Banana Bread Cookies (Soft-Baked with Chocolate Chips)

 From the Today show's Joy Bauer - it is a fun healthy cookie alternative to the traditional muffins.

• ▢ 3 large very ripe bananas, mashed
• ▢ ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon neutral oil, avocado, canola, or grapeseed
• ▢ 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour, see notes for alternative flours
• ▢ ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon fine salt
• ▢ ½ cup chocolate chips, semi-sweet or dark
• ▢ ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional

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  Preheat & prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, mash the bananas until mostly smooth. Whisk in the brown sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until well combined. Tip: Stirring the brown sugar directly into the bananas helps it dissolve fully, giving the cookies a soft, banana-bread-like texture.
• Add the dry ingredients. Sprinkle the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt over the banana mixture. Mix the dry ingredients on top (to disperse the salt and baking soda) and then gently stir everything together just until combined and there’s no streaks of dry flour—don’t overmix
• • Fold in the chocolate chips. Stir in the chocolate chips. The batter will be soft and spoonable (more like muffin batter than traditional cookie dough).
  • Scoop & shape. Scoop the batter onto the baking sheet using a 3-tablespoon ice cream scoop (this is what I use for perfectly sized, indulgent cookies!). Space cookies about 2 inches apart and gently flatten the tops slightly—these cookies won’t spread much on their own. You can choose to add a couple of extra chocolate chips on top of each for decor (or do the same things with chopped pecans).
  • Bake. Bake for 12–14 minutes, until set and lightly golden around the edges. (All ovens are different, but mine tend to be ready at the 12-minute mark)
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