Preheat Oven & Prepare Pans: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mash Bananas: In a small bowl, thoroughly mash the overripe bananas with a fork until mostly smooth with some small lumps remaining. Set aside.

Cream Butter & Sugars: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add Egg, Vanilla, Banana: Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until well combined. Then, beat in the mashed bananas.

Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and optional ground cinnamon.

Mix Dough: Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredient mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.

Add Chocolate Chips & Nuts: Stir in the chocolate chips and optional chopped nuts by hand with a sturdy spatula until evenly distributed.

Chill Dough (Optional but Recommended): For thicker cookies that spread less, cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes.

Scoop Dough: Drop rounded tablespoons of dough (or use a medium cookie scoop) onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.

Bake: Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown and the centers are set but still soft.

Cool Cookies: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy: Enjoy your delicious homemade banana chocolate chip cookies recipe!