Banana Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

August 2, 2010 by Susan

Cookies, good cookies, make me so incredibly happy. Deliriously happy. I think they are a perfect treat.

I have been making these particular cookies for several years now. Every time I have that craving for a delicious cookie this is the recipe I reach for over an over again. Why? Because they are a wondrous combination of all that is good in this world. First, chocolate. Enough said. Second, nuts. I love the chocolate and nut combination. Lastly, the surprise ingredient…bananas! It is this trifecta that knocks these cookies out of the park.

When biting into these babies you are almost confused whether or not you are eating a cookie or a banana bread. It’s got a hint of banana bread taste with the texture of a cookie. Perfection!

As far as cookies go, I’m a crunchy girl. Not overly crunchy, but I do love the outside edges to have that amazing crispyness while the inside is still soft. To me, that is the perfect cookie texture. And that is exactly what you get with these .

Every time I make these cookies the first few bites are spent with me moaning and rolling my eyes into the back of my head. That’s what these cookies do to me. I think my husband is slightly jealous.

Here’s what you will need to make about 30 cookies…

Recipe

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

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

1/2 cup mashed bananas (about 1 1/2 medium bananas)

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4 inch chunks

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Method

Whisk flours, salt 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 and add the egg and vanilla. Mix until combined. Add in banana. Add the flour mixture a little at a time until just combined.

Turn off the mixer. At this time add the oats, chocolate and walnuts to the bowl. Turn the mixer on very low just to mix the final ingredients into the batter. Literally I only let it mix for about 4 or 5 turns of the paddle.

Using an ice cream scoop drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, approximately 20-25 minutes, depending on your oven. I would check in on them after about 16 minutes, just to be safe.

Allow the cookies to sit and cool on the baking sheets for 3-4 minutes, then transfer them to wire cooling racks, just like this…

Use all the self control you can muster to allow these things to cool before eating or else you will burn your precious tongue. I say this from experience.

Thank you to Martha Stewart for this recipe. You are a cookie genius.

Banana Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Author: Feasts And Fotos

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ cup mashed bananas (about 1½ medium bananas)
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into ¼ inch chunks
½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Method

Whisk flours, salt 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 and add the egg and vanilla. Mix until combined. Add in banana. Add the flour mixture a little at a time until just combined.
Turn off the mixer. At this time add the oats, chocolate and walnuts to the bowl. Turn the mixer on very low just to mix the final ingredients into the batter. Literally I only let it mix for about 4 or 5 turns of the paddle.
Using an ice cream scoop drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, approximately 20-25 minutes, depending on your oven. I would check in on them after about 16 minutes, just to be safe.
Allow the cookies to sit and cool on the baking sheets for 3-4 minutes, then transfer them to wire cooling racks.

Shortbread Cookies

December 21, 2009 by Susan

It’s Christmas time and I’m on a sugar bender. South Beach is nothing but a distant memory right now. I have a target date of January 15th to reintroduce myself to phase one of South Beach, but until then, bring on the sweets!

How adorable are these shortbread cookies? Little bite sized snowflakes that you can pop into your mouth. It’s alot of fun to select holiday themed cutouts and shape your cookies into festive forms. In addition to these cute snowflakes I made a batch of Christmas tree shaped cookies and decorated those with a combination of white sugar and green sugar. Very festive.

These shortbread cookies are delicious, buttery and crumbly and highly addictive. They are virtually the same recipe as my Pecan Shortbread cookie recipe, eliminating the pecans of course. This is a better suited cookie for anyone out there with nut allergies.

The dough is easy to prepare and can be made ahead of time, stored in the fridge for a few days. A big time saver around the busy holiday season. Just pull the dough out of the fridge (or freezer) and bake as needed.

Here’s what you will need to make approximately 40 cookies, depending on the size and shape of your cookie cutter…

Recipe

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large egg yolks, room temperature

2 cups flour

Decorating sugar

egg wash

Method

In a stand mixer beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and very creamy. Add sugars and salt and beat until well blended. The mixture should be smooth and velvety, not fluffy and airy. Reduce speed to low and beat in the egg yolks until incorporated.

