*and Peanut Butter

I cannot be the only one that has more than a few bananas in their freezer.  You know what happens; you buy bananas with the best of intentions, and then, by the end of the week, you find you have a couple of bananas that are definitely over ripe sitting on your counter.  Maybe you have even encountered a fruit fly or two.  Seriously, where do these things come from!  So, you do what everyone else does, and throw the bananas in the freezer with thoughts of banana bread and muffins as you shut the freezer door.

I have made my fair share of muffins and loafs to use up excess fruit, but I thought this time I would look for a cookie recipe.  Why not venture into unchartered territory?

I searched the internet for a recipe and found one that looked promising.  But while I was sharing my find with my sister, Cherie, she mentioned how she has made banana cookies in the past, and found that they often turn out gooey and soft.  Not the perfect consistency for a cookie.

I took this information as a challenge to try to adapt the recipe I had found to ensure that they were the perfect cookie texture.

I felt that the original recipe had all the right elements and that the inclusion of rolled oats in the batter would help to make it a drier cookie.  Then, I had an epiphany, what if I substituted out some of the butter for peanut butter.  Yeah!  Peanut butter with bananas and chocolate chips, this sounds pretty much perfect!

I did a Google search to see if I could substitute peanut butter for butter.  It is funny, before I had my question typed into the Google search; my question appeared as the second Google search option.  Obviously I am not the first person to ask this question. 🙂

The site I ended up going to said that although professional bakers and pastry chefs would not substitute peanut butter for butter, it would be fine for home cooks. I thought it would be fine for me to give it a try, since I am no professional, and I love all things peanut butter.

I contemplated for a bit on whether to substitute all of the butter or just a portion.  In the end I decided to leave in some of the butter, I mean, I didn’t want to be peanut butter crazy!

Once I added in the chocolate chips, it amounted to cookie perfection.  A subtle banana and peanut butter taste accompanied with the heartiness of rolled oats and a touch of chocolate.  In fact, I really didn’t feel too guilty about eating these as they reminded me of a breakfast bar.  And yes, I did have a few for breakfast! 🙂

Do you have a favourite cookie recipe that can double as a breakfast treat?  Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Adapted from:
iheartnaptime.net
Chocolate chip banana cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 °F.
2. Mix mashed bananas and 1/4 cup brown sugar in medium size bowl.  Set aside.
3. In large bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon.  Set aside
4. In separate bowl cream together butter, peanut butter, sugar and remaining brown sugar.
5. Add egg and vanilla to the butter mixture.  Mix well.
6. Add in banana and sugar to the butter mixture .  Stir until combined.
7. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  Stir until just combined.
8. Gently fold in chocolate chips.
9. Bake cookies for 9-10 minutes.
10. Cool on rack and enjoy.
11. These are good for breakfast, lunch and dinner 🙂