Banana Bread Cookies are where banana bread meets a cookie, packed with real banana flavor and a texture that's never flat or cakey. Made with roasted bananas for extra sweetness, they're soft, chewy, and full of rich flavor. A drizzle of caramel on top takes these cookies completely to the next level!
Banana Bread Cookies Recipe Essentials
- 🍽️ Course: Dessert
- ⏱️ Cooking Time: 10-12 minutes bake time
- 🍴 Servings: 24
- 🍌 Flavor Profile: Sweet, rich, and nutty with banana, chocolate, and caramel notes
- 🫖 Best Served With: Milk or coffee
- 🧊 Make Ahead?: Yes, dough benefits from chilling and can be made ahead
Summarize and Save This Content On
I actually discovered how much roasted bananas transform these cookies when I had bananas that weren't quite ripe enough and needed a workaround. As they bake, the smell is absolutely amazing-warm, sweet, and impossible to resist. They've quickly become a popular treat in my house now.
This banana cornbread and chocolate chip banana bread are more baked banana treats that you should make.
Why This Recipe Works
- Roasted bananas add deeper flavor: The best part about these banana cookies is the roasted bananas. They add more depth and a deeper sweetness and banana flavor.
- Chilling the dough balls makes life easy: Instead of chilling a bowl of cookie dough, chilling the dough balls makes it much easier to just stick the pan into the oven when you're ready to bake the banana cookies.
- Egg yolks keep the cookies chewy: I don't use whole eggs in this cookie recipe to keep them nice and chewy instead of more cake-like.
Ingredients
All the important ingredients for this banana chocolate chip cookie recipe are listed below. You'll notice that they are everyday pantry items you can get access to easily.
- Bananas: The volume of bananas is more important than the number of bananas. You'll roast them until they're golden and caramelized, similar to these air-fried bananas.
- Butter: You'll need your butter to be room temperature for the cookie dough. This keeps the dough perfectly smooth. Unsalted butter is ideal, but if you only have salted butter, omit the additional salt from the recipe.
- Brown sugar: I use light brown sugar over dark brown sugar. It adds plenty of depth of flavor and doesn't cause the cookies to spread as much as dark brown sugar due to its slightly lower moisture content.
- Egg yolks: Instead of whole eggs, using just egg yolks keeps the cookies perfectly chewy. If you don't want to waste the whites, freeze them in an airtight container for 1-2 months, or you can use them to make a batch of candied pecans.
- Chocolate: For these cookies, I go all out with chocolate chips, chunks, and white chocolate chips. They add lovely texture, sweetness, and richness.
- Caramel: After the cookies bake, finish them with a drizzle of your favorite caramel sauce. It adds a subtle, salty contrast and makes them look even prettier.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Use powdered sugar: Instead of a caramel drizzle on top of these chocolate banana cookies, you can add a dusting of powdered sugar.
- Try one kind of chocolate: Make these banana cookies with one type of chocolate mix-in instead of 3. Replace them with the same chocolate or something else, like raisins.
- Make them nut-free: Omit the chopped walnuts to make them safe for someone with a nut allergy to enjoy.
How to Make Banana Bread Cookies
Start by preheating your oven to 400°F to roast the bananas. When you're ready to bake your banana cookies, preheat your oven to 350°F.
Step 1: Roast the bananas. Slice the bananas lengthwise (with the peel) and bake them for 15-20 minutes at 400F or until bubbly and caramelized.
Step 2: Mash the bananas. Scoop the banana into a bowl and mash until smooth.
Step 3: Combine the wet ingredients. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, and then mix in the bananas, egg yolks, and vanilla.
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients. Once smooth, pour in the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
Step 5: Fold in the chocolate and nuts. Gently fold in both chocolate chips and chunks, along with chopped nuts.
Step 6: Scoop the cookie dough and chill it. Use your cookie scoop to drop the dough onto a parchment-lined pan, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours or freeze for 1 hour.
Step 7: Arrange and bake the cookies. Place the chilled cookie dough balls on the baking sheets with about 2 inches of space between them. Pop them in the oven and bake them for 10-12 minutes at 350F.
