Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

This morning I woke up early to bake these Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chunk cookies.

Which, in my opinion, is one of the best ways to start a Sunday morning. 

This batter really was worth getting out of bed for. These are like miniature banana bread, but in convenient cookie form. Loads of smooth milk chocolate and crunchy walnuts. A hint of cinnamon. Hearty oats. And a heaping cup of freshly diced bananas.

Mmmmm bananas.

I suggest that you use bananas that are just the right shade of deep golden yellow. Pale yellow means the sweetness has not yet fully developed. Dotted or brown bananas may be sweet, but they also may be slightly messier to dice into pieces.

After you bake these cookies, you might want to consider baking a banana bread.

So that if you're lucky like me and have additional 16 pages from two different essays to edit, you can rest easy knowing that you got this, that you can take care of business AND bake two awesome desserts.

Because you are amazing like that and I believe in you <3

Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

*makes about 35 cookies*

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) 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
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4-inch chunks
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. 
2. 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. 
3. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks, and walnuts.
4. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. 
5. 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.

Source: slightly adapted from Martha Stewart