BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES & CHOCOLATE BANANA MILK.

AUGUST 16, 2011 12 COMMENTS

true story: the thought of drinking plain milk makes me a little sick. i know that milk is crazy healthy and full of vitamins and minerals and all that jazz, but i seriously cant stomach the stuff unless its chocolate-flavored or in a milkshake.

ive loathed plain milk for as long as i can remember. maybe its because i was adopted, and raised on baby formula or something. i seriously dont know. growing up, there was a glass of milk in front of my place at the table each night at dinner, and i refused to touch it. oh, i wouldve had no problem drinking the milk if a few drops of chocolate syrup wouldve been swirled into the glass, but for some reason, my parents were staunchly against that idea. i mean, what child doesnt like chocolate milk? seriously

instead, for bizarre reasons unknown to me to this day, my parents decided to start putting soda in my nightly glass of milk to entice me to drink it. soda. in milk. because everyone knows that the only thing that can make a glass of milk more appealing is to add artificially-flavored carbonation this happened. every night for years each night, id have to drink it, !uick as i could, through a straw while plugging my nose to try and block out as much of the horrifying flavor as i possibly could. strawberry, grape, orange, lemon-lime"all of these flavors haunt me to this day. maybe thats also why i dont like soda"hmm.

obviously ive never been able to get behind milk and cookies, but these banana chocolate chip cookies, paired with chocolate banana milk just mightve changed my mind a little. first, lets talk about the cookies: theyre crazy. so good, so simple. nearly effortless. the banana flavor is present but not overwhelming, and the te#ture is soft and chewy and wonderful. they taste e#actly as a chocolate chip cookie should taste, but with bananas also, can we talk about brown butter? im obsessed. its officially my new favorite thing in the world. brown butter lends a wonderfully deep nuttiness to these chocolate chip cookies. im in love. brown butter is the new black.

these cookies $ chocolate banana milk % heavenly. best late afternoon snack ever. in terms of after-school snacks, kids would be all over this. adults, too. now i know that chocolate milk isnt usually the portrait of health, but this is chocolate banana milk i can feel pretty good about drinking. lets break it down, shall we?

milk: calcium, vitamins, minerals, etc. unsweetened cocoa powder: antio#idants for days bananas: potassium vitamins minerals good carbs fiber want to make this milk even healthier?

swap the whole milk for reduced fat, soy or almond milk replace the sugar with honey or agave nectar

banana chocolate chip cookies & chocolate banana milk: its milk and cookies done right

BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES & CHOCOLATE BANANA MILK

'()*+: ,- . /0,1 diameter cookies2 / pint chocolate banana milk

34)3 5(6): /- minutes

7889 5(6): :-/- minutes

585;* 5(6): ,- minutes

INGREDIENTS: <84 5=) >;?;?; 7=878*;5) 7=(3 7889()@

/0, cup brown butter, at room temperature A tablespoons granulated sugar /0, cup light brown sugar / large egg / teaspoon vanilla / /0A cups whole wheat pastry flour /0, teaspoon baking soda /0, teaspoon salt / ripe banana, mashed well or pureed Bthe food processor makes !uick work of this C A ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped Babout one barC <84 5=) 7=878*;5) >;?;?; 6(*9 . bananas, sliced into coins , cups whole milk Byou can use reduced fat milk, soy milk, coconut milk...whatever you like C , tablespoons cocoa powder , tablespoons granulated sugar / teaspoon vanilla bean paste DIRECTIONS: <84 5=) >48D? >E55)4 i absolutely love brown butter, and i always have at least a /0, cup of it in my fridge, sitting in an airtight container. that way, i can just let it come to room temperature and use it as i would in any normal baking procedure hereFs how to make it. place butter in a small saucepan and place over medium heat. allow the butter to melt, and then begin stirring the pan slowly but constantly. the butter will begin to foam up and bubble, and you will notice it change color slightly from yellow to very light brown. this may take about . minutes. immediately when you see small brown specks in the butter, pull it off the heat and transfer to a small jar to cool slightly. make sure to scrape all of the brown bits into the jar allow the brown butter to come to room temperature, then screw the lid onto the jar and store in the fridge until ready to use. the brown butter will keep in the fridge for at least ,-. months. <84 5=) >;?;?; 7=878*;5) 7=(3 7889()@

preheat the oven to .:G degrees <. line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick cooking spray, and set aside. in a medium bowl, combine the brown butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar. using a spatula, cream the butter and sugars together until light, fluffy and pale in color, about /-, minutes. you can also do this with your stand mi#er, using the paddle attachment. add the egg and vanilla, and beat until combined and fluffy, about .- seconds or so. sift the pastry flour, baking soda and salt into the bowl. mi# with the spatula until the dry ingredients are dissolved and incorporated into the cookie dough. add the banana puree, and stir with the spatula until combined. add the chopped chocolate pieces, and stir to distribute them throughout the dough. using a medium cookie scoop Bmine deposits balls of dough that are about / /0, teaspoons largeC, portion the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about , inches between each cookie. bake the cookies at .:G degrees < for :-/- minutes, or until theyFre spread out and flat, and golden brown on the tops. remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets for about G minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire baking rack using a spatula so they can cool completely. the cookies will keep stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to G days. <84 5=) 7=878*;5) >;?;?; 6(*9 place the banana coins in the bowl of a food processor or a blender. pulse until the bananas are pureed, stopping every ,- seconds or so to scrape down the sides of the bowl. once the bananas are pureed, add the milk, cocoa powder, sugar, and vanilla. pulse again to combine all ingredients until the mi#ture is smooth, thick and uniform, about ,-.- seconds. if youFd like, you can pass the mi#ture through a fine mesh sieve before serving to remove any errant pieces of banana. you can serve this immediately, or store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to . days.