Banana, Chocolate Chip, and Granola Cookies

So, with two months left until we leave our house and downsize to less than half of what we have now....I've got a myriad of foods and odds and ends ingredients that need to be used up. Powdered sugar, lentils, Swiss cheese, dried papaya, dehydrated mushrooms, corn flakes, etc. In fact, I got really creative this weekend and made waffles from random pantry items: coconut oil, quinoa flakes, eggs leftover from Easter, leftover buttermilk, sorghum, cornstarch, etc. My family ate them and ate them again. While I watched silently. And enjoyed the smell of coconut in my house. And then decided to tackle more ingredients...like granola.

What's a person to do with leftover granola when they're burned out on parfaits? Well, I saw these cookies online and had to try them. They are VERY good. Moist...flavorful...quite the treat. Glad I stumbled upon the recipe so that I can have another use for bananas and granola. 

The recipe below is my adapted version: I used less sugar (and brown, not white), a not-so ripe banana (so the pieces didn't get smushed), a different granola, and totally upped the amount of chocolate chips--and felt I could have even used more! Delicious.

BANANA, CHOCOLATE-CHIP, AND GRANOLA COOKIES

Adapted from www.biggirlssmallkitchen.com

Makes 3-4 dozen

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
• 1 egg
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks (or chips)
• 3/4 cup Cascadian Farms Maple-Brown Sugar Granola (I used Nature's Path Pumpkin Flax Plus)
• 1 medium banana, cut into chunks

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Mix sugars and butter in a large bowl. With a mixer, hand-held beater, or very strong arm, beat until creamy. Then beat in the egg until the batter is fluffy and light.

Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until basically combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips and granola. Now fold in the banana, being careful not to smush the pieces too much.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet (yes, I did add some more chips on top!). Bake 6-8 minutes or until just barely set.

Cool for 5-10 minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove to a rack or a plate to finish cooling.