Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

We're on vacation for a few weeks and here are some photos of what we've been up to:  

Giving Cinderelly showers on the beach

Bamboo pole fishing

Putting our toes in the sand

But, before we left, we made some cookies and want to share the recipe with you:

These cookies are gluten free and dairy free.  The only refined sugar is in the chocolate chips and if you use vegan chocolate chips, they'd be vegan.  You can substitute the agave for honey if you prefer.  At only about 85 calories per cookie, it's a healthy indulgence!

Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies (makes 2-3 dozen)
from Two Peas and their Pod

3 ripe bananas, peeled
1/2 cup all natural creamy peanut butter
1 T softened coconut oil
2 T agave nectar (or honey)
1 tsp. vanilla
2.5 cups oats (I used gluten free)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt (if you're using unsalted peanut butter)
1/2 cup chocolate chips  (I used the mini ones)

Mash the bananas with a fork.  Add the peanut butter, coconut oil, agave and vanilla and stir until smooth.  In a separate bowl, combine the oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Add to the wet ingredients and stir until well combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until set.  These won't spread much and will stay more like balls.

Banana Coffee Muffins

The baby is six weeks old tomorrow!  For me, six weeks is a big milestone - a little better sleep, time to start working out again, and our "new" life with the baby begins to feel a little more "normal."  In our house, part of what defines normal is when mama starts cooking again.  I planned meals for the week and took all 3 girls to the grocery store (bribing the two big ones with a donut if they listened and didn't run away) and I'm ready to go!  And, to celebrate the 6 week mark, here's a new blog post.

These days, I really look forward to a little morning caffeine pick-me-up after being up at night with the baby.  Even when it's not delivering a lot of caffeine, I like coffee flavored sweets.  A few weeks ago when I was looking at some different recipes to use up some overripe bananas, I thought this one looked unique and I made a batch of muffins.  They were good - the coffee flavor wasn't too strong and my girls liked them a lot.

Banana Coffee Muffins (makes 1 dozen)
adapted from a recipe by Paula Deen

3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1.5 T strong coffee
1 teaspoon baking soda
1.5 cups flour
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, mash the bananas and mix in the butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, and coffee until well combined.  Sprinkle in the baking soda and stir in the flour until it's just evenly moistened.  Fold in the chocolate chips.  Divide the batter between 12 muffin cups (greased or lined with paper liners) and bake for 20-30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Chai Banana Bread

Awhile back, I got sick of having to toss magazines in the recycling bin and decided to stop receiving magazines that I didn't read.  Pretty much the only one I kept was "Cooking Light."  I make recipes from almost every issue and it has the kinds of stuff we like to eat.  In the most recent issue, there was a recipe for Chai Banana Bread.  I had just received a delicious loaf of banana bread from a friend and it disappeared from our house quickly so I decided to make this version.  The icing with the chai spices is fantastic and the banana bread was moist and had a great crumb.  I used white whole wheat flour (I know, it sounds weird and it is unbleached) which worked well.  I also halved the recipe to make two small loaf pans.

Chai Banana Bread (makes a 9x5 loaf pan)
from Cooking Light, May '12

1.5 c. mashed ripe banana (about 3)
1/3 c. plain nonfat yogurt
5 T butter, melted
2 large eggs
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 1/4 c. flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract, divided
1/3 c. powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan (or coat with cooking spray).

Combine the banana, yogurt, melted butter and eggs in a bowl.  Beat with a mixer at medium speed just until blended.  Add sugars; beat at medium until just blended.  Combine flour, soda, salt.  Add form mixture to banana mixture and beat until just blended.  Combine cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and allspice in a small bowl.  Measure 1.5 teaspoons of the spice mixture and add to the batter.  Add 1 teaspoon of the vanilla.  Pour batter into the loaf pan.

Bake for 65 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack.  Remove from pan; cool.

Combine remaining spice mixture, 1/4 tsp. vanilla, powdered sugar and milk.  Drizzle over bread.

Pumpkin Banana Bread

After that birthday interlude, we return to our regularly scheduled programming of pumpkin recipes:

I know pumpkin banana bread sounds weird . . . I was conflicted about making banana bread with my 2 ripe bananas or making pumpkin bread because, well, it sounded good.  I googled "pumpkin banana bread" and got tons of hits.  I guess it's a thing and I didn't know it really existed.  It turned out really good.  I think it needs something mixed in (a half cup of nuts or cranberries or chocolate chips?) but I'm sure I'll be making it again soon.  Try it.  It's weird but you'll like it.

