Banana chocolate chip cookies

These are the first banana treat I have made since the mid 90s. Back then, I made a banana bread cake and added some chocolate chips. I thought I messed it up, so I frosted it. I took it to work. It was a big hit, and even a friend of mine who said he didn’t like bananas, loved it. So after 25 years, here is my next attempt at a 🍌 treat.

These cookies make the house smell amazing. They are soft like banana bread, with chocolate chips and vanilla frosting. Perfect to bring in Monday morning to work.

Reminders – spoon your flour from your flour bag into you measuring cup so you get the right amount. And, preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes so it cycles to the right temp.

  • Ingredients
  • 1 cup Crisco
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups mashed bananas
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions – cream Crisco, butter and sugar. Add eggs, then bananas. Blend in dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips. The dough will be sticky. You will want to spray a cookies scoop (and your hands) with Pam spray. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. Chill a few hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners. Bake 15 to 20 minutes. The bottom will be golden and you will see golden patches on top. Cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 4 tbs butter, melted
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Milk
Cookie monster

Directions – combine butter and powdered sugar. Add vanilla. Add milk, a tbs at a time, until you get the consistency you want. Frost cookies. Store in covered container.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Chocolate chip cookies are like the friends in your life

Happiness is a chocolate chip cookie

Recently one of our analysts, let’s call him “Dan”, had an outrageous take that oatmeal cookies are the best cookie, far better than chocolate chip. I find this blasephemous! There is a national cookie day, but there is also a separate national day just for chocolate chip cookies. Can oatmeal cookies make that claim? No, they can not. I have nothing against oatmeal cookies, and they are wonderful, but they need to have chocolate chips in them, not raisins. Chocolate chip cookies are like the friends in your life, they make you happy, make you smile and you feel better when they are around. “Dan” is a wonderful analyst with much insight in the sport he covers, but his cookie take is off base!

A few reminders – spoon you flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup, chill the cookie dough for a few hours and preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking.

This is what I used to scoop out my dough. Each scoop of this is 2 tbs
  • Ingredients
  • 10 tbs cold butter, grated with a cheese grater
  • 2 tbs Crisco
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Directions – cream grated butter, Crisco, sugar and brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. If you need to, mix dough with your hands to finish blending it all together. Add chips. Scoop out 2 tbs of dough with an ice cream scoop. scoop out another 2 tbs of dough. Pile one of top of the other to make a mound of dough. Repeat process until all dough is used. Chill mounds for a few hours. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners. Preheat oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Stagger mounds of dough on your prepared sheet. Bake 10 to 14 minutes, until you see golden patches on top. Let set on baking sheet for 10 minutes. Remove from sheet and cool completely. Store in covered container.

Cookie monster strikes again!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. May you have a day filled with happiness and love. And, remember to be kind. We all need a little kindness these days.

Puffy, large chocolate chip cookies

All that puffy goodness!

Testing out our new Frigidaire gas oven with a chocolate chip cookie recipe… One of the more than 20 ccc recipes I have. They came out perfect. I also picked up some aluminum cookie sheets because I have been ready some articles how they bake cookies better. I am very pleased with how they came out. I think I may be investing in some aluminum cake and brownie pans too 🙂

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour container into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. Also, chill the mounds of dough for a couple of hours. And finally, preheat your oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes before baking, so your oven cycles to the right temp.

  • Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup Crisco
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla (I used imitation)
  • 2 1/4 cups flour (scooped from your flour container into your measuring cup)
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter, Crisco, brown sugar and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Fold in chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. Gently push a few extra chips on top. Chill dough mounds a few hours in fridge. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes. On a cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners, stagger cookies on the sheet. Bake 9 to 12 minutes (light golden patches on top). I let these cool on the sheet for 10 minutes after removing from oven,hoping they would stay puffy (they did). Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by. If you make these, let me know how they turn out. I hope you have a wonderful day, filled with joy, peace and love. And remember to be kind. We all deal with trials and tribulations. Some are tougher than others.

Fudgy Brownies with chocolate chips

The more chocolate, the better!

Today’s recipe is brought to you by my chief recipe requester and taste tester, my husband, Rob. He asked for brownies with chocolate chips. Just brownies with a cup of chocolate chips mixed in before baking. My mom does that with her brownies and Rob loves them. Honestly, I never thought of doing that myself. I also added a ganache on top. You can leave them plain, sprinkle some powdered sugar on top, or another frosting. Instead of pulling out a brownie mix, I went homemade this time. And finally, Rob only eats one treat, so the rest are coming to work with me tomorrow to ESPN Radio.

Remember to preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking so you get the right temp, and to scoop your flour and baking cocoa from your container into your measuring cup so you get the correct amount. Too much flour can make for a dry brownie. Blech.

  • Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tbs milk or water
  • 1 tsp chocolate extract (or vanilla)
  • 3/4 cup baking cocoa
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 2 tbs cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a 9×13 pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray. Combine butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs, extract and water /milk. Fold in dry ingredients. (Batter will be thick). Add chips. Spread into prepared pan. Bake 16 to 19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely.

  • Ganache ingredients
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolare chips
  • 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions – combine in a microwave safe container. Microwave in 30 second increments until you can stir smooth. Then, stir for 1 minute. Spread evenly over cooled brownies. Let gamache set. (To speed up the setting of the ganache, you can put them in the fridge for a half hour). Store in covered container.

Someone cut these before the ganache set 😏

Thank you so much for stopping by. If you make these, let me know how you like them. Sending you love and peace today. And, remember to be kind. We are all going through something, some more than others. Life is really hard, some times. ❤