Chocolate Chip and Hazelnut Cookies

When I was in Malaysia for a holiday last December, I brought home several kilograms of different types of nuts as they were cheaper than in Singapore. Now I have a stash of walnuts, cashews and hazelnut stored in the refrigerator for baking! When I saw this Chocolate Chip and Hazelnut Cookie recipe, I immediately bookmarked it as I have never made hazelnut cookies and was eager to use the nuts I have. 

Hazelnuts add a distinctive flavour to bakes and it's not exception for this cookie. It's rich, smooth nutty flavour goes perfectly with the chocolate bits to make these one of the best cookies I've made. And the best part is it is so crispy and stayed that way even after days (stored in an air-tight container). This is definitely on my make-again list. 

Chocolate Chip and Hazelnut Cookies 
(Makes about 30 small cookies depending on size)
Recipe by Donna Hay

Ingredients

• 125 g butter, chopped
• 1½ cups (225 g) self-raising (self-rising) flour
• ¾ cup (135 g) brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ cup (105 g) chopped hazelnuts
• ⅔ cups (100 g) milk chocolate chunks

Method

• Preheat oven to 180ºC (390ºF). Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Set aside to cool slightly. 
• Place the flour and sugar in a bowl and mix to combine. 
• Add the butter, egg and vanilla and mix to combine. Stir through the hazelnuts and chocolate. 
• Using your hands, mould 2 tablespoons of cookie mixture into a flat round and place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper, leaving room to spread. Repeat with remaining mixture. Bake for 10–12 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool on trays. 

* To check if the cookies are done, look at the bottom not the top. If you wait until the top looks right you risk overcooking them. To check, lift a cookie with a spatula so you can see underneath. The bottom should be deep golden. Cool on trays as the cookies will continue to cook after you’ve removed them from the oven.

This is for Cook Like A Star hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours, Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Mich of Piece of Cake. 

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Do you prefer chewy cookies or crunchy cookies? I normally like the crunchy type but occasionally I'd find a soft chewy type which I really like such as this Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie from well known bloggers Two Peas and their Pod. 

I was thrilled to find all my favourite ingredients rolled into one cookie - oatmeal, bananas and chocolate chips! Use really ripened bananas and that really adds to the sweetness of the cookies so I reduced the sugar a little and find that its still sweet enough. 

The oatmeal adds extra fiber and the chocolate chips add extra that extra something special. My kids really liked these cookies. 

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Cookies (About 40 small cookies)
Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod

Note: The texture of this cookie is not crispy - it is soft and chewy.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 large banana, mashed
• 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Method

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugars, mix until smooth. Add in vanilla extract and egg. Next, add the banana. Beat well.
• Slowly add in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in oats and chocolate chips.
• Drop cookie dough by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets that have been lined with parchment paper or Silcone baking mats.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-18 minutes or until golden. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

Peanut Cookies

These traditional Peanut Cookies are a must have for Chinese New Year. Just like these Almond Cookies which I made last Chinese New Year, these top my list of favourite cookies for the festive period. 

The best part is that its incredibly easy to make and doesn't require any equipment at all. All the mixing is done in a bowl and then shaped by hand. 

These are so addictive because they literally dissolve in the mouth and the batch I made didn't make it to Chinese New Year. They were gone in two days!

Peanut Cookies (About 40 cookies)
Recipe adapted from here

Ingredients

• 360 g peanuts, fried/roasted and ground until fine
• 200 g castor sugar
• 250 g all purpose flour
• 160 ml of canola oil (use sparingly and use only enough to bind the mixture, start with about half and pour the rest in little by little till the mixture comes together into a ball without falling apart)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Handful of peanuts, fried/roasted, halved then cut into quarter when still hot.
• Egg white for the glazing finishing touch

