White Chocolate Banana Walnut Cookies

Soft , plump and tender, these White Chocolate Banana Walnut Cookies taste like a slice of fresh banana bread, only better!

I must confess. I'm a horrible friend! The reason being, about a year and a half ago my friend B asked if I would make her some banana walnut ice cream, and I never did. *hangs head in shame*

Since I never made B her banana walnut ice cream, I recently made her these White Chocolate Banana Walnut Cookies after she'd broken her ankle, to make up for it. Some day I hope to make her the banana walnut ice cream because I obviously haven't forgotten about it...I'm just not sure when it will be.

The recipe I'm sharing today I adapted slightly from Martha Stewart's website. Where Martha's recipe called for semi-sweet chocolate, I opted for white chocolate. I also wanted to add a touch of fall flavor, so I added a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the batter, and because I felt the cookie batter was a little too thin, and I was worried they'd spread too much during baking, I increased the amount of all-purpose flour. I'm so glad that I did increase the flour amount because these cookies turned out just as I had hoped they would, soft, plump and chewy!

WHITE CHOCOLATE BANANA WALNUT COOKIES {PRINT THIS RECIPE}
Yield: 3½ dozen Prep Time: 10 minutes Bake Time: 17-20 minutes

¾ cups (1½ sticks) butter, softened (I use salted)
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 over ripe bananas, mashed
1¾ cups all purpose-flour
½ cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup quick cooking oats
¾ cup white chocolate chips
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
2 baking sheets
parchment paper
small ice cream scoop or two tablespoons

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

-In a large bowl with a hand mixer, or the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugars, vanilla and bananas. Add the egg and mix well.

-In a dry skillet, toast the walnuts stirring occasionally over medium heat until you just begin to smell them. Remove from the heat and allow them to cool.

-In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and oats. Add the flour mixture gradually into the wet mixture, beating on low until thoroughly blended. Add the white chocolate chops and toasted walnuts to the batter and mix well, scraping down the sides occasionally.

-Drop the batter in tablespoon size portions onto parchment lined baking sheets, 12 per sheet. Bake two sheets in a preheated oven for 7-10 minutes, rotate the sheets and continue baking for an additional 7-10 minutes. Remove baked cookies to a cooling rack and continue the same steps with the remaining batter.

Naturally, I have to coordinate this cookie recipe with this one of my hand painted aprons that is available in my shop on Etsy. All of my hand painted chef's aprons are completely machine washable and are the highest quality fabric and weight.

If there is ever anything I can paint for you, from aprons to tea towels, to glassware items, please don't hesitate to contact me or visit my shop on Etsy. Custom orders are always welcome and I'm happy to work from any photo or description you send my way.

Kudos Kitchen by Reneé ~ Where food, art and fun collide on a regular basis!