Upgrade Chocolate Chip Cookies With The Help Of Bananas

A Shakespearean sonnet could be written about chocolate chip cookies. This sweet cookie dough filled with chunks of chocolate has bakers of all levels singing, "put our baking to the test," whenever they make them. That's because in the kingdom of baked goods, chocolate chip cookies are the king of cookies. These babies consistently rank among the most popular to make and consume. However, if you are looking for a way to elevate and differentiate your recipe, then you may want to consider adding bananas to your dough. 

While a seemingly unconventional ingredient to add to chocolate chip cookies, bananas and chocolate are a common pairing that just works. When you add this sweet and creamy fruit element to baked goods that contain chocolate, it transforms. However, if you are going to add bananas to your chocolate chip cookies (such as Tasting Table's banana cookie recipe) you'll want to make certain they are good and ripe. The texture and sugar concentration of a banana that isn't speckled with black spots and overripe simply doesn't work well in baked goods.  

Before a banana ripens, its starches are initially bitter. As it matures and the tannins breakdown, these fruits soften and turn sweet, leaving a concentration of sugars that really enhances the banana flavor. It also allows you to mash your bananas, which is mission critical for the texture. How you mash your bananas is equally important. You want to ensure it is smooth — otherwise you are going to end up with banana chunks in your chocolate chip cookie dough, and that may not be the consistency you or your mouth are hoping for. 

While ripened bananas are the gold standard, you do not want to use completely black bananas. These are beyond overripe and have hit the spoiled category. Toss these fruits and wait for the next batch of bananas to start ripening. Pro tip: If you want a sweet banana, buy the ones that are on the longer side. These are not only perfect when making chocolate chip cookies, but you can also add them to a batch of chocolate banana brownies or mix things up and add chocolate to your chai chocolate chip banana bread.