Chocolate Banana Cookies

(Courtesy of Maida Heatter's Book of Great Cookies)

Ingredients:
6 oz. (1 c.) semisweet chocolate morsels
2 1/4 c. sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Scant 1/2 tsp. salt
3 small or 2 large ripe bananas (to make 1 c. mashed)
5 1/3 oz. (10 2/3 Tbsp.) butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
6 oz. (generous 1 1/2 c.) walnuts, cut or broken into medium-size pieces

Directions:
Adjust 2 racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat  oven to 400 degrees.  Cut aluminum foil to fit cookie sheets.

Place the chocolate morsels in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on medium heat.  Cover and cook until partially melted.  Then, uncover and stir until completely melted and smooth.  Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.  In a small bowl of an electric mixer, beat the bananas at low speed to mash them and make 1 c. of pulp.  Set aside.  In the large bowl of an electric mixer (without washing the beaters) cream the butter.  Add the vanilla and sugar and beat well.  Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well.  On low speed, gradually add half of the sifted dry ingredients, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula only until mixed.  Add the cooked chocolate and the bananas and beat until smooth.  Add the remaining half of the dry ingredients and beat only until smooth.  Stir in the nuts.

Using a heating teaspoonful (make these rather large) of the dough for each cookie.  Place them 2 inches apart on the cut aluminum foil.  Slide cookie sheets under the aluminum foil (if you have not already done so).  

Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, reversing the position of the sheets top to bottom and front to back once or twice to insure even baking.  The cookies are done when the tops spring back firmly if lightly pressed with a fingertip.

Slide of foil off of the cookie sheet.  Let the cookies stand for a few minutes and then with your fingers or a spatula, transfer the cookies to a rack to cool.

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