Pumpkin Banana Bread (1 large loaf or 3 small loaves)
Original recipe here

2 ripe bananas
1 c. pumpkin puree
1/4 c. canola oil
2 eggs
2/3 c. sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Put the bananas, pumpkin, oil, eggs, and sugar in a bowl and beat with a mixer until well combined.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the rest of the ingredients.  Stir into the pumpkin banana mixture until just combined.  Pour into greased loaf pans.  Bake 25-30 minutes for small loaf pans or about a hour for a large loaf pan.

Banana Pancakes

Can't think of much better on a rainy Saturday morning than cuddling with my girls, making banana pancakes, and listening to some Jack Johnson.  These pancakes were perfect with a little maple syrup and they're a good way to use up ripe bananas.  Enjoy!

Banana Pancakes (4 servings)

1 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg, beaten

1 cup milk

2 T vegetable oil

2 ripe bananas, mashed

Combine dry ingredients with a whisk.  In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients.  Stir flour mixture into banana mixture - batter will be a little lumpy.  Pour batter onto a heated, buttered pan or griddle and cook until pancakes are golden brown on each side.  

New cookies & a new photographer

I'd like to introduce my new assistant photographer, my 3 year old daughter. She documented the new cookies we made last week:

The cookie dough


The cookies ready to go into the oven


Finally a photo that's in focus


Head chef and baby sister from the point of view of the sous chef


When I gave my daughter a few choices of what we could do after her nap last week (including a trip to the library), she picked baking. I had some very ripe bananas to use up and as I got the ingredients out, she threw a little fit because she doesn't like bananas (I know - what toddler doesn't like bananas? I don't like to just eat them so I can't give her too hard of a time . . .). I tried my best to explain that these would be chocolate chip cookies and wouldn't taste like banana in the end and it took some convincing. But, finally we got the project underway.

It's a little ironic that I'm calling these "new" cookies because I have three very similar recipes (all banana chocolate chip oatmeal cookies) posted here and here. But, these have no flour at all (almond meal) and coconut which I liked. The end result was pretty crumbly but tasty. It's scary how many you can eat. Has anyone else noticed that if you're cooking without sugar and you don't get that sick "I ate too much sugar" feeling, you eat many, many more of whatever item you just made? Not exactly helping my plan to cut down on the sweets, but they were delicious!

If you haven't checked out 101 Cookbooks, it's pretty great and you can find the recipe there.

Baking Cake Part 1

I'll have a post about our family vacation soon - need to get some details so I can share a recipe with you. But, when we got back from vacation, I hit the ground running with baking. First up, the church potluck. We have potluck once a month and my daughter just loves potluck Sundays. I hadn't signed up for anything the week before so I decided to make a dessert. I've been diligently buying bananas thinking the potassium will help with the leg cramps I've been having but I don't really like to eat bananas so . . . you guessed it, lots of brown bananas hanging around. Four of them went into this banana cake.

You can put chocolate chips or chunks into the cake but I left them out and did a chocolate frosting instead. I think the frosting was a little rich for this cake and maybe milk chocolate would be a better pairing with the banana flavor. Either way, it was easy to make and tasty and gone by the end of the potluck. The batter was so fluffy I had to take a photo of it.


I think this recipe is a good candidate for substituting some whole wheat flour - I'm out so I didn't. I used plain nonfat greek yogurt instead of sour cream. My cake started getting really brown before the middle was done so I turned down the temperature a bit and tented the top with foil during the last 15-20 minutes of baking.



Classic Banana Cake
Original recipe from Dorie Greenspan in "Baking From My Home to Yours"

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large egg, at room temperature
4 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cup)
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
5 ounces chopped chocolate, optional

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter a 9x13 pan. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then the eggs, beating for about 1 minute after each egg.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the bananas. Finally, mix in half the dry ingredients (don't be disturbed if the batter curdles), all the sour cream or yogurt, and then the rest of the flour mixture. Stir in the chopped chocolate by hand. Pour into prepared pan and smooth the top (batter will be fluffy).

Bake for 40-50 minutes. Cake is done when a tester comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Put foil loosely over the top of the pan if the cake is browning too much toward the end.

Frosting: Melt 5 T butter (chopped) with 12 oz chocolate (chopped - I used bittersweet but semisweet or milk chocolate would probably taste better) in a heavy sauce pan over medium low heat, stirring until shiny and smooth. Let cool slightly and frost the cake with it.

*Note on amounts / pans: Half of the recipe will make 12 muffins or one 8x8 pan (decrease baking time to 25-30 minutes). This recipe makes one 9x13 pan or a 9-10 inch (12 cup) bundt pan. For the bundt, bake for 65-75 minutes.

