The 919 Girls and the Banana Bread Snickerdoodle Cookies

During my last few months in Salt Lake I made a huge move, from the upstairs apartment (The HOGL) all the way downstairs to 919. I was lucky enough to move in with four amazing women- Brit, McCall, Aftony, and of course Mel-Mel.  The space was a little cramped but the rent was cheap and the entertainment was non-stop!!!  There always seemed to be a revolving door of guests so it was rarely only the five of us, more like nine or ten of us, but that was because these girls were just so awesome that no one could stay away from them. We had some really good times, and in order to not make this post into a ten chapter book, I am just going to list some of them and hope it will bring back some good memories for the 919 girls. So anyway, here I go (in no particular order): friends’ marathons, video games- carnival games, guitar hero, and that damn monkey bubble game hahaha, someone always sleeping on that green couch, dead fish, mad hatter parties, and just knowing that we were all ALWAYS there for one another no matter what!!! That was such a fun time in my life and I wouldn’t change it for the world! I love and miss those girls more than words can say so I am hoping these cookies can say it for me!!! XOXOXOXO

Banana Bread Snickerdoodle Cookies

Yield – Over 4 dozen cookies

For the cookies:

• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, using a spoon to lightly scoop the flour into the measuring cup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• LARGE pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 3 medium sized very ripe bananas, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons banana syrup (from reduced banana juice)

For the spiced sugar:

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, spices and set aside. Place sliced bananas in a microwave safe bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and make several slits in the wrap. This will act as steam vents. Microwave on high until the bananas are soft and have released liquid, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer the bananas to a fine mesh strainer set over a medium bowl and drain, stirring and mashing the bananas to release the liquid. You are going to end up with a bit less than ½ cup of liquid, and about ¾ cup of banana puree. Transfer the banana puree to a small bowl and set aside.
2. Transfer the reserved banana liquid to a small saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Cook until the liquid is syrupy and reduced to about 1 oz, (2 tablespoons), about 3-4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the liquid to cool.
3. In a bowl of an electric mixer set on medium high speed, cream the butter until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add sugars and the banana puree and mix until well combined. Add the egg, vanilla extract and banana syrup, scraping down sides of the bowl to incorporate the ingredients well. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add flour mixture to the wet ingredients about one cup at a time. Mix just until incorporated. Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill at least an hour, or until dough becomes slightly firm.
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a small bowl, mix cinnamon and brown sugar. It’s going to look a bit clumpy, but that’s the nature of brown sugar. Don’t sweat it.
5. Remove cookie dough from refrigerator, and using a small cookie scoop (1 teaspoon) or a small spoon, scoop out dough and roll into small balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar making sure the dough balls are well coated. Place sugar coated dough balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Use a glass with a flat bottom to flatten the balls. If desired, sprinkle additional sugar on the flattened cookies.
6. Bake the cookies for 10 to 14 minutes, or until they are slightly firm to the touch. If you pick up a cookie you will notice some caramelized brown sugar in the bottom. Resist the urge to eat a hot cookie. I didn’t and I burned my tongue. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for about 5 minutes, and then move them to a wire rack to cool completely. Now eat one…

***Some Important Notes***

1.  After buying fresh nutmeg I realized I didn't have a grater (and was kind of nervous about the whole grating nutmeg process) so I used 1/8 tsp of ground nutmeg. Hopefully it works ok.

2. After taking the bananas out of the microwave and trying to mash/liquify them through a strainer, there was no banana "liquid". Who knows maybe I'm not strong enough but regardless I therefore skipped the second step, put the puree when indicated in the recipe, and skipped the adding any banana syrup stuff since my weak little arms couldn't produce any.

3. This is the first time I made some changes on my own, not by someone else's suggestion, so here's hoping they don't turn out like shit... Yay, they didn't, as per my taste-testers review!!!