Banana Nut Cookies with Peanut Butter Topping

Hold on to your hats kids. I've discovered the newest peanut butter cookie combination.

Okay, maybe not. I'm sure peanut butter and banana have been combined many times in cookie form. But it's a new discovery for me!

I love peanut butter- not so much bananas. I can't eat bananas in their natural state. Thinking about eating one straight out of the peel weirds me out. But I'm like that with a lot of fruit. I can't eat them all by themselves. Strawberries must be dipped in chocolate or drizzled with honey. Blueberries go into my cereal or plain yogurt. Grapes are a part of my afternoon snack plate with cheese and crackers. So this might explain why I topped these cookies with peanut butter...

On their own these are just okay. The plain banana flavor wasn't doing it for me. I just had to top them with melted peanut butter...you will just die. 

Source: Recipe of the Week: Cookies by Sally Sampson

3/4 (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 very over-ripe banana, mashed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose white flour
1 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped (I used pecans)

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer) and mix until smooth and creamy. Add the egg, mashed banana and vanilla, one at a time, mixing well between additions. Add the flour, oats, salt and baking soda and mix until everything is well incorporated. Add the walnuts or pecans and mix until they are well distributed.

Form the dough into 2 logs and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 weeks or freeze up to 2 months.

Preheat the oven to 325. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Cut the dough logs into 1/4 inch-think slices (or pull off pieces of dough and shape them into cookies) and place the slices 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Transfer to the oven and bake until the cookies begin to brown at the edges, 12-14 minutes. Partially cool on the cookie sheet and transfer to wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough.

Melt a tablespoon of peanut butter (I used chunky peanut butter) and a teaspoon of honey in the microwave for 30 seconds. Spread over the cookies while they're still warm.

What's your favorite fruit? Do you like to pair it with anything?