Chocolate & Blueberry Oat Cookies

This accidental recipe is now one of my absolute favorites. It was inspired by the last ripe banana I had on my counter, but I had no intention of making banana bread (I think quarantine made us all sick of banana bread). I also wanted to make cookies because I can store half the cookie batter and take out a few to bake whenever I am craving something sweet without completely binging.

You can simply keep out the blueberries if you don't like them or have them on hand. Frozen blueberries work as well. You can also add any type of nuts that you like for some extra texture and crunch.

This recipe makes about 30 cookies using a medium ice cream scooper. You can bake half and freeze the other or use a larger cookie scooper to make 20-24 cookies. The larger the cookies, the longer the cooking time.

For freezing, first scoop the cookie dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet then set in the freezer for 10-30 minutes or until they are set. Once they are firm, you can arrange them in a freezer ziplock and easily store them in the freezer for when you are ready to take them out to bake and enjoy.

Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (room temp)

½ cup light brown sugar

1 medium ripe banana, mashed)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup wheat flour

½ cup ground flaxseed

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

¾ cup chocolate chips

1 cup blueberries

Instructions

1. Beat butter and sugar with a hand mixer for 3 minutes until fluffy. If you don't have a hand mixer, you can use a stiff spatula and beat the butter and sugar together vigorously for about 5 minutes.

2. Add mashed ripe banana to the butter and sugar and mix until well incorporated.

3. Then add vanilla and 1 whole egg and mix again until all the wet ingredients are combined. it may look slightly lumpy if you didn't completely mash your banana, but thats ok.

4. Add in all dry ingredients to the wet mixture (flour, flax, oats) and fold together until the cookie dough is thoroughly combined.

5. Fold in chocolate chips and washed & dried blueberries. This is also when you would add nuts if you choose to do so. I recommend chopping them first.

6. Use a medium ice cream scooper to scoop even balls of cookie dough onto baking sheet leaving two inches between each. Rest in fridge for at least 1 hour

7. Bake in preheated oven at 350 f for 13 - 15 minutes or until bottom is golden. Keep a close eye on it. They should still have a slight bounce to them when you touch them.

8. Let the cookies rest for 5 - 7 minutes before enjoying.