Brown Butter Banana Bread Cookies

“I hate bananas,” says Agustina, my roommate, around a mouthful of the yellow fruit.  And I watch as, with mournful eyes, she takes another bite.

The thing is, I can relate.  The texture gags me sometimes, unless they’re just under-ripe.  But bananas are cheap and wholesome and it’s easier to buy enough for the week than the amount that will stay slightly green by the time I eat them.  So, we suffer in silence with our brown, spotty bananas, and dutifully buy them by the bunch every weekend.

But sometimes bananas get to a point of ripeness that even I find intolerable raw.  Loathing to discard anything that’s still technically edible, I will always find a way to breath new life into leftovers and unused items.  And no, I’m not talking about banana bread.  (That would be boring!)  Instead, let’s throw our brown bananas for a loop, shall we?

Enter the Brown Butter Banana Bread Cookie, which tastes like a Lofthouse cookie would if it wasn’t mixed with tons of preservatives, fillers, and dyes.  Soft and cakey, moist and sweet, with a subtle caramel-nuttiness from the addition of browned butter… I may never make banana bread again.  (And I may start letting my bananas go brown on purpose.)

What You Need:

For the cookies:

• 2 cups unbleached AP flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tbsp. natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 medium bananas)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the Brown Butter Icing:

• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) salted butter
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon half-and-half
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

What You Do:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, spices, and salt in a medium bowl.  Begin to melt the butter in a small saucepan set over medium heat.  Cook and swirl the pan occasionally until the butter releases a nutty aroma and turns a deep golden-brown.  Remove from the heat and pour into a large, heat-proof bowl; allowing the butter to stand a few minutes.

With a handheld mixer or whisk, beat the sugar into the butter for 2 minutes, or until well combined. Beat in the egg until completely incorporated.  Mash together the bananas and baking soda, and allow to sit for two minutes.  Add the banana mixture and vanilla to the mixer bowl and beat until completely incorporated.  Add the dry ingredients to the bowl in three additions, mixing just until combined before adding the next batch.

Drop the dough by tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches in between them. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown around the edges and soft in the center.

To make the icing:

Measure the confectioners’ sugar into a large heatproof bowl. Place the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and repeat the process for making brown butter, as before. Pour it over the confectioners’ sugar, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the half-and-half and vanilla and stir until the icing is smooth.  Frost each cookie, and smile!

• Recipe adapted from http://traceysculinaryadventures.blogspot.com/.

Category: Fugal Food