Banana Bread Snickerdoodles

Banana bread and snickerdoodles join forces in these Banana Bread Snickerdoodles! Crunchy spiced sugar coating gives way to a cake-like cookie bursting with banana flavor! Once you try one, you can’t stop!

I’m going to take you back, back to High school.

Was High School awkward for you? It was for me. I mean real awkward.

Were you the chubby kid?

Or the skinny kid whom everyone referred to as the broom stick, or Olive Oyl?

Were you the smelly kid, or the ugly duckling?

Were you the shy kid?

The poor kid?

Those were the outcasts of my day. Kids whose exterior either didn’t merit a second look or were the object of much ridicule, private and public. The kids you took a look at, but usually saw through.

These were kids whom no one really gravitated towards. You often saw them alone, or with a group of other outcasts. No one ever got past the surface, ever thought to wonder if beyond their exterior lay a wonderful human being. Someone whose insides were, indeed, beautiful…

We went through our four years and probably gave no thought to their personal plight. We had problems of our own… We had hairspray and the latest sneakers to covet. We had MTV and BET… We were dancing, and making out in school corridors. We were discovering our bodies and the bodies of um… Others (not me mom, totally wasn’t doing any of that). We were too busy recording songs off the radio to give others much thought.

It was beyond our realm of thinking…

Once High School was over we went our separate ways – And while we made lives for ourselves, left marks in our respective worlds, the outcasts made radical transformations.

• The chubby kid went on a diet – Ran for the track team and swam in the mornings.
• The skinny kid finally bloomed, got herself a booty and is now STUH-HACKED.
• The smelly kid discovered the benefits of hygiene and began using the shower and shampoo regularly.
• The ugly duckling finally grew into her looks. Her nose is no longer too big for her face, her braces came off, her hair is beauty parlor styled. Her eyebrows no longer connect unappealingly; they are now two distinct brows.
• The shy kid developed confidence, is now running for  congress – And is a hell of a public speaker.
• The poor kid worked hard, went to school almost round the clock, and became an entrepreneur. He then sold his company to Google for untold millions.

You see these kids, now grownups, and you can’t help but double-take. How did “so and so” end up like THAT?

Well, this is how I feel about these banana bread snickerdoodles. I had three very very ripe, fugly bananas rotting on my counter. I could have thrown them away without a second look – But I decided to open them up, check out the inside situation. I found they were perfectly fine, beautiful in fact. They were whole, nary a bruise…

Just beautiful…

So what did I do?

I put forth some effort… Gave these bananas some attention, some love… With some flour, brown sugar and spices I turned these fugly forgotten “not worth a second look” bananas into something amazing; worthy of a double-take.

A “HOT DAMN – You look good, so must taste good” double-take.

A Mmm… “Come here, baby, let me look atcha again” double-take.

I gave them a makeover worthy of a Ricki Lake episode, and made them taste like tiny little crunchy banana breads.

These…

Cookies…

Might make you drool.

Foh sho’…

Life’s too short… You miss out when you whip out your judgy stick, wasting time beating on the superficial. It’s meaningless. I learned early not to judge people or things by their exterior – And to this day I’m glad I did – Because I would have missed out on some real good s***…

Like these cookies…

: Banana Bread Snickerdoodles

Adapted from: Annie’s Eats

Yield – Over 4 dozen cookies

For the cookies:

• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, using a spoon to lightly scoop the flour into the measuring cup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• LARGE pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 3 medium sized very ripe bananas, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons banana syrup (from reduced banana juice)

For the spiced sugar:

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, spices and set aside. Place sliced bananas in a microwave safe bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and make several slits in the wrap. This will act as steam vents. Microwave on high until the bananas are soft and have released liquid, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer the bananas to a fine mesh strainer set over a medium bowl and drain, stirring and mashing the bananas to release the liquid. You are going to end up with a bit less than ½ cup of liquid, and about ¾ cup of banana puree. Transfer the banana puree to a small bowl and set aside.
2. Transfer the reserved banana liquid to a small saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Cook until the liquid is syrupy and reduced to about 1 oz, (2 tablespoons), about 3-4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the liquid to cool.
3. In a bowl of an electric mixer set on medium high speed, cream the butter until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add sugars and the banana puree and mix until well combined. Add the egg, vanilla extract and banana syrup, scraping down sides of the bowl to incorporate the ingredients well. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add flour mixture to the wet ingredients about one cup at a time. Mix just until incorporated. Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill at least an hour, or until dough becomes slightly firm.
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a small bowl, mix cinnamon and brown sugar. It’s going to look a bit clumpy, but that’s the nature of brown sugar. Don’t sweat it.
5. Remove cookie dough from refrigerator, and using a small cookie scoop (1 teaspoon) or a small spoon, scoop out dough and roll into small balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar making sure the dough balls are well coated. Place sugar coated dough balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Use a glass with a flat bottom to flatten the balls. If desired, sprinkle additional sugar on the flattened cookies.
6. Bake the cookies for 10 to 14 minutes, or until they are slightly firm to the touch. If you pick up a cookie you will notice some caramelized brown sugar in the bottom. Resist the urge to eat a hot cookie. I didn’t and I burned my tongue. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for about 5 minutes, and then move them to a wire rack to cool completely. Now eat one…

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 15 minute(s)