Method

• Preheat the oven at 200°C and lay out 2 baking sheets with greased baking paper or silicone mat.
• Grind the roasted peanuts till fine and put them in a large mixing bowl. The oil from the ground peanut will make them stick into lumps, use fingers to break them apart.
• Sift the flour, salt and sugar into the peanut mixture and mix them together until well combined.
• Drizzle half of the oil into the bowl, use hand and knead the mixture together.
• Pour the rest of the oil little by little while still kneading the mixture until all the sugar melted and you can roll the mixture up into a ball without sticking to the bowl or your fingers. Then test it with a small lump of the mixture and roll into a ball between your palms. If it doesn't crumble, then your mixture is ready. If not, add just bit more oil until you can roll them into a ball. You may not need to use all the quantity of oil specified. 
• Scoop a tablespoon of the mixture into your palm, and roll them into small balls. Place them on the baking sheets.
• Put a little quartered peanut on top of each ball, then glaze it with the egg white. Put in the oven for 17 mins or until golden brown.

I am linking this post to the Bake Along event created by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours, Lena of Frozen Wings and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids.

Green Tea White Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm very much a green tea lover and I drink it daily and love to try all kinds of green tea flavoured items such as ice-cream, cakes, cookies... 

When I saw this on Just One CookBook last year, I decided that its going on my Chinese New Year cookie baking list. Who can resist green tea cookies embedded with white chocolate chips! I loved the strong green tea flavour in this cookie and the white chocolate adds a nice crunch and texture to this delicious cookie.

I prefer my cookies a little more crisp and baked them a little longer than recommended when I baked these the first time. The white cookie chips turned slightly browned. The second time I made these, I ensured that the chips were not burned, but the cookie wasn't quite as crisp as I'd like it to be. Perhaps its my oven - I am wondering if there is anyway to overcome this problem? 



Green Tea & White Chocolate Cookies (36 cookies)
Recipe from Just One CookBook

Ingredients

• 240 g all purpose flour
• 15 g green tea powder (matcha)
• 150 g unsalted butter, softened
• 130 g powder sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Method

• Sift the flour and the matcha powder.
• Cream together the butter, sugar, and salt until soft and light.
• Add the egg yolks and beat well.
• Gradually add the flour/matcha powder mixture.
• Fold in the white chocolate chips.
• Shape the dough into 2 round logs and wrap them in plastic wrap. Place your wrapped log on a bed of rice to chill to prevent one side from being flattened. Chill in refrigerator for several hoursor, better yet, overnight.
• Preheat oven to 300F (150C) degrees. Remove the dough from plastic wrap and cut the cookies into slices of 7mm (1/4 inch) thick. If you put too many chocolate chips, this step can be a little tricky.
• Bake for 20-22 minutes then cool on a rack.

I am linking this post to the Bake Along event created by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours, lena of Frozen Wings and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids.

Cheese Crackers

I was looking for a cookie recipe made of cheese for Chinese New Year and chanced upon these Cheese Crackers. 

These crackers are made of just four ingredients - shredded cheese, salt, flour and butter - and very easy to make. The recipe recommended you blend all the ingredients together in a food processor. But I simply let the butter and cheese out for about 30 mins then rubbed the ingredients together using my hands. 

The trick to getting these really crispy is to roll them out as thin and possible and after you've cut them with a pizza cuter, lift them off the board with a spatula and place them onto the baking tray. These golden cheese crackers are so addictive - reminds me of those fish crackers I loved to buy when I was younger!

Cheese Crackers

Recipe from Diva Can Cook

Ingredients

• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (or other types of cheese)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ¼-1/2 teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup flour
• course kosher salt for sprinkling, optional

Method

• Add all ingredients, except kosher salt into a food processor.
• Process until a dough forms.
• Shape dough into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap.
• Refrigerate for 1 hour 
• Remove dough from fridge and let it soften.
• Preheat oven to 175 degrees C.
• Roll the dough out on a smooth surface until it is about ⅛ inch thick (note: Roll it out as thinly as possible or the crackers will not be crispy)
• Use a pizza cutter or pastry wheel and make 1-inch squares.
• Sprinkle dough with kosher salt if desired.
• Use the end of a wooden screwer to make holes in the center of each square.
• Place the squares on a cookie sheet lined with non-stick foil or parchment paper.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are barely golden.
• Let crackers sit in the pan for a minute before removing to a cooling rack. Crackers will crisp up more as they cool so be sure not to over bake.
• Store in an airtight container.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and Zoe, Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Alice from I Love. I Cook. I Bake. at this post.

