Everyone has an overly ripe banana (or four) in their house at some point in time.
There’s lots of solutions.
Freeze them, make them into bread, throw them in a smoothie, possibly mash them into baby food (if you happen to have a baby…), and the worst and most treacherous option, toss them.
I glanced over at our fruit bowl the other day and noticed not one, not four, but five over ripe bananas. Dangit.
This bunch of bananas was purchased in hopes that David and I would wake up early enough to eat a healthy breakfast together before we scurried off to work. Looked like we had a long way to go to fulfill that goal. My mind began searching for my “over ripe banana plan-of-action”…
Freeze Them!
No luck there. My collection of frozen bananas was getting far too large for our tiny little ice chest. On to the next option…
Bread Them!
Again, my banana plans were foiled when I realized we had no eggs and no sour cream (spoiler alert! sour cream is the secret ingredient to perfect banana bread). How about I…
Blend Them?
Unfortunately, I like mushy bananas in smoothies as much as I like a slab of raw salmon on rice rolls. Some food textures just don’t sit right with me. (There’s something wrong with my tongue, maybe.) What to do, what to do…
I don’t have a baby and I will NOT Toss Them! No way Jose.
My mind raced. Aha!
Cookie Them!
The genius answer. The easy fix. My hero.
Two Part Cookies!
This was my solution. The base ingredients are simply bananas and oats and then you can add any mix-ins you’d like to make the perfect little bite-sized balls of deliciousness.
I’m sure many of you have heard of this compilation, and I’m here to tell ya’ll again, it’s GENIUS! They’re super easy and fun to make.
All you need is two ripe bananas and a cup of oats.
Mash them together, Portion into rounds, Place on greased cookie sheet, and Cook for 11-15 mins at 350°.
Makes about 6 cookies.
You can add anything to this base. White Chocolate, Macadamia Nuts. Coconut Shaves, Almonds, Raisins, Walnuts. Honestly, pretty much anything goes!
My favorite, and, I think, the best way to do them, is to add:
- a heaping tablespoon of peanut butter (not Skippys or any of that sweet stuff but the good ol’ salty kind like Laura Skutters)
- a splash of vanilla extract
- a generous sprinkle of cinnamon
- a dash of salt for extra contrast
- and last but not least, a handful of dark chocolate chips (the big flat ones, allowing for substantial pockets of rich, melty chocolate in every single cookie)
The batter is to die for, and if I might add, completely safe to eat! (I almost just decided to go at the batter with a spoon and not bake them.)
And that’s how it’s done.
Happy Banana Baking!