Pour in the flour and pulse the mixer at low speed 5-7 times for a second or two each time. (You can put a towel over the mixer to protect yourself from getting flour all over you). Continue mixing at low speed for 20 seconds more, just until flour disappears into the dough. The dough should be soft, moist and clumpy.

Scrape the dough onto a smooth work surface sprinkled with flour, gather into a ball and divide in half. Flatten each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours or up to 3 days.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment. Remove dough from refrigerator, remove from plastic, sprinkle with some flour and roll out to approximately 1/4 inch to 1/3 inch thick. Use your favorite holiday shaped cutouts to form each cookie.

Whisk egg for egg wash. Gently brush the top of each cookie with the egg wash and sprinkle generously with decorator’s sugar. Place on baking sheet, one inch apart.

Bake for 15-20 minutes (smaller cookies might only need 12 minutes, watch carefully), rotating baking sheet at the midway point, until the edges are lightly golden and the tops of the cookies are slightly less golden. Remove from oven, allow to sit for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Restrain yourself from eating 17 cookies in one sitting. Or not.

Shortbread Cookies

Author: Feasts And Fotos

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup sugar
¼ cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
½ teaspoon salt
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
2 cups flour
Decorating sugar
egg wash

Method

In a stand mixer beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and very creamy. Add sugars and salt and beat until well blended. The mixture should be smooth and velvety, not fluffy and airy. Reduce speed to low and beat in the egg yolks until incorporated.
Pour in the flour and pulse the mixer at low speed 5-7 times for a second or two each time. (You can put a towel over the mixer to protect yourself from getting flour all over you). Continue mixing at low speed for 20 seconds more, just until flour disappears into the dough. The dough should be soft, moist and clumpy.
Scrape the dough onto a smooth work surface sprinkled with flour, gather into a ball and divide in half. Flatten each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours or up to 3 days.
Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment. Remove dough from refrigerator, remove from plastic, sprinkle with some flour and roll out to approximately ¼ inch to ⅓ inch thick. Use your favorite holiday shaped cutouts to form each cookie.
Whisk egg for egg wash. Gently brush the top of each cookie with the egg wash and sprinkle generously with decorator's sugar. Place on baking sheet, one inch apart.
Bake for 15-20 minutes (smaller cookies might only need 12 minutes, watch carefully), rotating baking sheet at the midway point, until the edges are lightly golden and the tops of the cookies are slightly less golden. Remove from oven, allow to sit for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Pecan Sables

February 13, 2009 by Susan

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow! As far as I’m concerned it’s an excellent reason/excuse to eat tons of chocolate…I’m a big fan of chocolate. I will be making my chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting, however, I also wanted to make a little something else, a non-chocolate cookie (shocking!) in the shape of a heart, especially for the occasion.

I knew I wanted to make a shortbread cookie, preferably with pecans. After scouring Dorie Greenspan’s recipes I chose this one. Dorie is pure genius, so I had a good feeling these would come out great. I was quite happy with the result. These cookies are crumbly and delicious, perfect with a glass of cold milk or a hot latte.

So go ahead…whip up a batch of these heart shaped goodies and share the love.

Here’s what you will need to make approximately 40 cookies…

Recipe

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large egg yolks, room temperature

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup finely ground pecans

Decorating sugar

egg wash

Method

In a stand mixer beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and very creamy. Add sugars and salt and beat until well blended. The mixture should be smooth and velvety, not fluffy and airy. Add the pecans. Reduce speed to low and beat in the egg yolks until incorporated.

Whisk egg for egg wash. Brush the top of each cookie with the egg wash and sprinkle generously with decorator’s sugar. Place on baking sheet, one inch apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating baking sheet at the midway point, until the edges are lightly golden and the tops of the cookies are slightly less golden. Remove from oven, allow to sit for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Pecan Sables

Author: Feasts And Fotos

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup sugar
½ cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
½ teaspoon salt
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
1½ cups flour
½ cup finely ground pecans
Decorating sugar
egg wash