I am linking this post to the Bake Along event created by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours, lena of Frozen Wings and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Kids love cookies and there's no better place to hide healthy ingredients such as oats in cookies. 

This cookie is a perfect mix of chewiness (due to the oatmeal) and yet crispy on the outside. Coupled with the melted chocolate chip cookies, it was no wonder my kids gobbled these up within three days!

This is another one of Bill Granger's easy to do yet amazingly delicious recipe. I'm sure it'll be a hit at home. 

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

A Bill Granger Recipe

Ingredients

• 150 g unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup soft brown sugar (the recipe calls for 1 cup, but I cut the sugar down)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup plain (all purpose) flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 2 1/3 (235 g) cups rolled oats
• 1 (175 g) cup choc chips

Method

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees, line three large baking trays with baking paper.
• Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy and smooth.  Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat till smooth.  Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl and mix lightly.  Add the oats and choc chips and stir to combine.
• Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls and place on the baking trays.  Flatten the balls with a fork dipped in flour.  Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, or until pale golden if you like them to be soft and chewy and longer if you like them with a bit of crunch.  Remove from the oven and cool on trays for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

This is for Cook Like A Star hosted by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out and Mich of Piece of Cake. 

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen from My Little Favourite DIY, hosted by Vivian of Vivian Pang’s Kitchen.

Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe caught my eye because I have a couple of blocks of salted butter sitting in my refrigerator waiting to be used. I have a family of oat lovers but I am not so sure about oat meal cookies - I've always thought they won't taste too good. 

These turned out to be so delicious - my kids were literally eating up them by the dozens, and it lasted all but three days in the house. One can hardly taste the oat meal at all. This recipe produces a cookie which is crisp  on the outside but chewy inside. Nuts and dried cranberries added an additional dimension to these cookies - a little more crunch and sweetness. 

The Pioneer Woman says that brown sugar, not the oats, is the star ingredient of these cookies. I'd have to agree with her, the brown sugar added that extra but subtle depth.  They were very addictive and I'll be making another batch soon. 

Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies (Makes 48 small cookies)

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 113 g of salted butter, softened
• 1 cup Packed Dark Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1 whole egg
• 3/4 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 1/2 cups Old Fashioned Oats (I used 1 cup oats, 1/2 cup walnuts)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (my own addition)

Method 

• Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C)
• In the bowl of an electric mixer (or using a hand mixer) beat together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl after each one.
• Mix together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium sized bowl. Add it into the creamed mixture in 2 to 3 batches, mixing it until just combined. Mix in the oats, nuts and cranberries until just combined.
• Use your preferred size cookie scoop (or a regular spoon) to drop portions of dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, spacing them a couple inches apart. Bake for 12-13 minutes or until dark and chewy. If you'd like a crispier cookie, just cook a little longer!
• Let them cool slight on the pan after removing from the oven, then transfer the cookies onto a plate for serving.

This is for Cook Like A Star hosted by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out and Mich of Piece of Cake. 

Almond Cookies

When I saw these delicious Almond Cookies from Mel's Pantry Kitchen, I set about making them that very night. I am a big fan of almond and I always have a bag of almond nibs in the refrigerator for baking. 

This is the first time in my life I'm making Chinese New Year cookies and I am really surprised by how easy the various cookie recipes are. It just takes a little patience rolling up the dough and egg-washing them well. I don't think I'll ever go and spend S$15 on a bottle of these almond cookies ever again.

These cookies have a wonderful texture - they are perfectly crisp on the outside but melts in the mouth inside. It is not overly sweet with a hint of saltiness which makes it highly addictive. The good thing is almonds are healthy and these cookies are made of oil (not butter), so why not indulge in more?  

