American Cookie #6: {1917 WWI Era Banana Drop Cookies}

Each week, I'm going to be highlighting a new American Cookie and sharing its history, as well as my results. This is the sixth week of baking with American Cookie by Anne Byrn, and I'm sharing Banana Drop Cookies, dating back to 1917! 

The History of the Banana Drop Cookie, as well as other popular banana desserts: In 1917, America had just entered WWI and all the ships that transported things like bananas to America from Hawaii, were busy with the war effort! The problem was, the banana crop was BOOMING! The Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station had a director that pleaded with everyone in Hawaii (which was not a state but a U.S. Territory back then) eat one banana per day, hoping this would boost banana consumption. With the ripening, rotting surplus of Hawaiian bananas on hand, the wife of the director of Hawaiian Agriculture went into the kitchen and started cooking up ideas. She developed recipes for banana pudding, banana bread, banana custard, banana dumplings, banana fritters, and this banana drop cookie recipe, which she shared with the Honolulu newspaper.

My Results:  If you love banana bread, then you will love these cookies! They are pillowy and soft with a subtle banana and cinnamon flavor, and not too sweet. In the book, she says you can cook them for 8 minutes, or up to 10 minutes if you want them to be crisper. I don't usually love crisp cookies (I prefer them chewy) but these cookies have a little more flavor when they cook a little longer and I found that 10 minutes was perfect. They are addictive and irresistible and I had to slap my hand away from the cookie jar!

My Rating:  5 out of 5 stars! I really loved these and can see myself making them again. I think of them as more of a breakfast cookie as they are much less sweet than a traditional cookie. I will definitely make them again!

I'm going to be rating all the cookies with the five-star format, one-star being the lowest rating and five-star being the highest. 

 Banana Drop Cookies

Adapted from American Cookie

by Anne Byrn

Makes about 4 dozen

2 large ripe bananas

10 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375F. Set aside 2 ungreased baking sheets.

Peel and slice the bananas into a small bowl. Mash with a fork until smooth. Set aside .You should have a generous 1 cup.

Place the soft butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla and eggs, and beat until incorporated, 30 seconds. Fold in the mashed bananas.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium-sized bowl. Add the flour mixture into the butter and sugar mixture and beat on low until combined, 30 to 45 seconds. 

Spoon tablespoons of dough about 2" apart onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bake the cookies until golden brown around the edges but still a little soft in the center, about 8 minutes. Or bake them until crispy, a full 10 minutes. Let the cookies rest on the pans for 1 minute, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.