Equipment
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1 banana, overripe and heavily spotted
- 100 g light brown sugar, packed
- 30 ml neutral oil
- 5 ml vanilla extract
- 1 egg, room temperature
Dry Ingredients
- 120 g rolled oats
- 125 g all-purpose flour
- 3 g baking soda
- 2 g kosher salt
Mix-ins
- 85 g semisweet chocolate chips
Nutrition (per serving)
Method
Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium mixing bowl, thoroughly crush the overripe banana using a fork or potato masher until completely smooth and pureed.
Add the light brown sugar, neutral oil, vanilla extract, and room temperature egg to the pureed banana. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is fully combined and slightly frothy.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the rolled oats, all-purpose flour, baking soda, and kosher salt. Pour the wet banana mixture into the dry ingredients and gently stir with a rubber spatula until just combined and no dry flour streaks remain.
Pour the semisweet chocolate chips into the dough and gently fold them in until evenly distributed.
Scoop roughly 30g portions of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 5 centimeters apart. Gently press each mound flat, as low-fat doughs will not spread naturally in the oven.
Bake in the preheated oven at 175°C (350°F) for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the centers appear just set.
Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Chef's Notes
- Using bananas with extensive brown spotting or entirely black skin is crucial for both sweetness and maximum moisture in lower-fat baking.
- Because these cookies lack the butterfat that causes traditional cookies to spread, they will retain whatever shape you press them into before baking.
- For a bakery-style aesthetic, reserve a small handful of chocolate chips to press gently into the tops of the cookie dough mounds just before baking.
- Always measure your flour by weight rather than volume; excess compacted flour will make this lower-fat dough unpleasantly dry.
Storage
Refrigerator: 1 week — Store in an airtight container to maintain maximum moisture.
Freezer: 3 months — Freeze baked cookies in a sealed bag, or freeze portioned dough balls to bake on demand.