Almond Cookies (About 60 cookies)

Recipe from New Year Cookies by Alan Ooi cookbook

Ingredients

List A

• 120 g almond meal (ground almond)
• 180 g plain flour
• 120 g caster sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda

List B

• 120 ml vegetable cooking oil (sunflower, canola or corn oil)

For Glazing:

• 1 egg yolk (beaten)

Method:

• Combine Ingredients A and B in a mixer and mix to form a dough. (I used my hands to rub the ingredients together till it resembled fine soft sand).
• Scale the dough of about 7 g each rounded portion. (Use a watermelon scoop if you have one)
• Arrange on a lined baking trays and glaze the surfaces with egg wash.
• Bake at a preheated oven at 180 Celcius for about 15-20 minutes until lightly browned.
• Cool well before storage.

I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover.

This is for Javelin Warrior's Made with Love Mondays.

Black Sesame Cookies

I've a big fan of sesame, especially black sesame and any form it takes - be it ice-cream, bread (here's my Black Sesame Bread), cake or cookies. When I saw Just One Cookbook's Black Sesame cookies, I immediately put it on my to-do list. There's no better time to make these now because Chinese New Year is round the corner and these are just the kind of cookies I would love to serve because they are different from the norm.

I really adore these cookies - they are nutty, not overly-sweet with a  slight hint salty (from the black sesame seeds). The sweet and salty goes well together forming a very unique aftertaste. Fortunately, my kids have the same kind of taste as I do. My three-year-old, who is the most picky of my three when it comes to baked goods, said that these cookies are absolutely delicious. 

These cookies are very easy to make. Nami from Just One Cookbook used her food processor to mix the ingredients. I didn't have one of those so I used my fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients till the mixture resembled fine grains of wet sand. I mixed the egg and black sesame seeds in using a spatula. You can either grind the sesame seeds or keep them whole. I kept them whole for added texture and added two teaspoons of black sesame paste into the dough.

The only bit of trouble I had was forming it into a log and keeping it round. No matter what I did the bottom was still a little flat. As it was a little out of shape, I used my hands to re-shape it before baking. The hot and humid weather in Singapore also caused the cookie dough to soften very quickly once its removed from the refrigerator so you'll need to cut it up fast. Place it back in the refrigerator if you find that its not holding its shape well after cutting.  

Black Sesame Cookies (40 cookies)

Recipe from Just One Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter (8 Tbsp, 1/2 cup, 4 oz, 117.4 g)
• 5.6 oz (160 g) all purpose flour
• 1.4 oz (40 g) almond meal
• 2.8 oz (80 g) sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1.4 oz (40 g) roasted sesame seeds (black, white or mixed)
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp black sesame paste (optional)

Method

• Cut the butter into small cubes and keep them refrigerated until ready to use.
• In the food processor, combine the flour, almond meal, sugar, and salt. If you don’t have a food processor, you can simply use a bowl to mix all the ingredients. 
• If you want your sesame seeds to be fine texture, add them now. If you prefer to keep the original shape of sesame seeds, add them with egg yolk later on.
• Take out the butter from the refrigerator and mix together. If you use a regular bowl to mix, use a dough/pastry blender to combine the butter into the dry ingredients. (I rubbed the butter into the other ingredients using my hands till the mixture resembled wet sand).
• Lastly add egg yolk. (I stirred the egg yolk and black sesame seeds into the mixture with a spoon)
• If the food processor is small and it doesn’t look like it’s mixed completely, take it out and mix well with a silicone spatula.
• Form the dough into a ball and cut in half.
• Roll it to a log approximately 2” across. For me it’s easier to work when the dough is wrapped in plastic wrap. While rolling, unwrap some parts of plastic wrap then roll again. Form a nice shape. 
• Wrap the logs tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350° F (175° C). Remove the dough from plastic wrap and cut into discs about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick depending on your preference.
• Place them on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container. Cookies will last for a day or two.

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I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover.

And Made with Love Mondays by Javelin Warrior.

Corn Flakes Cookies

I've barely packed away my Christmas tree and Chinese New Year is already round the corner. I love this time of the year because we're in a celebratory mood for a few months at a stretch. The Chinese New Year baking frenzy is gaining momentum and these Corn Flakes Cookies are the rage on the Munch Ministry Facebook group. Those who have tried it say it's delicious and highly addictive. With a huge bag of corn flakes calling out to be used, I made these cookies one evening. 

