Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today my friend's daughter (who became my daughter's new BFF) came over and one of our activities was baking together. I wanted to make something that they could help me with, something they'd both like to eat afterwards, and something that was a little healthy. I had some really ripe bananas so I thought of this recipe that I wanted to try. I made some modifications (it's from Cooking Light 7/09) to reduce the sugar and white flour.



The end result was a lot of fun and a cookie with good texture and a sweet flavor. The next time, I'd add chopped walnuts (or substitute them for the chocolate chips).

Friends even do the dishes!


Banana Oatmeal Chocolate-Chip Cookies (2 dozen)

Ingredients
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 medium)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add egg; beat well.

Combine flour, oats, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture to banana mixture in bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. Bake at 325° for 12-14 minutes or until golden. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.