Banana Walnut Chocolate Cookies
My annual Christmas cookies baking is typically one of the largest baking project I take on every year. During those couple of weeks, my house fills with the fragrance of butter and sugar and spice. However, the planning begins much earlier than that. Throughout the calendar year, I test out different recipes looking for the gems that yield tasty and pretty cookies. By the time November rolls around, I know exactly what I want to make based on earlier experimentation.
Since I purchased Martha Stewart’s Cookies, I’ve been in a baking mood because there are plenty of recipes that entice me. I tried making the Banana Walnut Chocolate Cookies (p. 170) last night. I was intrigued by the recipe’s use of mashed banana because instinct told me the cookie dough would be too wet. The use of old-fashioned rolled oats gives this cookie the structure that it needs to offset the moisture in the dough. However, that is also where the problem lies. When I scoop out the balls of dough, the oatmeal could not be evenly distributed in every piece obviously. As a result, the cookies all had different degrees of spread once baked. The cookies tasted moist and full of banana flavour, reminiscent of a cross between banana bread and oatmeal chocolate chips cookies. Unfortunately, the non-uniform appearance makes this recipe a less-than-ideal candidate for Christmas baking.
