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.
Yummy soft cookies.
I have made these cookies a couple of times now. It is wonderful! I add 5 or 6 chocolate chips to the tops of each cookie. They stay soft and delicious. I freeze 6 to a container and pull them out as needed.
Great recipe! I switched eggs, for flax egg and used GF flour. Came out great!
I loved making this recipe. Made the dough late last night and kept it in the fridge until this afternoon to bake them and they were amazing!! Just the perfect light crisp on the edges and chewy and moist in the center (baked them for 13 minutes. thanks a lot for sharing, my new favorite ❤️👍
Definitely a great way to use up ripened bananas without falling back on getter creative with banana bread. Easy to make from a simple recipe using ingredients you most likely have on hand. I made so many cookies and my friends reaped the rewards. They all loved them! Cake texture, mildly sweet cinnamon aroma pairs perfectly with a cup of coffee.
My husband intentionally lets the bananas “go too ripe” so I will make these cookies! Amazing every time. How do you prefer store them? Also – it has been mentioned you can freeze them, what is your suggestion? I’ve never been a fan of fresh baked frozen cookies because you can always “taste” they have been frozen. Looking forward to the feedback!
That is too funny! I actually just bought an extra bundle to start testing iced banana bread recipes, so keep an eye out for that too!
These were a big hit at my house! I made 1/2 batch with 2 bananas and the whole egg. As you said, they were sticky to put together and definitely delicious!
We enjoyed this recipe.
Added in some pecans!!!
Yay! Thanks for coming back to let us know!