Have yourself a Merry little Monday

I made these little guys this weekend. Aren't they festive?

I saw the recipe for Peanut butter banana oatmeal cookies on Baking Bites and thought, why not. The great thing about the recipe is that it calls for only 1 banana. So, instead of freezing the black banana no one wanted to eat and waiting until I got another 1 or 2 over ripe bananas to make banana bread, I could have instant snacking gratification.

I was mixing this recipe up and I thought, "These cookies are going to be awfully bland if I don't add something else in." I checked the pantry....gasp...no chocolate chips!!!! How could this be? Aliens? Overlapping universes? Time shifts? I don't think we will ever know for certain. The lack of chips turned out to be a happy accident, instead I found a rogue bag of Xmas m&m's. Who knows how they remained hidden and unused all this time, perhaps that was also the result of Aliens/overlapping universes/time shifts.

I don't think these cookies would have been nearly as tasty without the M&M's. I definitely would make these cookies again when we have a lone black banana lurking about. Next time I think I'll try cinnamon chips instead of the M&M's, I think that would be a tasty combo as well.


Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies from Baking Bites
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup mashed banana (from 1 sm/med)
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats (not instant)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk  flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, cream sugars and butter. Beat in egg til smooth, then mix in peanut butter and mashed banana. Working by hand or with a mixer on low speed, blend dry ingredients into the peanut butter mix. Stir in the oats. Shape dough into tablespoons and place on baking sheet, flattening each slightly with your fingers. Bake for 10-12 minutes, til cookies just begin to turn golden around the edges. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes approx 2 dozen.