Have brown bananas? Skip the bread and make banana cookies! My recipe is carefully crafted to have a chewy (not cakey!) texture and rich banana flavor. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Soft & Chewy Banana Cookies 🍌
For when you’re not in the mood for another loaf of banana bread, banana pudding, or another batch of banana muffins, it may just be time to give my banana cookies a whirl. A Google search will populate dozens of tasty recipes, but almost all of them boast a soft, almost cake-like texture. I don’t know about you, but I when I want a cookie, I’m expecting it to be chewy, not cakey!
I’ve adapted my recipe to account for the extra moisture from the bananas, and the end result is a true banana cookie recipe with a classic CHEWY (not cakey!) cookie texture 🙌
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s perfect for using up those last few brown bananas lingering at the bottom of your fruit basket. Some banana recipes call for a bunch of brown bananas, but this one is perfect for using up the 1 or 2 you thought you’d eat in time, but didn’t.
- No mixer needed. Since the recipe starts with melted butter (another key ingredient for chewy cookies). Using melted butter in this recipe means the dough will need to chill for a bit before baking though.
- Includes fun add-ins like pecans (or walnuts!), cinnamon, and chocolate chips. You can always leave these out if you prefer, though.
- Carefully crafted to have a classic soft and chewy cookie texture. Unlike many other recipes, my cookies are NOT cakey (we have banana cake if you’re looking to fix a cake craving!)!
Jump to:
Ingredients
- Very ripe bananas. If there’s one piece of advice I can give you for this recipe, it’s to make sure your bananas are about as old (or ripe) as possible. Ripe bananas are easier to mash and have the sweetest and strongest banana flavor.
- Egg yolk. I took a note from my equally chewy pumpkin cookies and omitted the egg white in this recipe. If included, it would add excess moisture to the dough, creating that cakey texture we are so carefully trying to avoid.
- Melted butter. Melted butter imparts a rich, buttery flavor and encourages spreading (as opposed to creaming cool butter with sugar, which would make the cookies fluffier and cakier). If you want to get fancy and make banana cookies with brown butter, hop on over to my recipe for chocolate chip banana bread cookies, which is a more gourmet version of this recipe.
- Brown sugar. I like to use a 50/50 blend of light and dark brown sugar. All light brown sugar will work if that’s all you have on hand, but I don’t recommend using all dark brown.
- Add-ins. I like pecans and a blend of milk chocolate and semisweet chocolate chips. You could always swap the pecans with walnuts, or do toasted pecans or walnuts instead! For the chocolate, really any kind will work–even peanut butter chips would be tasty here! You can also omit the add-ins entirely.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
SAM’S TIP: For pretty cookie tops, reserve about ¼ cup of chocolate chips for pressing into the cookies just after they’ve come out of the oven. It gives them a bakery-style look!
How to Make Banana Cookies
- Step 1: Mash the banana. Use a potato masher or fork to mash the banana in a large bowl, then stir in the melted butter, sugars, egg yolk, and vanilla.
- Step 2: Combine wet and dry ingredients. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually add them to the banana mixture. I like to do this in 3-4 parts; adding them all at once could make the dough difficult to work with.
- Step 3: Fold in the add-ins. Add your nuts and chocolate chips, then fold them into the dough until evenly incorporated. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Step 4: Scoop & bake. Drop 1 ½ tablespoon scoops of dough onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for about 12 minutes and let cool completely on the baking sheet before removing and enjoying. If you wanted to add chocolate chips to the tops of your cookies, make sure to do this within 1-2 minutes of removing them from the oven; otherwise they won’t stick.
SAM’S TIP: For neater, more uniform cookies, roll the dough between your palms before baking. It might be bit sticky when you do this, but this is normal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! I have instructions for freezing all types of cookie dough in my post on how to freeze cookie dough. It’s one of my favorite things to do–makes it SO easy to have fresh baked cookies on hand any time.
As long as they are in an airtight container, they’ll keep for up to 4 days. You do not need to refrigerate these cookies.
I carefully designed this recipe to make chewy cookies, so if yours are cakey, something definitely went wrong!
Two of the most common mistakes that can cause this include using a whole egg (we skip the egg white for a very important reason!), using more banana than called for, or adding too much flour to the dough. It can be VERY easy to over-measure flour; I really recommend learning how to use a kitchen scale for the most accurate baking.
More Chocolate Banana Recipes
If you love fruit-infused cookies, try my strawberry cookies or lemon cookies next!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified of all the newest recipes, and find my free recipe tutorials on YouTube 💜
Banana Cookies
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup (185 g) well-mashed very-ripe bananas (this is typically 1 ½ bananas for me)
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled until no longer warm to the touch
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- ⅔ cup (135 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups (255 g) chocolate chips use either milk chocolate or semisweet, or a blend of the two!
- 1 cup (115 g) chopped walnuts optional
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Combine well-mashed banana, melted/cooled butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and stir well until completely combined.⅔ cup (185 g) well-mashed, 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, ⅔ cup (135 g) granulated sugar, 1 large egg yolk, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon table salt, ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Gradually add flour mixture to butter/banana mixture until completely combined (I do this in 3-4 parts).
