Banana Oatmeal Cookies Recipe | Simple Nourished Living (2024)

FAQs

Why are my homemade oatmeal cookies hard? ›

Overbaking is the most common cause of hard oatmeal cookies. Cookies continue to cook on the baking sheet even after they're removed from the oven, so try taking them out when they're just lightly golden and still a bit soft in the middle. They'll firm up as they cool, resulting in a chewier texture.

Overbaking: Overbaking is a common culprit for dry cookies. Make sure you follow the recommended baking time and temperature in your recipe.

BAKING SODA: When baking soda is combined with an acid, like the cocoa powder, baking powder, and brown sugar in this recipe, it produces carbon dioxide, which helps the cookie dough rise and eventually spread. It also helps the cookies caramelize, raising the pH level in the dough for peak browning.

Both whole grain oats and raisins are a good source of fiber. The presence of whole grain oats will also help you stay fuller longer. That said, oatmeal raisin cookies are still cookies with higher butter and sugar content than other snacks, so they should only be considered a healthy snack in moderation.

If you enjoy your cookies soft and chewy, chances are likely the recipe contains a common ingredient that serves a very specific purpose. No, it's not granulated sugar, nor the butter. It's not the egg, all-purpose flour, or even the vanilla extract. The simple, yet oh-so-necessary component is cornstarch.

Baking powder

Baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate and acidic salts. The reaction of these two ingredients results in a cookie that is soft and thick, but slightly harder.

Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

Use a higher ratio of brown sugar to white sugar. Brown sugar contains molasses, which adds moisture to the cookie dough and helps create a softer texture. Use melted butter instead of room-temperature butter. Melted butter incorporates more easily into the dough, creating a more cohesive and pliable dough.

Since most cookies are made with softened butter, which is then creamed with the sugar to act as the foundation, it's best to chill the dough after mixing to allow that butter to cool off. “Cookies made from chilled dough expand more slowly as they bake,” Hill says.

If you don't have baking soda, you can use baking powder, at three times what the recipe calls for. So if a recipe calls for one teaspoon of baking soda, you can use three teaspoons of baking powder. Baking powder also contains a little bit of salt, so it's also a good idea to halve the salt the recipe calls for.

What makes cookies fluffier baking soda or baking powder? ›

Baking soda is generally about three times stronger than baking powder, so adjust your recipe accordingly. Baking soda and baking powder can produce cookies with different textures. Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies.

Brown sugar, meanwhile, is dense and compacts easily, creating fewer air pockets during creaming—that means that there's less opportunity to entrap gas, creating cookies that rise less and spread more. With less moisture escaping via steam, they also stay moist and chewy.

Consume With Caution

Even with healthy additions, an oatmeal cookie is still a cookie. Enjoying one occasionally is OK. They may contain more nutrients than other cookies, but they still contain large amounts of fat and sugar, which aren't so healthy and may be detrimental to your waistline.

A cup of cooked oatmeal (1/2 cup of dried oats) contains approximately 30 grams of carbs, which can fit into a nutritious meal plan for people with diabetes. Oatmeal is high in fiber and nutrients but low in saturated and trans fats and sugar and can help you maintain a healthy blood sugar level.

The easiest way to soften cookies with bread is to place the cookies in an airtight container with a slice of bread and leave them for a few hours. The bread will release moisture and help to rehydrate the cookies, making them soft and chewy once again.

The key to keeping cookies fresh and soft is to seal them in an airtight container, like a resealable freezer bag. And here's a nifty little trick: add a piece of bread to the bag. You might think that the bread trick works because the cookies absorb moisture from the bread.

The best way to soften up those hard cookies is something you probably already have in your kitchen… bread! That's right, a piece of fresh bread will make those tough treats soft and chewy.

Just wrap a cookie or two in a damp paper towel and then put them in the microwave for about 10 to 15 seconds. The moisture from the paper towel should soften the cookies right up. So if you wonder how to soften hard cookies quickly? Microwave is the way!