Banana Coconut Cookies

I feel like I hardly ever bake anymore [for good reason since I’m way more inconsistent in quality], but when I do, I make a few things in rapid succession and then shelve the baking skills for another day. I’m sure practice makes perfect, but I’d much rather “practice” my cooking skills. I prefer the savory to the sweet 98% of the time. Unless it’s a fresh sopaipilla smothered in honey from La Panza that I had last night. I’ll choose that 98% of the time.

To be fair, these “cookies” hardly count as baking. I turned the oven on and they practically made themselves. It was equal parts convenience and sheer luck that I actually had a couple of ripe bananas on hand that I wouldn’t be able to use before they went bad or at least amassed an army of fruit flies to do their bidding. Putting bananas and shredded unsweetened coconut into a food processor is about as hard as it gets. You must must MUST like both of these flavors. Don’t make them otherwise or you’ll be sorely upset. It’s definitely banana and coconut all up in your mouth. Very tropical. Very daiquiri-ish without the booze. They turn extremely banana-y the longer you keep them, and they keep pretty well in a sealed container. No browning like I expected. They’re soft, even with the baking, but hold a cookie shape well. Keep them in until the coconut starts to toast. Necessary.

Ingredients

• 2 bananas
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350° and line a baking sheet or three with a SILPAT [greasing it or using wax paper, also options]. Add the bananas and coconut to a food processor and pulse until well combined. Use a cookie or ice cream scoop to get uniform balls of banana coconut mush and space them out evenly on the baking sheet. Press them down into cookie shapes. They won’t spread so keep that in mind. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges start to brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before removing from the pan. They’ll set the longer they cool.