Banana Walnut Cookies
I had some ripe bananas so I made Banana Muffins (see previous post).
I decided to experiment with the last two leftover bananas. Toasted walnuts sounded good and I wanted to create a cookie, so I came up with this recipe for Banana Walnut Cookies.
The flavor of the cookie is enhanced by using very ripe bananas. The mashed banana in the icing also adds extra flavor to the cookies.
These cookies taste like mini cakes with a wonderful crunch from the toasted walnuts.
Banana Walnut Cookies
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 very ripe bananas
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Beat the butter and the sugar until combined. Add the eggs, lemon juice and vanilla. Cut off 2 inches from one of the bananas and place it in a separate bowl (this will be used in the icing).
Mash the remaining bananas and mix into the butter mixture. Stir in the Greek yogurt.
In a separate bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, soda and cinnamon. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Stir until just combined. Stir in 1/2 cup of chopped, *toasted walnuts. (Save the other 1/2 cup walnuts for the tops of the cookies)
*How to toast walnuts:
Spread 1 cup walnuts onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Place under a low broil and toast until light brown (watch carefully so they do not burn). (Another option is to place them in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes) After the walnuts are cool, chop them into small pieces)
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| push dough with extra spoon |
Spoon the cookies onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. The batter will be very sticky. Use one teaspoon to scoop up the batter from the bowl. With a second spoon, gently push the batter off the spoon onto the cookie sheet.
Bake cookies 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cool. Frost with banana icing.
Banana Icing
Banana (2 inch piece), mashed
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup milk
Stir until smooth. Dip the top of each cooled cookie into the icing. Sprinkle toasted walnuts on top.
The icing will harden slightly. If desired drizzle any remaining icing on the top of the finished cookies.
