In one of my many quests to eat healthy, I brought a banana with me to work one day when I was living in Chicago. I probably got sidetracked with some other snacks or food, but I forgot about the banana. I saw it in my purse a couple days later and it was completely black. For some reason, I really wanted to show Ben just how black this banana was because I thought it was funny. However, it wasn’t funny when I got home and remembered to show him and realized it had all but exploded inside my purse. There was banana mush everywhere. I never could get the smell out and Ben still teases me every time we see an over-ripe banana.
ps. That purse was actually stolen out of my car one lovely day in Chicago, so you’re welcome to the thief who ended up with my wallet and work laptop that smelled like rotten banana. I’ll never forget you!
So anyway, I had some ripe bananas sitting on my counter and I figured I should probably do something with them before Banana Explosion 2015 happened. I found these Nestle Toll House DelightFulls (clever!) at a recent trip to the grocery store. They are delightful (hehe) in classic chocolate chip cookies, but I thought they’d be the perfect way to use up my nearly-exploded bananas.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Cookies:
*makes 2 dozen cookies
1-1/4 cup tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter – room temperature
6 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 egg
1 very-ripe banana – mashed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup Nestle Toll House DelightFulls Peanut Butter chips
Pre-heat your oven to 375-degrees.
Use a fork to smash your banana as best as you can, so there are no big pieces.
In a small bowl, whisk together your flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
To your mixing bowl, add your butter, brown sugar and banana.
Mix until everything combines and looks like a clumpy mess. Add your egg and vanilla.
Slowly add your flour mixture, while mixing, about 1/3 cup at a time.
A dough will form and then you can add your chocolate chips.
Form your cookies using a cookie scoop and place them 1-inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Note that this dough will be a little stickier than classic dough, and that’s okay!
Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Eat up and celebrate using up that last banana before it got messy!