A few weeks ago, when Hurricane Irene was barreling toward the Eastern seaboard (aka. My Home), New York City was in a panic.  Store shelves were stripped bare, batteries had never been worth more and people were walking around with more cash in their wallets than they had since the early 90s.  Like most other urbanites, I went to stock up.  Load our pantry with necessities.  Non-perishable items to live off of if the worst happened and we were stranded for days on end.  I came home with a whole chicken and a bunch of fresh basil.  Oops.

Of course, that chicken turned into an amazing one-pot meal because I was certain that if the world was going to end we weren’t going to go out hungry.  Then, in a fit of panic upon realizing that I didn’t have the proper necessities to survive Storm-aggedon, I decided it was time for Emergency Cookies.  Cookies to get you through a hurricane tropical storm.  Cookies to soothe the nerve-wracked soul but healthy enough to keep you in your skinny jeans if the world doesn’t end.

My favorite cookie of all time is a good old fashioned oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.  Has been, always will be.  I’ve got a favorite whole wheat version that I fall back on in times of need.  This is an updated version that is sweetened only with honey or agave nectar, rather than the granulated sugar called for in the other recipe.

I’ve been on an absolute roll in finding ways to use up my rotten bananas!  Bread!  Granola bars!  Cupcakes!  Oh my!  Well, add this to the list.  These cookies are made with whole wheat flour, sweetened with bananas and honey and use olive oil instead of butter.  Say hello to your new guilt-free cookies.

A few brief words of warning:  (1)  These cookies do not spread very much at all.  Unless you want giant ball-shaped cookies, be sure to press down the dough before baking.  (2)  These cookies fall very much on the chewy/cakey side of the cookie spectrum.  People who insist that a cookie must be crunchy (ahem, Mom) will likely not be fans.  Those more inclined toward a chewy cookie may end up eating the entire batch before the storm even hits.  Consider yourself warned.

Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or white whole wheat flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup agave nectar or honey
1/4 cup very ripe banana, mashed (approximately 1 small/medium banana)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup oats
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon (if using) and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat together the oil and agave nectar (or honey). Beat in the mashed banana and egg. Add vanilla extract.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture. Stir to combine.
- Add oats. Stir to combine. Add chocolate chips and walnuts.  Stir until thoroughly combined.
- Using a small ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop large tablespoon-sized balls of dough on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Press each dough ball down with the palm of your hand (if the dough is too sticky, use wax paper to press down the dough balls) to flatten.
- Bake 13-16 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Remove to a wire cooling rack. Enjoy!

Similar Recipes:

• Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Honey-Sweetened Peanut Butter Cookies
• Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• Maple Jam Thumbprint Cookies

If you enjoyed this recipe, make sure you subscribe to receive free updates by email or RSS feed!