Choco-Nana Cookies

Be still my beating heart, these cookies are AMAZING!

I'm not overly fond of fruit, but I do love bananas, so bananas are my "go-to" fruit of choice. I always buy a big bunch of bananas on my way to work on a Monday and keep them in my desk drawer for snacking on throughout the week, but this means that by Friday I often have one or two leftover bananas that I need to use up. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about this - just an explanation for the sheer number of banana recipes that turn up on this blog!

Here, have another photo of the cookies:

Anyway, my leftover bananas usually go into making my favourite Banana Oat Muffins, which I wrap, freeze, and use for pack-up during the week. However, this time I fancied a change. I really, really fancied cookies. I don't often bake cookies and biscuits, so I decided to scour the Internet for recipes to use. Originally I was looking at healthier banana and oat cookies, but then I came across this recipe for Nutella Banana Cookies. Nutella. Banana. Cookies. What more could a girl ask for on a rainy Saturday afternoon? After baking though, I think I'd describe these more as a drop-cake, rather than a cookie, as they have a deliciously spongy texture. (I'm eating one RIGHT NOW. It is amazing.) Maybe they should be called cakies? I haven't changed the original recipe too much, so all credit for this goes to Chef in Training. I did make a couple of tweaks to the method, and made the measurements UK friendly :-)

Ingredients:
2 medium, ripe bananas
1 medium egg
200g plain flour
175g light brown sugar
125g rolled oats
1tsp baking powder
75g slightly salted butter
75g vegetable shortening (Trex)
2 tbsp Nutella

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 - 12 minutes
Makes 18 cookies

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 6 and line a baking tray with grease-proof paper.
2. Break the bananas into a bowl, then mash with a fork. Beat in the egg, and put this to one side.
3. Tip the flour, sugar, oats and baking powder into a bowl and mix. Add the butter and shortening, in cubes, to the bowl, and then rub in until the mixture resembles a coarse crumble. 
4. Stir the banana and egg into the dry mixture until they combine to form a sloppy dough. Plop the Nutella into the middle of the bowl and then swirl through the mixture with knife to create a marble pattern.
5. Dollop the mixture onto the prepare baking tray in tablespoon sized blobs, leaving enough space in between each blob for the cookies to expand slightly. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are golden brown all over and firm to touch. 
6. Allow to cool on a wire rack, if you can resist the banana, chocolate, nutty goodness.

Happy Thoughts
x

Banana and Peanut Butter Flapjacks

Here's another great use for bananas that have started to turn - although these are no way near as healthy as you'd think they might be! This recipe is quick, simple and very tasty.

Time Taken: 30 mins
Makes: 15 flapjacks
Storage: Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place for 2-3 days. Alternatively, they can be frozen for up to 2 months!

Ingredients
40g margarine
60g soft light brown sugar
2tbsp golden syrup
50g crunchy peanut butter
2 over-ripe bananas
250g porridge oats
100g milk chocolate

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 6 and grease and line a baking tray.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Stir in the sugar and golden syrup until they have completely dissolved, then remove from the heat. Add the peanut butter to the pan and stir until it has completely melted.
3. Break the bananas into a large bowl and mash with a fork, ensuring there are no large lumps remaining. Stir in the melted peanut butter mixture, then add the porridge oats and stir until evenly coated.
4. Tip the mixture into the baking tine, and spread evenly. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until completely golden all oven. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
5. Melt the chocolate, either in the microwave, or in a pan over boiling water, then drizzle over the cooked flapjacks. Leave to cool completely, then cut into 20 pieces and serve. :-)

Happy Thoughts
x

Banana Oat Muffins

This recipe is a favourite in our house, not only because it makes really delicious, moist banana muffins, but also because it's a fantastic way to use up over-ripe banana, which we always seem to have leftover at the end of the week. I'll usually make a batch of these at the weekend, then wrap them up individually in cling film once they've cooled so that I can freeze them. I have found that if I get one out in the morning and let it thaw in the cling film, it will be ready to eat with a cup of tea at lunch time!

Now, you may be thinking that these muffins don't sound particularly healthy, and you'd be right. I mean there are worse things for you, but they do contain rather a lot of fat and sugar, so why are they being posted in a month I've dedicated to healthier baking? Well, I decided to experiment with substitutes and make a reduced fat and sugar version, and a low-fat sugar-free version of this recipe, to see how they turned out. I think the original version is still the best, but the other versions are tasty too. The most interesting thing about doing this was looking at what went into the muffins and what I could use instead!

I've provided the approximate calories, fat and saturated fat content of each recipe below, so I'd also like to include a disclaimer. I am not a nutritional expert in any way, shape or form. I'm just a girl who likes cake. I worked out the calorie, fat and sat fat content of each recipe using a pen, paper and calculator and the information found on the food packets. This information could vary dependent on the brands you use, on the size of your muffin pan, and on how much you trust my math skills. Values are given as a guidance only!!

Ingredients

For the original (and tastiest) variety     Reduced Fat and Sugar                 Low-Fat and Sugar-Free  

125g margarine                                           50g margarine                                  3 large over-ripe bananas  

2 large over-ripe bananas                            2 large over-ripe bananas                 125g applesauce

50g caster sugar                                          75g applesauce                                75g honey

50g soft brown sugar                                   50g soft brown sugar                       2 medium eggs

1tbsp runny honey                                       50g honey                                       100g self raising flour

2 medium eggs                                            2 medium eggs                                 100g porridge oats

100g self raising flour                                  50g self raising flour

100g porridge oats                                     150g porridge oats

Calories = 284                                           Calories = 227                                  Calories = 189
Fat = 13.25g                                              Fat = 7.14g                                       Fat = 2.35g
Sat Fat = 3.35g                                          Sat Fat = 1.76g                                 Sat Fat = 0.56g

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 – 20 minutes

Makes 8 muffins

1. If using, melt the margarine in the microwave and place to one side to cool.
2. Preheat the over to gas mark 6, and line a muffin tray with cases.
3. Break the bananas onto chunks, then mash them with a fork. Try to mash them up as much as you can to make sure there are no big lumps – the runnier the better!
4. Add the sugars (if using) and all of the wet ingredients to the banana. Beat together with the fork until all of the ingredients have combined.
5. Add the flour and the oats to the mixture, and stir with the fork until just combined.
6. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases, filling each one around ¾ full, then bake for 15-20 minutes until dark golden brown all over. Allow the muffins to cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Happy Thoughts

x