Besides banana bread, what do you do with the overripe bananas sitting on your counter? I’ve found the answer – banana cookies! These Soft Banana Cookies will quickly become one of your go-to ripe banana recipes.
What You’ll Need
Besides maybe the bananas, I’d be willing to bet you have most if not all of the ingredients needed to make these banana cookies. A full list of ingredients with measurements for this recipe is available in the printable recipe card below.
- Ripe – Overripe Banana- There is a tipping point at which brown bananas go from giving a good amount of natural sugar and banana flavor to going bad. You are looking for one that has some brown spots and is soft when pressed. If it is totally brown and mushy, it’s past its prime.
- All purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Fine sea salt
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Unsalted butter
- Sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Cinnamon sugar
Make them Your Own
Making your own twists on these chewy banana cookies is easy. Here are a few ideas. We’ve love to hear what your did and how they turned out in the comments sections!
- Banana Nut Cookies– Like banana nut bread, add 2 tablespoons of chopped walnuts or pecans to the cookie dough.
- Peanut Butter Banana Cookies– Stir 1 tablespoon of peanut butter into the batter along with the butter and sugars or use a peanut butter frosting to top them off.
- Chocolate Banana Cookies– Stir in 1/2 cup of milk chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips to the cookie dough or top with a dollop of chocolate buttercream frosting.
- Swap the flavors– Try swapping vanilla extract for almond or rum extract for a fun, new flavor combo.
- Ice Cream Cookies Sandwiches– Sandwich two cookies together with vanilla, chocolate or peanut butter ice cream in the middle. Don’t store for too long in the fridge because the cookies will get too hard to bite.
How to Ripen Bananas Fast
If you don’t have bananas ripe enough to make these banana cookies, try these tips to ripen them quickly.
- Microwave– The quickest way, but least likely to produce super sweet results. Nuke it for 30 seconds to one minute. Basically, you are cooking it and allowing the sugars to release a little before you put it into the recipe.
- Oven- the same concept as the microwave. Heat to 350 degrees and bake for 5-30 minutes.
- Brown Paper Bag – My mother used this technique, but it still takes about a day. Place your bananas in a brown paper bag and roll it closed. Ethylene will build up and speed up the ripening process.
- Tropical Environment – Everything ages faster in the heat. Place your bananas someplace warm, like in a sunny window. It will still take up to a day, depending on how ripe the banana was to begin with.
- Single them out – lastly, pull your bananas apart. They ripen much faster separated than they do still hooked together.
Banana Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
Cookie Dough Recipe:
- 3 3/4 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup unsalted butter , room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup ripe banana* , mashed
- 1 large egg , room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Sugar Cookie Topping:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the 3 3/4 cups flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the 1 cup unsalted butter, s1 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup light brown sugar. When blended, light and creamy, add the 1 large egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and mashed 1 cup ripe banana* .
- Gradually add the dry mixture to wet until fully combined.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.
- After the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a small bowl, stir together the 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon.
- With clean hands, roll the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Dough might be sticky and not roll well, have no fear, just plop it into the sugar and coat.
- Place onto a parchment paper or silicone mat lined cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes or until cookie tops start to crack. Do not wait until cookies brown, they will be overdone.
- Allow the cookies to cool on cookie sheet for at least 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a cooling rack using a spatula.
- If you've tried this recipe, please come back and leave a comment to let us know how it went and if you made any modifications!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Storage and Freezing
Cookies are great for making ahead and bringing to parties and potlucks, But just like any cookie, they are best enjoyed within 1-2 days of baking. Store at room temperature in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. To keep cookies super moist, place a slice or two of fresh bread in the bag.
You sure can! In fact, I suggest it. Store in an airtight container or freezer bag, and you can take just one out anytime you’d like!
Recipe FAQs
Bananas can vary greatly in size and volume, but in general, 2 medium bananas make up approximately 1 cup.
Soft cookies come from making the sure the cookie dough it the correct temperature specified and that they cook until just lightly browned, or even a hair before. Store in an airtight container to preserve the moisture.
There is a line between overly ripe bananas, which are browned, but allowed the natural sugars to develop and turn sweet, and just plain rotting fruit. Ripe bananas will be brown, but smell sweet, while rotting bananas will have a putrid scent.
More Delicious Banana Recipes
I love adding banana to recipes whether that be dessert or breakfast. Here are some of my favorites.
Nice taste but far too dry
The cookies turned out perfect! This is a very good recipe, and they were delicious.
Great way to use up the ripe bananas. Soft and sweet with a hint of banana
As a self-proclaimed “awesome cook” and a “mediocre-at-best baker”, I tried this recipe because like most commenters, I was sick of banana bread all of the time. I followed the instructions to take the cookies out when the tops began to crack, but unfortunately my first batch came out underdone. The second two batches were much better! I’m wondering if it was because the first batch was colder from being in the fridge? So, heads up all mediocre bakers! Bake that first batch a minute or so longer than the others. 🙂
Thanks for the feedback, Katie! And yes, the temp of dough can make a huge difference.
Cant wait to try this recipe but have question. The baking powder is an ingredient but I did not notice it in the directions, should mix with the flour mixture?
You are correct and thanks for noticing that! Just fixed.
Hello trying it now and I noticed when mixing the ingredients, as followed in the directions the baking powder was left out I’m guessing it should be added to the dry medium mixed bowl
Yes! And thanks for pointing this out, we will update.
This is a great cookie! delicious! I made 1″ balls and got 70 cookies! They are very rich. You were right they were very sticky hard to roll into ball. One question how to you suggest storage? Refrigerate or cookie jar?
I was looking for a recipe for my over ripe bananas.. I found this one and tried it. love it!!!
The cookies were delicious!
Thank you for coming to let us know!
Always on the hunt for leftover banana recipes! I used your recipe as a template and adapted it for a gluten-free version using some almond meal and gluten-free flour. Worked really well even with slightly different starches! Thanks for sharing.
I have ripe bananas ready to go for this recipe! I’m going to use your recommendation for a peanut butter frosting and will totally blow my family’s mind! Delish!