I'm quite a lazy baker and dislike using too many utensils. This cookie recipe is right up my alley because it is very easy and fuss free. I mixed the butter, sugar, egg and flour in one bowl using a spoon and coated the cornflakes in another. 

These cookies turned out really delicious - they are crispy on the outside with loose, buttery crumbs inside. Reviews say that these cookies keep well for a long time inside an air tight container, but they were gobbled up by my three kids before I had a chance to find out if that's true. With its lovely golden hue, I think these cookies are perfect for Chinese New Year.

Corn Flakes Cookies (About 20-25 cookies depending on size)
Adapted from recipe by Molly Tay of Munch Ministry

Ingredients

• 100 g unsalted butter*, softened
• 100 g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 175 g self raising flour
• Corn flake, crushed (I used about 3/4 cup)

Method

• Pre-heat your oven to 160 degrees C.
• Cream butter and sugar till well mixed using a wooden spoon.
• Add in egg and mix well.
• Add in flour and mix well.
• Use a teaspoon, scoop out a small amount of mixture. Roll it gently into a ball the size of a small fishball (Mine was about 16 g each).
• Coat the ball with corn flakes all over.
• Place on a lined baking tray and gently press down with a fork to flatten it slightly.
• Bake for 15-20 mins till golden brown.
• Cool before removing from baking tray.

* Make sure the butter is soft enough to stir, I left mine outside for about 1.5 to 2 hours.

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I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Almonds

I've been blogging  for more than half a year now, and this is the second  cookie  recipe that I'm posting. It's not that I do not like cookies, I really do and I would eat them by the dozens! That is the real problem - so I try not to make cookies unless it healthier by my definition and is made of ingredients which the kids like so that I can share the calories with the little ones who can actually afford it. Here's a cookie recipe from Martha Stewart that actually fits my bill of that perfect cookie - wholemeal flour, oats, nuts and oil (no butter!) - and filled with chocolate.

This is one of those cookies that's chewy, crunchy (because of the nuts), and chocolate-y all at the same time. I made half the recipe (2 dozens) twice, and they were gone in a jiffy. Got to stop making these for now, as even healthier cookies have calories!

Can't believe 2012 is almost gone. Wishing you all a very Happy New Year and I look forward to baking/cooking along side all of you next year :)

Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Almonds (4 dozens)
Recipe from Martha Steward's Whole Living

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1/2 cup oat flour, spooned and leveled (I blended 1/2 cup rolled oats till fine)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup brown-rice syrup (I replaced with maple syrup)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (I reduced to slightly more than 1/4 cup)
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 7 ounces bittersweet chocolate (70 percent cacao), coarsely chopped
• 1 cup natural almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

Directions

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, and salt.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, rice syrup, sugar, egg, water, and vanilla until completely blended. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients; fold in the chocolate and nuts. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or as long as overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake until light golden brown, 10 to 13 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through.
• Cool cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Cook's Note: Chill the dough thoroughly; overnight lends a tender texture and mellow flavor, but an hour or so will do.

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This post is linked to the blog hop event, Cook like a Star, organised Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat your heart out and Riceball from Riceball Eats.

Banana Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I try not to bake with butter (if I can help it) but when I saw this cookie recipe, that rule went right out of the window and I thought the calories here might be worth the while. This cookie recipe combines two of my favourite packs into one – chocolate chip  cookie and banana bread. Walnuts and rolled oats also additional texture into each bite of the cookie. It also uses wholemeal flour, so at least I can console myself with the fact that its healthier in some ways.

The texture of the cookie is slightly crisp on the outside but fluffy on the inside. I doubled the baking soda to achieve an even more cake-like texture, upon the recommendation of others who have tried the recipe. I love the slight hint of banana, the richness of the chocolate and crunch of walnuts and oats all in one bite – totally divine and worth the calories.

Banana Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies (3 dozens)
A Martha Stewart Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (I used 1 tsp)
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks or 170g) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 8 ounces (227 g) semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4-inch chunks
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (about 2 ounces), toasted

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Whisk together flours, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks, and walnuts.
2. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 12 to 13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers up to 2 days.

Cook’s note: Use a ripe banana, which has more concentrated flavor than an unripe one.