Banana Bread Cookies

Have old bananas but sick of Banana Bread?? I am!!! Here is a fun substitution! They are soft like banana bread, moist and chewy like oatmeal raisin cookies, but still decadent like chocolate chip cookies.

What you need...

*Hint- the dough needs to chill in the fridge for a couple of hours!! So give yourself enough time.

Part 1:
2 eggs
2 large ripe bananas (1 cup lightly mashed)
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. unsalted butter (1 stick)
4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. light brown sugar, packed

Part 2:
3 c. old-fashioned oats (not Quick oats!!!)
2 1/2 c. flour
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Last:
1 3/4- 2 c. chocolate chips (semi-sweet)

In electric mixer, combine Part 1 ingredients at medium speed for about 3-4 minutes. It will be lumpy because of bananas and that's okay!

Then add Part 2 ingredients at low speed for 1-2 minutes. Lastly, add choco chips and beat slowly until just combined.

Either place in bowl in refrigerator for 2-3 hours, or prescoop onto silicone (or parchment) lined cookie sheet and place in fridge. I use a 1/4 c. scooper because it makes the perfect size cookie!

Once you remove from fridge, Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook for 13 minutes and remove from oven. Leave on tray for at least 5 minutes before removing to cooling rack. Once completely cooled, you can add peanut butter! This is optional, but adds an extra richness! I just take 1/2 c. or so of creamy peanut butter and microwave it for 30-45 seconds. Then I use a spoon to drizzle over top of the cooled cookies. 

Serve with a glass of milk and enjoy!

Matcha Almond Cookies

I recently started drinking Matcha, which is essentially green tea powder. It has many health benefits like boosting your metabolism, naturally detoxifying, and is a natural energy booster.

It reminded me of the Green tea ice cream they sell at most Japanese restaurants, which I love! I wanted to make something out of it, and got the idea of little tea cookies from my classmate. These are super easy to make and are only 6 ingredients!

What you need:

1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 c. packed powdered sugar

1 c. flour
1 Tbsp. Matcha green tea powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/3 c. chopped almonds

Directions:

Cream together butter and sugar in electric mixer.
Sift together all other dry ingredients (flour, matcha, salt)
Slowly add dry mixture to butter mixture while mixing.
Stir in almonds until evenly distributed.

Your dough should be nice and green like this!
                                >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>




The best way to bake is to refrigerate the dough and roll into a log, then cut the log into pieces (1.5 inch). You can also take a teaspoon of dough and roll into a ball, like I have done here.

Bake at 325 for 12-15 minutes. Once cooled, dust with powdered sugar before serving!





I hope you like them!

* You can also make cakes, cupcakes, candy, and other tasty treats!