Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Nest Cookies with Chocolate Eggs

This is a late night munchy inspired by my special Maine family; the recipe is modified from Fondly Optimistic.  K got the ball rolling because he's always hungry; S's genius was adding chocolate eggs; J's formation of the dough made us think of nests!

This is the first version of this cookie - it was kind of a haphazard throwing together of this and that, I didn't really follow the directions and was actually certain that the cookies I made would taste really gross.  I was seriously about to throw all the batter away until my Maine Mom said I should just make them anyway.  Next time, I might adjust the next batch to 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and see how that works.  

The cookies don't have any sugar in them, but you can add them if you'd prefer a cookie with some sweet.  As is, these taste pretty wholesome/granola-y and are yummy with a cup of coffee or cocoa.

Recipe

4 Tbsp butter (real butter)

2 cups oats

2 bananas (mashed)

1 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

1.5 cups of whole wheat flour

Chocolate of your choice, about half a chocolate bar (chopped small or use your fingers to break into little pieces)

Turn the oven on to 350°.

1) Melt butter in a pan on medium heat and add oats.  Stir to coat the oats and let "toast" for five minutes, stirring occasionally.  Turn off the heat and let the oats hang out.

2) In a bowl, beat together the mashed bananas, peanut butter, vanilla extract, salt, and baking soda.

3) Add the oats to the banana batter and mix thoroughly.  Then add the flour and mix thoroughly. 

4) Use a big spoon to roll small balls of batter (about 2 Tbsp each) and place them onto a cookie sheet.  They don't need to be spaced far apart because they will barely spread.  Flatten the center of each ball with your thumb to form a "nest."  Place chocolate pieces into each nest.

5) Bake for 15 minutes and let cool.