I've got a mission...

to BAKE! Banana Oatmeal Cookies and Brownie Batter Biscotti to be exact.

That was my mindset when I woke up this morning...that's gotta get you out of bed, no?! :D

It started off with some "perfect coffee"...extra foam!

Which eventually morphed into some of the most perfect tea!
Let's dig in...shall we? I'm past digging, I'm burrowing! (Gilmore girls? No? Moving on...).

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

I made quite a few tweaks to this recipe and it turned out phenomenal! Not cake-y like many banana/oatmeal cookies, but soft and delicious! The fam agreed...

• I used Smart Balance in place of butter (we don't have the real stuff!)
• 1/2 Whole Wheat Flour, 1/2 All Purpose (I almost always make this change...)
• Turbinado sugar in place of brown sugar (I opened up our brown sugar and it was hard. My family doesn't bake much. haha)
• Instant Oats (Don't tell me I can't do something...I'll do it.)
• Omitted the Coconut

Make sure that banana is at the PEAK of it's ripeness! MMM!

Combine the wet and dry ingredients...in a cute mixing bowl, if you have one! ;)

Add loads of mini chocolate chips. Mini = more in each bite. Got it? No need to measure.

Don't eat the batter. It has raw eggs in it. Although, it hasn't killed me just yet... ;)

Bake. Mine took longer than the alloted 11-14 minutes, but I think all ovens vary just a bit. Be on watch!

Some of the best oatmeal cookies I have ever made:

Nom nom nom...

Brownie Batter Biscotti

I changed the name to brownie batter because I think it better suits these chocolate-y delights! :P

As you can see above, I used 1/3c oil instead of butter (and omitted the nuts). That was my only deviation from the recipe!.

Wet + Dry = Brownie Batter (a somewhat stiff and slightly sticky dough)

Use a strong spoon/mixing device. Then dig it out with your crystal clean hands and...

shape it into two long, about 1in thick loaves and coat said loaves with an egg/water wash.

I felt like I was working at the tootsie roll factory. Let these beauties cool for 30 minutes while you prep the previously mentioned oatmeal banana cookies!

Carefully slice and bake again...

Biscotti = Twice Baked

The recipe says 10-15 minutes/side, but mine took a little longer. Some were done before others.

Use your good judgement.

When you go to someone's house and bring baked goods, they will love it. It's almost a proven fact.

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope that you have great plans for 2010! I am not exactly making resolutions. I would like to get back into running and increase my endurance. It's not an exact science, but more of a goal.

One more picture because I couldn't decide which lighting worked best (what a foodie)

And with that, I better go get ready. Have a great night and I will "see ya" next year!