Banana bread cookies are an excellent way to use your banana freezer stash

Banana bread cookies are an excellent way to use your banana freezer stash JULIE VAN ROSENDAAL SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL PUBLISHED 1 HOUR AGO COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. 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). Open this photo in gallery: 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…