I always steer clear of banana bread at bake sales and bakeries. If there are cookies? Sure thing. I’ll have a few. Bread? Absolutely. And anything in the sweetroll/braided nut category totally is worth the money to buy.
But banana bread? I mean… it’s a handful of overly ripe bananas, with flour thrown in. ANYONE can manage this! And it’s so easy.
Well. If I saw these Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Banana Bread cookies up for sale? I’d be on those quicker than a dachshund on a spoon of peanut butter.
These are beyond good and definitely worth baking for yourself, your grandparents, your Girl Scout troupe, your neighbors, the folks at the retirement home…. everyone.
As long as they don’t have a banana allergy, that is 
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Banana Bread Cookies
Ingredients:
- 3 c. flour
- 2 c. sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1-1/2 c. shortening
- 2 eggs
- 2 c. mashed, ripe bananas
- 3-1/2 c. oats
- 2 c. chocolate chips
Step 1:
Mix first 6 ingredients (all dry) in bowl.
Step 2:
Cut in shortening.
Step 3:
Add eggs and bananas.
Step 4:
Mix.
Step 5:
Add oats. Mix. Then add chocolate chips. Mix.
Step 6:
Drop by heaping spoonfuls on cookie sheet (I used a large cookie/ice cream scoop). Bake 8-13 minutes at 375 degrees, until edges and top turn golden brown. If you have a smaller cookie, go for 8 minutes. If you have a large spoonful like me, go for 13!
Yum!
1. Can I replace the shortening with butter?
2. Should the shortening/butter be cold?
3. Do I cut it in like I cut in the fat when making biscuits?
That’s it!
1. You CAN. But do know, in my experience with butter and shortening, you’ll yield a much different result. Not only am I talking about the flavor that butter adds, but butter melts far quicker than shortening… so you’ll get a denser, more gooey product than the fluffiness seen here with the shortening. The shortening makes it puff up just a bit more..and it definitely resembles banana bread, instead of banana cookies. You’d get a more cookie-like texture!
2. If you use shortening, room temperature is fine. If you use butter… I’d suggest cold! It will bake up a touch better and cut in better.
3. You can “cut” it in a few different ways. I’m not sure how YOU do it, but I use a pastry cutter and just plop the shortening on top of the flour mixture..and swing it back and forth until ALL flour is incorporated into the fat. You could also do this with a fork (takes longer) or with your hands (is messier). In the end…you just really want something that has the fat incorporated throughout the flour, and fat that has touched every piece of flour!
I need to make biscuits more often…. mmmm.
Can you move back JUST long enough to teach me how to bake? My mixer just sits on my counter and collects dust and glares.
Anyone can bake (if you can read, you can bake at least… I’m sure if you didn’t know how to read, you could STILL bake..but you might have a few trial runs first to know what works/doesn’t ;p).
This is a REALLY easy recipe. You should try it!