Method

In a stand mixer beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and very creamy. Add sugars and salt and beat until well blended. The mixture should be smooth and velvety, not fluffy and airy. Add the pecans. Reduce speed to low and beat in the egg yolks until incorporated.
Pour in the flour and pulse the mixer at low speed 5-7 times for a second or two each time. (You can put a towel over the mixer to protect yourself from getting flour all over you). Continue mixing at low speed for 20 seconds more, just until flour disappears into the dough. The dough should be soft, moist and clumpy.
Scrape the dough onto a smooth work surface sprinkled with flour, gather into a ball and divide in half. Flatten each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours or up to 3 days.
Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment. Remove dough from refrigerator, remove from plastic, sprinkle with some flour and roll out to approximately ¼ inch to ⅓ inch thick. Use heart shape cutouts to form each cookie.
Whisk egg for egg wash. Brush the top of each cookie with the egg wash and sprinkle generously with decorator's sugar. Place on baking sheet, one inch apart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating baking sheet at the midway point, until the edges are lightly golden and the tops of the cookies are slightly less golden. Remove from oven, allow to sit for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Granola Grabbers

November 11, 2008 by Susan

Who can resist a healthy cookie? Not me! Sure, these have the traditional butter and flour, however, the main ingredient is granola. I make my own, so that makes these cookies even more healthy. My prior post details my granola recipe, you can find it in the right hand column under Recent Posts.

This recipe is adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Granola Grabbers. I have made several changes to the recipe. First, I make my own granola instead of using store bought. In my granola I already have almonds and coconut, so they did not need to be added. I use other nuts in my granola, so now these cookies have walnuts and pecans in them. I omitted the peanuts and added chocolate and cranberries. In my opinion, a cookie should not be without chocolate! Particularly one with this many ingredients in it. Also, I cut back slightly on the butter using 13 tablespoons instead of 14. I noticed zero difference from the first time I made these using all 14 tablespoons. Next time I make them I will try it with 12, any less than that I think could be a problem.

These cookies came out delicious. I was apprehensive about bringing them to my parents house for everyone to try, thinking they would be adverse to a ‘healthy cookie’ and not like the oatmeal/granola taste. Oh, how wrong I was! They LOVED them. Even my ever-critical brother (that doesn’t even cook!)…he had six of them. My co-workers also loved them, they were a big hit.

Here’s my version of this healthy cookie…

Recipe

3 cups granola without fruit

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate, cut into chunks

1/3 cup wheat germ

13 tablespoons butter, room temperature

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 sugar

1 large egg

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup flour

Method

Make homemade granola (see recipe in right hand column under Recent Posts). Allow granola to cool. Put it in a large bowl and add the cranberries, raisins and wheat germ. Mix together.

Beat the butter at medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the sugars and beat for another 3 minutes or until creamy. Add the egg and salt and beat until well blended. Reduce speed to low and add the flour in three additions (not all at once). Mix until just incorporated, then steadily add most of the granola mixture. Once that is just blended turn off the mixer and add the remaining granola and all the chocolate, mixing by hand with a sturdy spatula.

Scoop out rounded tablespoons of dough. I use an ice-cream scoop. Pack the scoops between your palms and arrange the mounds on the baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Flatten the mounds slightly with your fingers.

Bake for 12 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back midway. Cookies should be golden brown, but not firm. Allow to rest for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Granola Grabbers

Author: Feasts And Fotos

Ingredients

3 cups granola without fruit
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup raisins
½ cup semi sweet chocolate, cut into chunks
⅓ cup wheat germ
13 tablespoons butter, room temperature
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ sugar
1 large egg
¼ tsp salt
1 cup flour

Method

Make homemade granola (see recipe in right hand column under Recent Posts). Allow granola to cool. Put it in a large bowl and add the cranberries, raisins and wheat germ. Mix together.
Beat the butter at medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the sugars and beat for another 3 minutes or until creamy. Add the egg and salt and beat until well blended. Reduce speed to low and add the flour in three additions (not all at once). Mix until just incorporated, then steadily add most of the granola mixture. Once that is just blended turn off the mixer and add the remaining granola and all the chocolate, mixing by hand with a sturdy spatula.
Scoop out rounded tablespoons of dough. I use an ice-cream scoop. Pack the scoops between your palms and arrange the mounds on the baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Flatten the mounds slightly with your fingers.
Bake for 12 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back midway. Cookies should be golden brown, but not firm. Allow to rest for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.