Adventures with Mushy Bananas – Part 4

Lest you think all of my banana experiments are unqualified successes, I thought I’d write about a recipe for banana-nut biscotti that turned out only just okay.

I should qualify my disappointment with my vision for perfect biscotti: The cookies should be so crisp and crunchy that they break apart into a thousand tiny crumbs if you dare bite into one without first dipping it into a mug of steaming coffee. Anything less will not do.

The results of the experiment were certainly tasty – sort of like banana bread, but in a more travel-friendly form. The texture on the other hand was too soft. No dipping was necessary to prevent a chipped tooth.

If you like biscotti and want a change from the typical flavors, I suggest giving them a try. Just don’t expect your typical dipping cookie.

Banana-Nut Biscotti
Yields 2 dozen cookies

Note: While I didn’t try this, drizzling these with dark chocolate would probably be very good.

1 ¾ c flour
½ c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1/3 c mashed very ripe banana (about 1 banana)
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/3 c chopped pecans or almonds, toasted
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Combine banana, oil, vanilla, and egg in another bowl; stir in flour mixture and nuts (dough will be sticky).

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; shape dough into 2 (8-inch-long). Place rolls on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; flatten to 1/2-inch thickness.

Bake 23 minutes. Remove rolls from baking sheet; cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. Cut each roll diagonally into 12 (1/2-inch) slices. Place slices, cut sides down, on baking sheet. Reduce oven temperature to 250°; bake 15 minutes. Turn cookies over; bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove from baking sheet; cool completely on wire racks.

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