Hellobee

These cookies bake up surprisingly fluffy and muffin-top like. I’ve played with this recipe a lot, and I love that several ingredients are truly optional, depending on what you have on hand.

Adapted from Heidi Swanson’s Banana Chip Cookie Recipe.

Dry ingredients:

1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup (toasted) wheat bran, wheat germ, or oat bran
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1/2 cup coconut oil, in solid state
1/2  cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup unsalted peanut butter (optional)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup banana chips, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup baker’s chocolate, coarsely (optional)
2/3 cup toasted walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup coconut flakes (optional)

I love that this recipe uses whole wheat pastry flour and it doesn’t dry it out. If you don’t have this on hand, do not use regular whole wheat flour — just use all purpose. I happened to buy oat bran and wheat bran in bulk with the good intentions of making a specific granola bar recipe at one point, but they have lived in my cupboard for about six months and I have since learned that I should have put the wheat bran in the fridge (I do keep my whole wheat pastry flour in the fridge). The oat bran is still good, so I used that, and I imagine you could also just use old fashioned oats as well.

I’ve substituted coconut oil for butter, I cut down the sugar in favor of maple syrup, and I even threw in some peanut butter. I was really worried that the banana chips would bake up really hard, but they added an unusual, pleasing crunch. I think it could easily use a full cup banana chips. I would encourage you to include the banana chips and coconut flakes at minimum – my husband is so disappointed when I leave out the coconut flakes.

I have what feels like a lifetime supply of hazelnuts in my freezer, so they are my go-to nut. I toast them in the oven first and immediately take them out and rub them in a cloth to remove as much of the skins as possible before chopping (the skins can be bitter). Sometimes I get a lot of the skin off, sometimes I don’t, but I don’t fuss too much about it.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, racks in middle/upper middle.

Whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside.

In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the coconut oil and sugar. Beat in maple syrup, then beat in eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Add peanut butter, if using. Add the flour mix in two additions, stirring/mixing a bit between each addition (but not too much). By hand, fold in the banana chips, chocolate chunks, coconut flakes.

Drop 1 heaping tablespoon of dough (or roll little balls of dough between your palms) onto the baking sheets 1.5 inches apart and bake for about 7 – 9 minutes, until barely golden on top and bottom. Overbaking will result in dry cookies. Remove from oven and cool on racks.

Make about 24 cookies.