If you grew up in my house, a bowl of oatmeal was never served naked. A not-very-sensibly sized pat of salted butter nestled in the center with an equally-sized spoonful of brown sugar sprinkled of top of that…perhaps some sliced banana…steam wafting up, too hot to eat right away… whoosh, that’s good.
Until about mid-way through. Things begin to cool off. The bulk of the toppings are gone. The bottom of the bowl hasn’t been revealed yet, and already things are congealing into spackle.
Being that today is National Oatmeal Day, I’m showing some appreciation with a cookie variation that brings back the childhood memories and a wee teeny bit of excitement. If you haven’t put bananas in your oatmeal cookies yet, you’ve been missing out my friend. So there are no illusions of health benefits, I tossed in a bunch of English toffee to whet your whistle.
Which leads me to ask, ever had Banoffee before?
Banoffee is a singularly British creation whose magic somehow eludes us stateside. Think banana cream pie, but instead of cream you float those nanners in toffee. Yes. TOFFEE. It is a messy good time. You can’t walk down the street and eat it at the same time, though. People will stare, and not in an admiring, “you’ve got it goin’ on” (I’m bringing that phrase back, you’re welcome) sort of way. No, more of a “look at that tragic little person with no fork or plate” sort of way.
So, cookies. Easy to carry while remaining approachable to others. They may even ask you for one.
Banoffee Oat Cookies
English toffee*
1/4 c. (1/2 a stick) butter
1/3 + 1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
1 tsp water
1 tsp kosher salt
Banana-oat cookies
1 1/2 c. rolled oats
3/4 c (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 c. mashed banana
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
a scant 1/2 tsp. baking soda
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 375F
For the toffee:
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the sugar, corn syrup, and water and stir. Reduce to a simmer and allow to cook, stirring ocassionally, to a medium caramel color, which will be around (but not beyond) 300F.
Immediately pour the toffee onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and allow to cool to room temperature. Using a rolling pin or other blunt tool, break into small peppercorn-sized bits.
Set aside.
For the cookies:
Pour all but 1/2 c. of the oats into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to a very coarse meal. Set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until fluffy. Add the banana, then the egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add those to the banana mixture an stir on low until mostly combined. Add the crushed toffee bits and stir again until fully combined.
Remove from the bowl, wrap tightly in plastic, and allow to chill for at least 1 hour before baking.
Scoop into walnut-sized balls, flatten slightly, and bake until golden (about 12-14 minutes).
Eat with reckless abandon.