Banana Oat Breakfast Cookies

Before you start

These are less a dessert cookie than a hand-held bowl of oatmeal. Mashed ripe banana supplies most of the sweetness and moisture, peanut butter and one egg bind the oats, and a small amount of whole wheat flour gives enough structure to pick them up. They stay soft and chewy, closer to a baked oat bar than a crisp cookie.

The dough does not spread, so the shape you scoop is the shape you get; flatten the mounds before baking. Use bananas with plenty of brown speckles. Underripe fruit is starchy and bland, and the cookies taste flat without the extra sugar to cover it. A 10-minute rest lets the oats absorb moisture and makes the dough easier to shape.

Ingredients

• 2 large, very ripe (about 225 g mashed, 1 cup) bananas
• 125 g (½ cup) creamy peanut butter — natural or regular, well stirred
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 180 g (2 cups) old-fashioned rolled oats
• 30 g (¼ cup) whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• 40 g (⅓ cup) walnuts — chopped
• 50 g (⅓ cup) raisins or dark chocolate chips

Method

1. Mash the bananas in a large bowl with a fork until mostly smooth with a few small lumps. Whisk in the peanut butter, egg, maple syrup and vanilla until even.
2. Add the oats, flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt and stir until no dry oats remain. Fold in the walnuts and raisins. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes while the oven heats to 180°C (350°F). Line the baking sheet with parchment.
3. Scoop 12 level ¼-cup mounds (about 55 g each) onto the sheet, 5 cm (2 in) apart. Wet your fingers and press each mound into a round about 1.5 cm (½ in) thick.
4. Bake for 14 to 17 minutes, until the edges are golden, the tops look dry and the bottoms are lightly browned when you lift one with a spatula.
5. Cool on the sheet for 15 minutes; they are fragile while hot. Then move them to a rack.

Tips for success

• If your bananas are not ripe enough, roast them in their skins at 150°C (300°F) for 15 to 20 minutes, until black, then cool before mashing.
• Wet fingers keep the sticky dough from clinging while you flatten the mounds.
• Thicker cookies stay softer in the middle; thinner ones get chewier at the edges. Either works, but keep them even on one sheet.

Substitutions

Peanut butter

Almond butter or sunflower seed butter works one for one. Sunflower butter can turn faintly green inside after baking; it is a harmless reaction with the baking powder.

Egg

Use 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons water, rested 5 minutes. The cookies are a little more crumbly.

Whole wheat flour

All-purpose flour or oat flour at the same weight. Use certified gluten-free oats and oat flour if you need the cookies gluten-free.

Variations

Carrot cake

Add 60 g finely grated carrot, ½ tsp ground ginger and swap walnuts for pecans.

Tahini date

Replace the peanut butter with tahini and the raisins with chopped dates.

Troubleshooting

Cookies fell apart

They were moved while hot or the dough was too wet from oversized bananas. Cool on the sheet fully and add 1 to 2 tablespoons more oats next time.

Gummy centers

Underbaked or shaped too thick. Flatten to 1.5 cm and bake until the bottoms brown.

Bland flavor

The bananas were not ripe enough or the salt was skipped. Use heavily speckled bananas and do not leave out the salt.

Storage

These soft cookies are moist, so keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for up to 5 days. Freeze individually wrapped for up to 3 months and thaw at room temperature or warm for 15 seconds in the microwave.

Safety notes

The raw dough contains egg and flour; bake before eating. Contains peanuts, tree nuts, egg and wheat.