Frosted Banana Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 medium)
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
2 1/2 cups quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Vanilla Frosting (recipe follows)


VANILLA FROSTING
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons milk (2 to 3 tablespoons)

Heat oven to 350º. Grease cookie sheet. Beat sugar, bananas, butter and egg in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in remaining ingredients except Vanilla Frosting.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown and almost no indentation remains when touched in center. Cool 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost with Vanilla Frosting.

VANILLA FROSTING:

Mix all ingredients until smooth and spreadable.

*Sorry that I don't have a picture but there are no cookies left to photograph!


**For the frosting I just mixed powdered sugar with a little milk so it was more like a glaze. I thought that would be better than a heavy frosting


***I used 1/2 cup wheat flour and 3/4 cup white flour

Cranberry Orange Softies

Ingredients:

1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

½ cup sour cream (could substitute plain/natural yogurt)

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp freshly grated or ground nutmeg

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup walnuts, finely chopped

½ cup dried cranberries

2 tbsp freshly grated orange peel

Orange icing ingredients:

3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

Pinch of salt

2 tbsp fresh orange juice

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 ½ cups confectioner's sugar

1. Heat oven to 375'

2. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy. On medium speed mix next 7 ingredients. Stir in flour, then nuts, then cranberries

and grated peel. Drop heaped teaspoons on ungreased baking tray.

3. Bake about 11 mins until just pale golden (Do not over bake). Cool on sheet for 5 mins then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. Icing Beat butter and salt in medium bowl until creamy. Beat in juice, vanilla and sugar, adding more sugar if needed for spreading consistency.

5. Spread over top of cookies, decorate if desired.