- Add chocolate chips and walnuts, if using, and stir until well-combined.1 ½ cups (255 g) chocolate chips, 1 cup (115 g) chopped walnuts
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes (or up to 24 hours).
- Once dough has nearly finished chilling, preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Scoop dough by 1 ½ Tablespoon-sized scoops and drop on prepared baking sheet, spacing at least 2” apart.
- Bake in 350F (175C) oven for 12-14 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely before enjoying.
Notes
Storing
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Interestingly, I’ve found that the fresher these cookies are the stronger the banana flavor is!Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Juli
do you have a recommendation for a good gluten free flour to sub?
Sam
Hi Juli! Unfortunately I don’t have much experience with gluten free substitutes. 🙁
Monica
Could you add something like oatmeal to the cookie or would It change the consistency?
Sam
Hi Monica! You’d likely have to make some alterations to add oatmeal here and without having tried it, I can’t say for sure how it would work.
Ronalyn
Do you have a high altitude adjustment?
Sam
Hi Ronayln! Unfortunately, I am not familiar with high altitude baking so I can’t say for sure if there would be any adjustments needed for high altitude. If you do try it, I would love to know how it goes. 🙂
Julie
Delicious! Minimal clean up thanks to the measured weight amounts, and no need for a mixer! Sure to become a staple cookie for us.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Julie! 🙂
Sam
I’d appreciate please if the size of the 1.5 tbsp dough balls before cooking could be clarified, as I’m not in the USA and don’t have a sized dough scoop. Are they rounded, or flat tbsps for example? How much approx does each scoop weigh? It would be helpful if there were photos of each step, and I can’t see the video mentioned at the top of the recipe.
Sam
Hi Sam! I don’t have a weight on the scoops of dough, but it’s not an exact science on the size of the dough balls. I have a tablespoon scoop that I round a bit. If you have an ad blocker running it will prevent the video from showing up, but you can always find all of my videos on Youtube. I hope this helps! 🙂
Laurie R
These cookies were surprisingly delicious. Subtle banana flavor which I liked. Moist, soft and chewy. I added both milk and semi sweet chocolate chunks along with chopped pecans then glazed the tops of the baked cookies with melted white chocolate. Soooo good and everyone loved them. Thanks, Sam, for another wonderful recipe.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed, Laurie! Thank you so much for trying my recipe!
Skahoopii
My new favorite recipe. Love love love!!! Thank you for sharing.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Patti
These are amazing!! I made according to your recipe and had to make a few of my own adjustments. I added a half tsp of banana bakery emulsions, an extra tsp of cinnamon, and extra baking powder. my man days we have to buy bananas every week now do I van make these for his lunches! Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Patti! 🙂
Nancy
I can see why this recipe has 5*. Yum yum “) I also stuffed some with nutella 😋
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Nancy! 🙂
Maria B Rugolo
If you haven’t tried Sam’ banana cake, you’re missing out! These cookies are amazing!!!!!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed both recipes, Maria! Thanks for the review ❤️
Terry
Hi Sam! Silly question for you…can I turn these into cookie bars instead, using, I’m guessing, a 9 x 13″ pan?
I’m having serious dexterity issues at the moment, so scooping & rolling are beyond my abilities. But – I DO have REALLY ripe bananas 😧
Thanks so much, and have a great weekend!
Sam
Hi Terry! I haven’t tried it but I think it could work. 🙂
Anna D.
Perfect way to use overripe bananas when you don’t want to make banana bread. These cookies are chewy, not cakey, which is why I love them. I’ll definitely be making these again!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Anna! 🙂
Jeanne
I doubled the recipe & I wonder if I can freeze the leftover batter? Delicious cookies!!
Sam
Hi Jeanne! I haven’t personally tried it, but I think it could work. 🙂
John Reist
Can you prepare banana cookies in bread maker using dough setting?
Sam
Hi John! I’m not really sure how it would go. 🙁
Nazifa
This is the first banana cookie recipe where it didn’t taste like banana bread or cake, but instead like an actual cookie. It has the crisp outside and chewy inside texture while still having a banana flavor. 10/10
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Nazifa! 🙂
Bruce
I’m making them again now, using the gram measurement for flour, so they will probably have maximum chewiness. I’m using toasted walnuts, and will use a browned butter frosting (just browned butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and milk) that I know will go great with them.
Hc
Hi, I assume I can rolls into balls and freeze? Should I defrost the dough balls before baking?
Sam
Freezing them should work just fine. I would bake them from frozen. 🙂
Bruce
Leave it to Sam to come up with a chewy banana cookie. These are amazing. I used 1 1/2 cups of toasted pecan pieces, and no chocolate chips, because I didn’t want to have chocolate overwhelming the banana flavor. The small amount of cinnamon just adds a little something to the overall flavor. Mine are a little smaller than yours, about the size of a Keebler Pecan Sandie, so I got 4 1/2 dozen.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Your version sounds delicious too, Bruce! Enjoy 😊
Bruce
I forgot to mention that you need to add the metric measurement for the 3 cups of flour, please.
Sam
Just updated, thanks Bruce!