Cardamom Banana Cookies (Vegan, Dairy, egg, soy free): A sign of the times

For HJL, JEL, PDC 

My brain hurts.  It literally aches.  It hurts and it aches and it isn't for any good reason.  I did it to myself.  I did it by playing, Trivial Pursuit, 90's Edition.  Back in my single days, I LOVED the original Trivial Pursuit.  We generally played in teams of two and we'd gather around that board for a few hours to play the game.  I always excelled at the Science and Arts and Literature categories and if teamed up with then boyfriend (now Husband), he always had a handle on the History as well as Sports and Leisure categories.  We were a good team.  We didn't always win, but we never got spanked with a loss so badly we couldn't hold our heads up.  I thought myself quite the brilliant player.  (I do love silly things like random trivia.)

A few nights ago, friend JEL got it in her head that we should play again, only she had some new versions.  She had the original version, another version and the 90's Edition.  She insisted that the 90's edition was super easy and it would be fun to play.  We teamed up (JEL and me) against her husband and another friend.  We sat down and I have to say that I mentally rubbed my hands with glee.  I would OWN this game.

Only I sucked.  I stunk.  It was horrible.  JEL the entire time kept on insisting that the game was easier than the original because it all took place in recent history - only it turns out I have no recollection of the 90's. History, scandals, politics (SO MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT SENATORS) continually spanked us.  Surprisingly I got many of the "wired" questions (high tech questions) correct, probably as a result of having lived in the Bay Area during that time.  We struggled through questions about sports of that time (I know nothing) and WHERE WERE THE COOKING QUESTIONS!  OH!  There was one.  The question was, "Whose show 'How to Boil Water' was a commercial flop?"  (I had no idea.  JEL answered Julia Child, even though we knew it didn't happen in the 90's.)

Slowly, (with my passing out and sleeping in between questions and waking up to answer them) we managed to almost complete our wedge/pie piece collection.  It took us over 3 and half hours to finish the game.  The day after we calculated that we answered more than 50% of the questions incorrectly.  We also reasoned that 10 or 15 years ago, the information would have been far fresher and far easier to answer than now.   Whatever the case, it was a humbling experience but one that made me laugh.  All my pride about being good at the game was done for.  There can be no pride when you get only 50% correct.  Yikes.  It's the sign of the times, a moment to realize, that yes, I'm getting old and things up on top are not what they used to be.

So, what do I take pride in?  Today it is making something that Son enjoys with relish.  I have been basically ignoring all of his cries for cookies and all of his polite requests, "Mommy can you please make me a cookie that I can eat?" and basically been making only bundt cakes.  But I happened to have a bunch of bananas that needed to be eaten up so I decided that I'd whip him up some cookies.  Only - I wanted them to be something different and something that he hadn't had before so I made this.  The result was Son was so happy and even non allergic kids loved them as well.  The cardamom cinnamon combination is subtle and beautiful and definitely not your run-of-the-mill boring cookie.  So have fun with these.  These gave me back my pride.

Cardamom Banana Cookies (Vegan, Dairy, Egg, Soy Free)
Makes 4 dozen

Ingredients
Cookie Dough
2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
3 large bananas, mashed
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Topping
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Method
Preheat oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or lightly grease.

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt. Set aside.

Using either a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer, beat the oil, sugar and molasses at medium high speed until light, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add bananas beating well after addition. Beat in vanilla extract. Scrape down sides of the bowl and beat 30 seconds more. At low speed, add the flour mixture and beat until just blended.

In a bowl, make topping by mixing cinnamon and sugar together.

Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes (or up to a week in the fridge.) Shape the cookie into 1 inch balls (about 1 tablespoon of dough- it may be a bit sticky and difficult to work with...but don’t worry.) Roll each ball into cinnamon sugar mixture to coat completely and arrange balls on the baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Flatten each cookie into a 2 inch disk. Bake cookies one sheet at time, 14- 18 minutes until tops are crinkly and they are puffed and lightly browned around the edges. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.

Printable recipe