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These delightful banana cookies are where the comfort and warmth of banana bread are transformed into bite-sized treats. These cookies capture the essence of homemade banana bread, with the added charm and convenience of a cookie. Soft, moist, and infused with the sweet, aromatic flavor of bananas, each bite is a testament to the simple joys of baking.

This recipe marries the nostalgia of banana bread with the playful form of cookies. These overripe bananas so often find their way into our kitchens, these banana cookies are my answer to the age-old question: what to do with those bananas? Turning a common dilemma into a delightful baking adventure.

Freshly made banana cookies on a plate

The Chemistry of Banana Cookies

At the heart of these cookies lies the fascinating chemistry of baking. Bananas, rich in natural sugars and moisture, act as both a sweetener and a tenderizer, ensuring each cookie is wonderfully soft. The creaming of butter and sugars introduces air into the batter, creating a light texture. Meanwhile, the addition of eggs binds the ingredients together and adds richness. The subtle inclusion of cinnamon not only complements the banana’s sweetness but also introduces a warm, spicy note, enhancing the overall flavor profile.

How do bananas affect the texture of cookies?

Bananas add moisture and natural sugars to the dough, resulting in cookies that are soft, moist, and tender, similar to the texture of banana bread.

Can you adjust the sweetness of banana cookies?

Absolutely! The balance of granulated and brown sugar can be tweaked to suit your taste. Reducing the sugar will lessen the sweetness, while increasing it will make the cookies sweeter.

Freshly made banana cookies on a plate

Best way to store banana cookies?

Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerate for up to a week to maintain freshness.

Can you add nuts or chocolate chips to banana cookies?

Yes, you can easily customize these cookies by adding nuts, chocolate chips, or even dried fruit to the dough before baking for added texture and flavor.

Freshly made banana cookies on a plate

What is in banana cookies?

Unsalted Butter

It is always important to use unsalted butter when baking. If you use salted butter, you have no way of knowing how much salt you are adding to your dough or batter and it will result in an overly salted treat.

Butter adds fats to your dough or batter which helps with moistness, flavor and texture. Butter melts at body temperature, which creates a ‘melt in your mouth’ sensation.

When baking with butter, the temperature is important. If the butter is too warm, your treat will melt too fast and overspread in the oven, leaving you with a greasy, flat mess. If your butter is too cold, it will have the opposite problem and not melt down enough, leaving your treat too thick.

Granulated Sugar

Adds sweetness, provides a caramelized flavor and crisp texture. Sugar assists with rising when creamed with butter. It helps add moisture to your treat and helps it evenly spread as it melts into a liquid in the heat of the oven. Sugar also helps with naturally preserving your baked treat.

Brown Sugar

Is granulated sugar with a little molasses mixed in. Molasses is a somewhat smoky flavored natural sweetener, which makes brown sugar a bit sweeter than granulated sugar. Brown sugar draws more moisture into your treat, keeping it softer for longer. It’s also more acidic, which means it will help activate your baking soda.

Eggs

Adds both a protein (egg whites) and fat (egg yolks). The egg whites help with rising because, when foamed, little air pockets get trapped inside the egg white mixture. The water content in egg whites encourages steam while baking, which helps with gluten formation, resulting in nice and thick treats. Egg yolks have emulsifying properties that bring batters and doughs together and help them from collapsing. Unless otherwise specified, always use large eggs.

Vanilla Extract

When using pure vanilla extract, as opposed to imitation flavoring, it will add the deep rich flavor that everybody wants in a treat.

Overripe Bananas

Provide sweetness and moisture to your treat. You want your bananas overripe so that they are extra sweet, easy to mash and add more moisture than ripe or unripe bananas.

All-purpose Flour

Builds structure as it absorbs liquids and expands. All-purpose flour falls in the middle of bread flour (high in gluten) and cake flour (low in gluten). It’s exactly what it is named, all-purpose, the most universal flour that can be used in most baked goods.

Baking Soda

Elevates the pH level of your batter or dough. It increases the spread in your treat and encourages browning, which gives the crispy outside and soft inside texture that everyone loves. Baking soda needs both an acid and a liquid to react. Things that will activate your baking soda are: vinegar, fruit juice, molasses, brown sugar, tartar, buttermilk and sour cream. Baking soda only reacts once, which is right when it’s mixed into your batter or dough. The soda creates little air bubbles all throughout your treat. When the air bubbles get heated up in the oven, they expand.

Fine Sea Salt

Enhances flavor, adds balance, masks any bitter flavors. Salt is the most powerful and oldest preservative. Always make sure to use fine sea salt so it melts down at the right speed in the heat of the oven. If you use larger granule salt, it will not melt down fully when baked and will leave salt crystals throughout your treat, making it crunch like you dropped it into sand. All of my favorite salts are from Redmond and I have a discount code for you to get 15% off.

Cinnamon

A seasoning that adds a nice spice to your treat.

Cornstarch

Helps create a crumbly tender texture to toppings. Softens cookies, brownies and cakes. And it can also thicken sauces and fillings.

Freshly made banana cookies on a plate with one broken

Storage Tips

Keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days. These can be refrigerated for up to a week. You can also freeze the baked cookies for up to a month. Thaw at room temperature before serving.

Making Ahead

The cookie dough can be prepared in advance and stored in the refrigerator overnight, allowing the flavors to meld and deepen. This makes the baking process even more convenient and enhances the taste.

Recommended Equipment

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Freshly made banana cookies on a plate with one broken

Why make banana cookies?

These are perfect for any occasion – from casual gatherings to more festive celebrations. They’re especially delightful as a comforting treat during the fall or as a thoughtful homemade gift during the holiday season.

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banana cookies

Banana Cookies

Author: Madison Reid
Total Time: 26 minutes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 11 minutes
Servings: 36 cookies
These cookies are like a sweet banana bread, but in cookie form.

Ingredients 

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup mashed bananas
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • cinnamon sugar mixture

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
  • In a standing mixer combine the butter & sugars. Mix on high for 2 minutes until creamed. The mixture will be lighter in color and texture.
  • Add eggs & vanilla extract stir until combined.
  • In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, fine sea salt, cinnamon & cornstarch.
  • Pour 1/2 the mashed bananas into the standing mixture, stir until combined. Pour half of the flour mixture into the standing mixture, stir until combined. Repeat once until all the banana & flour mixture is fully combine in the standing mixer.
  • Scoop the cookies onto light metal cookie sheets lined with parchment paper
  • Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the cookie dough. You can use the ratio of cinnamon & sugar that you like.
  • Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes
  • Remove and allow the cookies to sit on the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes before you remove and allow them to finish cooling.

Nutrition

Calories: 137kcal Carbohydrates: 21g Protein: 2g Fat: 5g Saturated Fat: 3g Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g Monounsaturated Fat: 1g Trans Fat: 0.2g Cholesterol: 23mg Sodium: 69mg Potassium: 47mg Fiber: 0.5g Sugar: 12g Vitamin A: 175IU Vitamin C: 1mg Calcium: 10mg Iron: 1mg

Have you tried this recipe?

I’d love to see it! Follow @_mrs.madi_ on Instagram and tag your photos with #mrsmadi.

Titled banana cookies stacked on a plate