Monkeys need to eat, too

I enjoy baking for my family. Pies, cookies, and cakes are packed full of love, then shoveled into their faces to go where love really belongs: their bellies! One of my favorite items is banana bread. I keep a freezer stocked of bananas that have ripened beyond the casual eater's likening. Every now and then, I'll pull out 3 or 4 bananas and make a loaf of bread. There's nothing quite like a warm slice slathered in butter!

Benjamin now enjoys eating with us. Correction: Benjamin stalks us for food. The kid is a bottomless pit! I much prefer to offer him homemade solid foods rather than the store bought prepackaged kinds. I know exactly what goes into it, and it certainly saves us money. So when I opened my freezer today and saw a shelf of bananas, I knew that I had to make him a treat. Afterall, our fridge is full of pumpkin cheesecakes! I thought about trying to turn my bread into a biscuit for him to eat. He is teething, and it helps ease the pain.

Monkey Cookies!

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

3/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup softened butter

3 eggs

3 mashed bananas (you can use frozen or overripe bananas; they provide a more intense flavor)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Comine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well.

Cut in the butter. The dough should be crumbly.

Add remaining ingredients, and mix well.

Drop by teaspoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes.

Makes about 3 dozen. These cookies can be frozen.

These are very cakelike cookies, rather than hard biscuits, but as you can see, Benjamin enjoys them!