Banana Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies

Remember in my last post about cookies how I said I'd never make another chocolate chip cookie again without refrigerating the dough? Well, that was a total lie. It was true at the time, but once I got the idea of these Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies in my head, there was NO way I could wait. Yes, I could've baked a few right away and saved the rest of the dough for a later date. But I didn't! Oh well... This morning I was making oatmeal for breakfast. It really made me want oatmeal cookies. I had some bananas that were near death, so I thought "how can I use oatmeal and bananas in a cookie?" I immediately went to my go-to cookie book, Martha Stewart's Cookies, and sure enough there was a recipe for Banana Walnut Chocolate-Chunk Cookies. As you can see I changed the name of them in my title. I think the oatmeal needs some recognition! These cookies are SO good. They're what I imagine it would taste like if banana nut bread and chocolate chip cookies went on a date... One thing leads to another, and a cup of rolled oats later, BAM! Banana Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies!

Some things I learned while making these cookies:

1. I dunno why I never figured this out before, but chocolate chunks taste SO much better than chocolate chips in a cookie. The chips have something in them to help them keep their shape in the oven. But a chopped bar of chocolate gets all melty and gooey in the oven. Yum!
2. Kosher salt is WAY crucial in chocolate chip cookies. If you're as big a fan of sweet & salty as I am, definitely go buy some kosher salt. You can use it in everything, and salt is cheap. You'll be glad you did it!
3. If I don't have time to chill the whole bowl of cookie dough first, I like to scoop it out onto a baking sheet and stick it in the fridge for about 10 minutes before baking. It reduces spreading while baking so the cookies puff up more.

Sorry for making you read so much! Here's the recipe:

Banana Walnut Chocolate-Chunk Cookies
MAKES 3 DOZEN (I got about 26-27 (I forgot to count) using a #30 disher)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I just used all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup (l 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature (for cookies, I like to use butter that’s softened but still cool)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (I used dark brown)
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large) (I used 2 that were kinda small)
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4-inch chunks
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (about 2 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk together both flours, salt, and soda in a bowl.
2. Put butter and both sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer ­with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in ­banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks, and walnuts.
3. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop (I used a #30 disher) , drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 12-13 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 at room temperature up to 2 days.