Author Notes
My daughter Lily has a predictable, yet refined young palate. A lover of tomatoes in any form and a good white bean soup, she does not like anything spicy or too sweet. She also eschews fruit in a main dish and can pick a carrot out of a fruity mango smoothie (EWW! Disgusting! You put carrot in this!). She knows I am endlessly trying to cajole her taste bud horizons and I am often defeated. However, I consider these cookies one small victory. She loves these cookies, in spite of the fact that normally she does not like bananas. Or curry powder, for that matter. Somehow, together, with the butter and sugar these become indescribably fragrant one-bite-crispy-on-the-outside-tender-in-the-middle cookies, that she cannot stop eating. One small victory for me.
Note: While I love these with a sprinkling of fleur de sel, Lily preferred hers plain or with roasted cashew half. If you want to add a nut, gently press into the dropped dough before baking. —gingerroot
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Ingredients
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6 tablespoons
unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
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1/4 cup
light brown sugar, packed
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1/4 cup
granulated sugar
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1/4 cup
mashed ripe banana (from one small or ½ of a larger banana), in a bowl
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1/2 teaspoon
baking soda
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1/2 teaspoon
vanilla
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1 cup
all purpose flour
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1 teaspoon
curry powder
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Pinch of salt
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3 tablespoons
unsweetened shredded coconut
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Fleur de sel for sprinkling
Directions
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Preheat oven to 300° F.
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Cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy.
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Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to mashed banana. Set aside for a minute.
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In a bowl, stir together flour, curry powder and salt.
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Mix banana mixture into butter mixture. Add vanilla, mixing to evenly combine.
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Add half of dry mixture to wet ingredients and mix for 10 seconds. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until just combined, using a spatula to scrape down the sides. Fold in unsweetened coconut.
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Drop by the teaspoonful on two parchment lined baking sheets, leaving about an inch between each. Bake, one sheet at a time, until golden brown, about 14 to 16 minutes, rotating the pan once halfway through. Sprinkle hot cookies with fleur de sel if desired. Transfer to wire racks to cool. Best enjoyed warm.
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Note: If cookies soften in storage, reheat on a pan in a 300° F oven for 5 minutes.
My most vivid childhood memories have to do with family and food. As a kid, I had the good fortune of having a mom who always encouraged trying new things, and two grandmothers who invited me into their kitchens at a young age. I enjoy cooking for the joy it brings me - sharing food with loved ones - and as a stress release. I turn to it equally during good times and bad. Now that I have two young children, I try to be conscientious about what we cook and eat. Right about the time I joined food52, I planted my first raised bed garden and joined a CSA; between the two I try to cook as sustainably and organically as I can. Although I'm usually cooking alone, my children are my favorite kitchen companions and I love cooking with them. I hope when they are grown they will look back fondly at our time spent in the kitchen, as they teach their loved ones about food-love.
Best of all, after years on the mainland for college and graduate school, I get to eat and cook and raise my children in my hometown of Honolulu, HI. When I'm not cooking, I am helping others grow their own organic food or teaching schoolchildren about art.
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