Who doesn’t love being on the receiving end of a cookie box? (Unlike chocolates, you always know what you’re going to get.)
Toronto-based food stylists, recipe developers and skilled bakers Miranda Keyes and Michelle Lucas Larving learned the joy of baking for others at a young age – Lucas Larving had her first food business when she was 10, baking and frosting birthday cakes for her mom’s co-workers; Keyes started making cookie boxes in her teens. Now grown-up friends, the pair teamed up to compile a collection of cookies in book form, celebrating one of the most shareable and universally loved baked goods.
Their first book, Cookie Box: Delicious, Giftable Cookies for All Occasions, covers everything you need to know to create stunning cookie boxes – themed for birthdays and holidays, gluten-free and plant-based, and boxes that are designed to withstand a trip through the mail. Even if you don’t have a gift box in mind, the beautifully photographed recipes range from classics such as chocolate chip and peanut butter to more elaborate birthday cake madeleines, making it a superb go-to cookie resource.
My freezer is always cluttered with bananas, so the banana bread cookies caught my eye. With a crisp edge and cakey texture, they remind me of a muffin top – perfect to pack in a lunchbox or grab for breakfast to go, and an ideal pairing with coffee or tea. (The recipe calls for olive oil, but I used half canola and half melted coconut oil, as I love the combination of coconut and banana.)
Banana bread cookies
Excerpted from Cookie Box: Delicious, Giftable Cookies for All Occasions by Miranda Keyes and Michelle Lucas Larving (Hardie Grant).
Julie Van Rosendaal/The Globe and Mail
From the authors: These cookies taste just like banana bread but take only 10 minutes to bake. The batter is quite sticky, but a little rest helps it to firm up. The banana chips are optional, but they add a nice crunch.
- 2 tablespoons plus 1½ teaspoons water
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (120 ml) olive oil
- 1 large ripe banana, mashed, about ⅓ cup (80 g)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) unsweetened almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 bar (100 g) 70-per-cent vegan dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 cup (120 g) walnuts, coarsely chopped
- Banana chips (optional)
Position the oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) and line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
Combine the water with the flaxseed meal in a large bowl and let stand for 5 minutes.
Stir the flour with the cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
Add the sugar, olive oil, banana, almond milk and vanilla extract to the flaxseed mixture, stirring well to combine. Using a spatula, fold in the flour mixture just until the dough comes together. (The batter will be very sticky.) Mix in the chocolate and walnuts until fully combined.
Using a medium cookie scoop that’s 2 tablespoons in size, scoop the dough onto the prepared sheets, 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Set a banana chip (if using) on top of each scoop, gently pressing each one to adhere.
Bake in the top and bottom thirds of the oven, switching the sheets halfway through, until the edges are golden brown and the cookies are beginning to set, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for five minutes, then transfer to wire racks and let cool completely for 20 minutes. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to five days. Makes 27 cookies.