Banana Bread

Now, I'm not a huge banana fan. As in, if I never ate a banana again, I probably wouldn't miss it. But, I occasionally slice one over my cereal or eat one when there's nothing else in the fruit bowl and will eat them happily in baked goods. I've made Steph's banana oatmeal cookies so many times that I had to come up with a new use for the brown ones on the counter.

I won't tell you how many banana bread recipes I read before I settled on this one but it was a lot. I only had 2 bananas, wanted to make one loaf pan, and didn't want to use a whole stick of butter. This recipe turned out just as I had hoped. I thought the method was a little strange for quick bread (mixer, beating the eggs and sugar together, etc.) but it was easy and even my little sous chef liked the "cake." Next time I'd add the nuts for sure but I was serving little kids and didn't want to risk it.

In case you can't tell, this is her holding up the clean toothpick and declaring the cake "ready."


Banana Bread (1 loaf pan)
from Allrecipes

2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup applesauce
1/3 cup nonfat milk
1 T vegetable oil
1 T vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or can do all white flour - same proportions)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat the oven to 325 and spray a bread pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl (I used my stand mixer), beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the bananas, applesauce, milk, oil, and vanilla.

In a a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture (I used my lowest speed) until just blended - don't overmix. Fold in the nuts (if using). Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour.

* I let mine cool in the pan and the bottom was soggy - next time I'll cool it out of the pan on a wire rack.

Steph's Banana Oatmeal Cookies

While I was on vacation this summer I asked Stephanie to write a guest blog for me. It wasn't a great time for her because she was moving (with a 1 year old, a husband, and a dog) from Ohio to California. Since she's been living closer, we've had a great time cooking together and talking about all the baking we're doing (instead of all the running we should be doing).

A few weeks ago, she sent me this email with the recipes that follows (and the photo):

Hey Bec!
I wanted to share this recipe with you....It's a variation of the banana-oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies that we (especially I) love so much. I found it while I was perusing on-line today (I think I found it in a food blog). Anyway, I thought I would share it with you since you mentioned the other day that you were trying to stay away from sugar. This is a vegan recipe (which we both know I am not one), but I made these cookies this morning with much success. They're moist and delicious, and my taste-tester (baby boy) seemed to enjoy them as well! Let me know what you think.
~Steph

Steph's Banana Cookies 2 dozen

Ingredients:

1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4tsp cinnamon
1 tblsp ground flax seed

1/4 c. agave
1/4 c. soymilk (or regular milk)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 T canola oil
2 ripe bananas (mashed)

1/2 c. chocolate chips

Directions:
You know the drill...mix the wet, mix the dry, incorporate the wet into the dry. Fold in chocolate chips. Bake 10-12min at 350 degrees.

The verdict: I tried them on Monday and they were a) incredibly quick to make b) no white flour or sugar - hooray! c) so delicious they were gone this morning. The only change I made was to use 2 T mini chocolate chips instead of 1/2 cup of the regular ones. If you want to be truly sugar free, try nuts instead. Oh, I used steel cut oats instead of rolled oats and I think the texture might be a little better with the rolled oats.

This recipe is a keeper - I loved it and will be making it often, but apparently not as often as Stephanie since her father-in-law keeps bringing her 5 pounds of bananas at a time hoping to be rewarded with a batch of these!

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.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

When we have brown bananas (I'm weird and I like eating them on the green side), this is sometimes what I make. The recipe is originally from Bon Appetit and is great - the muffins always come out perfectly, I usually have all the ingredients on hand, and today is probably the first time I've even modified the recipe. I've heard my friend Nicole has had good luck with some changes and I was trying to make them a little healthier for my daughter to eat (see notes on original recipe at the end).


My daughter had fun baking again today and tried to mash the bananas. I drew the line at her cracking the egg.

My favorite part was when the muffins came out of the oven and she ran to get a ziplock bag and wanted to put muffins in bags to give to Ray, our friend who was working on our house and Brayden, her best friend down the street.



Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (12 muffins)

1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
2/3 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. mashed ripe banana (about 2 large)
1 egg
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. mini chocolate-chips (semi-sweet)
1/4 c. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare muffin tin (I used paper liners). Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Mix bananas, egg, milk, and butter in a medium bowl. Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients until just blended (don't overmix). Stir in chocolate chips. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full and bake until tops are pale golden and toothpick comes out with no crumbs - about 32 minutes.

*If you want to make the original recipe, use all white flour, 3/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips and no walnuts.