Banana Chocolate Chip Cookie

I had the day off yesterday.  I wanted to go to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.  I arrived a little after nine in the morning to sign up for a tour, and all the tours for the entire day were already filled.  I couldn't believe it.

There are many school groups in town right before summer break, and there are many people who came to see the cherry blossoms.  I might not be able to take a tour  until Fall.

Last summer, I went to the Air and Space Museum.  It was so packed that I had to wait in line to see the exhibits.  If you are thinking about visiting Washington DC, I would come in the Fall or Spring.  The Summer is intense.

These were the last dessert I made for my birthday.  I also made carrot cupcakes with cream cheese icing and caramel brownies topped with marshmallows.  I went overboard with the desserts for my birthday this year.

Bananas are originally from Indomalaya and Australia.  People believe they were originally domesticated in Papua New Guinea.  It is believed that the name banana comes from West Africa.   

The banana cookie recipe came from allrecipes.com.  I made it as directed, except I added a teaspoon of cinnamon.

The ingredients are 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1 cup white sugar, 2/3 cup butter, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup mashed bananas, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips.

I creamed together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  This took a few minutes.

I beat in the eggs one at a time and the vanilla extract.

I mixed in the mashed bananas.

I added the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.  I stirred until all the ingredients were incorporated.

I mixed in the chocolate chips.

What delicious looking dough!

I lined a baking sheet with parchment paper.   I scooped tablespoon size mounds of dough onto the pan about two inches from each other.

I baked the cookies for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.  The recipe says 400, but I heavily toasted my first batch.  I lowered the temperature to 350 for the next few batches, and they were golden brown instead of dark brown.

I let the cookies cool for a couple of minutes on the pan before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.  

These were good cookies.  They had a nice banana and cinnamon flavor.

I wasn't crazy about the texture.  The texture was like a muffin instead of a cookie.  They were light and cake-like.  I prefer a chewier, denser cookies.

 The flavor was good.  The chocolate became gooey and creamy in the oven.

 These were very homey and comforting cookies.

They were best when eaten warm.  They were tender and moist.  They weren't dry at all.  Overall, a pretty good cookie.  They weren't my favorite, but I had no difficulty eating a few.