I had this idea last night as a realised I had a few ripe bananas. Originally I wanted to make banana bread but realised I didn’t have a loaf tin! So this is where I landed! In cookie world!
A good cookie is my favourite baked treat. And this definitely hit the spot! Amidst the sold out plain flour supermarket scandal, I made this recipe with what I had. Which was a bit of self raising and buckwheat! This recipe is so flavoursome, perfectly crisp edges and gooey inside. It tastes both banana bread and chocolate chip cookies at the same time!
Dry ingredients: 250g plain flour 100g Buckwheat flour (or use 350g of plain flour) 3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda 200g soft brown 150g white cane sugar Spices: 6 cardamon pods crackled and seeded 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp ground nutmeg 1 tsp of salt
Wet ingredients: 225g vegan butter (I used vitalite - but a block butter would be great too) Two chia eggs (2 tablespoon of chia seeds with 6 tablespoons of water) 180g of vegan dark chocolate roughly chopped (or dark chocolate chips) 50g of walnuts 1/2 teaspoon of molasses (optional) 3 tablespoons of plant based milk One ripe banana mashed Method: Start by making your chia egg so that it has time to set. Place two tablespoons of chis seeds in a small bowl with 6 tablespoons of water, mix and them set aside to make a gel. Measure out butter and place in a saucepan. On a medium high heat start to brown the butter, it will splatter a bit at first but don’t worry, it’s because of the water content in the butter. Bubbles/foam will start to appear, but allow to brown for 5 minutes slowly stirring till you get some brown flecks/a brown colour in the butter. Set aside and let cool for 5 minutes. On a chopping board using the back of a knife crack you cardamon pods, releasing the seeds & removing the husks. Using your knife chop through them, they don’t have to be fine - in the final cookie the un-uniform pieces are lovely. In a big bowl sieve the flour & buckwheat flour. Now add the 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, good pinch of salt, a couple cracks of black pepper and the remaining spices. Mix throughly with till combined. In another small bowl mash your ripe banana and add the chia egg along with the 3 tablespoons of plant based milk/molasses (which is optional). In another big bowl add the slightly cooled browned butter with the brown & white sugar. Mix with a silicone spatula, till the sugar is mixed with the butter, now add the mashed banana & chia mixture till it is smooth. Very carefully add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, making sure not to over mix (with will result in a tough cookie). Just till they are combined. On a chopping board chop your dark chocolate and nuts. Add to the cookie mixture. Put cling-film on the cookie dough and put in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. As the dough is chilling pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees c/320 f. On a baking pan add some non-stick parchment paper. Use a big tablespoon to scoop out your cookies. They will spread so don’t put them too closely together. You should be able to place 4/5 on each baking sheet. Cook for 16 minutes so you get the perfect crispy edge & gooey middle. Allow to cool for 10mins on the sheet (if you can resist) Enjoy with coffee or cold milk! Any left over dough can be kept frozen for cookie craving!
