Oatmeal cookie, I thought about trying to find a cookie recipe with banana in it.

The reviews on a couple I found were mixed but I definitely wanted to find out for myself......and I'm so glad I did.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (mouthful hey?)

3/4 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 beaten egg
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 3/4 c. rolled oats
1 c. mashed banana (the riper the better)
1 pkg. chocolate chips (I just threw in a few handfuls)
1/2 c. shredded coconut (optional)

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add egg and beat until smooth. Mix together flour, baking soda, salt, spices. Add to moist mixture. Mix well. Add remaining ingredients one at a time, mixing thoroughly.
Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of dough 1 1/2 inches apart on foil covered cookie sheets. Bake at 400 degrees 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. Store in tightly covered container. Makes around 4 dozen cookies.

Yummy.

I thought I had totally overcooked one full sheet but the bananas keep the cookie moist and even though they are really brown, they are still soft and taste great!

Coming Soon: my adventures in cheesecake!