“Hannah’s Bananas” vs. Alicia’s Bananas

I am trying to squeeze all the reading time I can into my life now that it’s back to “normal” and I am finding that the more I make time to read, the happier I am. I have been getting into a few different series recently, but I am still loving the Hannah Swensen series by Joanne Fluke and I just finished book 5 a couple days ago. Of all the recipes, Hannah’s Bananas was my number one pick to try. However, I was also craving something with oatmeal, so I decided to follow the recipe for Hannah’s Bananas and make my own loosely based on the original recipe and see which my family liked more.

Since I am a blogger and not an acclaimed mystery writer like Joanne Fluke, I will just tell you right now that Hannah’s recipe won! I liked the touch of the oatmeal in mine and the richness of the added brown sugar, but I might be a bit partial. I think I’m the only one of 6 people who liked my own better, so I’d say hats clearly go off to Hannah. NOTE: I made half batches of both.

Pictured above is the dough for Hannah’s recipe. It has to chill overnight, so I had to practice some patience, but the dough was delicious! Wait….it has raw egg in it. Never mind. I have no idea what raw dough tastes like.

I was really surprised that it only called for white sugar and no brown sugar or powdered sugar, which she used a lot in earlier recipes. Also, it called for walnuts instead of chocolate chips and that is the only deviation I made. I was determined to follow the recipe exactly, but I simply couldn’t add nuts. The family supported me and applauded me on this one. If you like nuts, you can follow Hannah’s exact recipe or maybe do half and half with nuts and chocolate chips.

For Alicia’s Bananas, I used half and half white and brown sugar. It was so interesting to see the difference in texture right off. The brown sugar made the dough so much runnier right out of the gate. I didn’t realize how much of a difference it could make. I am someone who likes to see how things work and why, so I was really fascinated by this little experiment.

I also had to add more flour to make up for using part oatmeal. I was curious about this part. I have baked long enough that I can judge by texture pretty well. I added more flour than I thought, but I got the dough to the texture I wanted before it went in the fridge with my other batch. The actual recipe says to refrigerate at least 4 hours, but it was already late enough that overnight was a much better option. Goodnight, cookie dough!

Both of the doughs solidified nicely and they were similar in consistency, even though the oatmeal made the textures hard to compare. Also, my oatmeal version had to cook a bit longer than Hannah’s.

Both of the cookies were nice and soft, but the oatmeal and brown sugar added a chewiness to mine, while the original recipe is lighter and has a more “melt in your mouth” quality to it.

I am continuing to have a lot of fun baking recipes from these books and they are also inspiring me to make my own and see how different ingredients change the result of your baking. I can’t wait to start book 6, especially since it’s a special one where half the book is recipes of all sorts! As the books go on, it seems that they have even more variety in the recipes, where the earlier ones are mostly just baking (not that I’m complaining!) It is my hope that maybe Hannah will inspire me to cook too, but I’m definitely not holding my breath on that one. I can’t wait to see what book 6 brings!

For Hannah’s Bananas, check out the book Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke or go to this link: https://www.food.com/recipe/hannahs-bananas-327367

Alicia’s Banana Oatmeal Cookies

• 1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 large banana, mashed
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 1 1/3 c. quick oats
• 1/2 c. chocolate chips or chunks
• 1/2 c. white chocolate chips or chunks

NOTE: This is a “half batch.” For an event, double this recipe.

This dough has to chill overnight so don’t worry about preheating the oven yet.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the the sugars into the butter. Once they are fully combined, add in the mashed banana, vanilla, and egg. Mix thoroughly before mixing in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the flour, and once it’s all worked in, stir in the oats. The dough will still be soft and sticky, but the overnight refrigeration will solidify it perfectly. Mix in the chocolate by hand before popping the dough into the fridge.

When you’re ready to bake them, preheat the oven to 350 and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. I found that I had an easier time scooping the dough out after I sat it out while the oven was preheating.

Using a scoop, make large balls of dough, about 1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons full, and space them about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Allow them to cool for about 4 minutes before using a spatula to move them to a wire rack to continue cooling. Keep them stored in an airtight container.