Banana Double Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie Recipe, Cookies For Santa

Looking for a supper yummy cookie recipe for your Santa cookies this year? A couple of weeks ago, on a complete whim, I whipped up a batch of Banana Double Chocolate Oatmeal cookies and let's just say that I will have to bake another batch tomorrow just for Santa. They are moist and soft, and crunchy on the outside. The perfect cookie? Perhaps!

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup of butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar {I use golden}
1 cup oats {I used quick oats}
1 egg
dash of vanilla
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat your over to 350F.

Combine all of your dry ingredients {except your chocolate chips} into your mixing bowl. If you have a stand mixer, have your mixer on 2 or 3 while you slowly pour in the melted butter. I like to use melted butter as it ensures that the butter gets evenly distributed throughout your mixture.

Next, add your egg, mashed banana and vanilla. Then toss in your chocolate chips. I like to keep my mixer at about a 3 or 4 for the chocolate chips; if you get it going too fast, then your bowl can lift up and off the notches!

If you have a cookie scoop, your next step is super easy. Just scoop the batter out on your cookie sheet, then pop in the oven for 11 minutes. {yes, eleven minutes exactly! Old family trick!}

Let cool slightly, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.

Now the hard part....rationing! These cookies basically taste like banana bread bites with gooey chocolate morsels. Insanely good!

Substitutions

Flour - you absolutely can switch out the regular flour for whole wheat to make these cookies healthier, just know that the texture will change a little bit and they will be slightly chewier.
Butter - while you can use margarine instead of butter, I actually don't recommend it as butter is natural and margarine is not.
Oats - large flake oats create a much chewier and harder {for lack of a better term} cookie. Stick with old fashioned or quick oats so your cookies turn out smoother.

You'll notice that I don't use salt or salted butter in my recipes. This is a conscious, healthy choice that I make with my baking. While salt helps to brighten the sweeter flavours of the chocolate and banana, it's really not necessary as these cookies are packed with flavor! Use salt sparingly!