🍪 Pro Tip: Take the cookies out of the oven when there are 2 minutes left, gently tap the pan on the counter to get the crinkly edges, then place them back in the oven.
Step 8: Cool and serve. Allow the cookies to cool, and then drizzle them with caramel. Once the caramel has set, devour one with a cinnamon hot chocolate.
Expert Tips
- Roast the bananas in advance: if you like, you can roast the bananas ahead of time. Do it the day before you plan to make the cookies and keep them in the refrigerator.
- Use a cookie scoop: I prefer to scoop the dough with a cookie scoop to keep them uniform. This helps them to bake more evenly. If you don't have one, you can use a tablespoon instead for measuring.
- Tap the pan for crinkles: To give them crinkly edges, pull the pan out of the oven 2 minutes before the end of your timer. Gently tap the pan on the counter and then top the cookies with more chocolate chips before returning them to the oven to finish cooking.
- Storage directions: Keep your banana cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
If you enjoy banana cookies, you'll love these banana pudding cookies.
Serving Suggestions
- Fresh fruit: Keep it simple and enjoy some fresh fruit with your banana bread cookies. Strawberries, raspberries, and bananas are a few suggestions.
- Ice cream: Turn this banana bread cookie recipe into a show-stopping dessert with a scoop of peanut butter ice cream.
- Dessert board: Whether it's for a gathering or a holiday, you can add these banana chocolate chip cookies to a dessert board with some white chocolate brownies and mini pecan pies.
Banana Bread Cookies Recipe FAQs
There are a few reasons your cookies might turn out cakey instead of chewy. The most common are using whole eggs instead of yolks, adding too much banana, overmixing, or using butter that's too warm. Stick to the recipe, keep the moisture in check, and mix just until combined, and you'll get perfectly chewy banana bread cookies every time.
You don't need to, but I highly recommend it! Not only does this extra step deepen that sweet banana flavor, but it also helps remove excess moisture from them. If you really don't want to roast them, you'll need overripe, extra speckled bananas.
Of course! Scoop the dough into balls and freeze them for 30-60 minutes or until they're firm. Then, you can transfer them to a freezer bag with parchment paper layers for up to 3 months. Bake the banana cookies straight from frozen; just add 2 minutes to the baking time.
You can, but they may yield a less chewy result. Frozen bananas contain a lot of moisture, and even when thawed and pressed, they can still be pretty wet. Just keep this in mind if you can't get your hands on fresh bananas.
The biggest cue is the golden, crispy edges. The center may look a little underdone, but that's fine. The banana cookies will continue to firm up as they sit on the pan after you remove them from the oven.
More Homemade Cookie Recipes
Do you like baking fresh cookies? Here are some recipes you may also like to try.
If you try this recipe and love it please leave a star rating in the recipe card below or even better, drop a review in the comment section. I always appreciate your feedback. Be sure to follow along with me on Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube for more easy recipes!
Banana Bread Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup mashed ripe bananas about 2 large bananas
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ cup white chocolate chips
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- ½ cup chocolate chunks
- ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- Flaky sea salt optional
- ½ cup caramel sauce store-bought or homemade for drizzling - OPTIONAL
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Without peeling, slice two large ripe bananas in half lengthwise. Place them cut side up on the prepared baking sheet.
- Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the bananas are caramelized, bubbling, and lightly golden on top.
- Remove from the oven and let the bananas cool slightly. Mash until mostly smooth, leaving a few small bits for texture. Set aside to cool completely before using in the dough.
- In a large bowl, cream the room temperature butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the cooled, mashed roasted bananas, egg yolks, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth and fully combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
- Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined.
- Reserve some of the chips for later - OPTIONAL. Fold in the white chocolate chips, chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, and chopped walnuts or pecans.
- Using an icecream scoop or a large tablespoon, scoop large cookie scoops onto a parchment lined pan and refrigerate for 2 hours or freeze for 1 hour or longer.
- Heat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place the frozen cookie balls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing them about two inches apart.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the centers are just set.
- About two minutes before the cookies are finished baking, remove the tray from the oven and gently tap it on the counter to help flatten and create crinkly edges. Press a few extra chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies, then return them to the oven to finish baking for the final two minutes.
- While still warm, sprinkle with flaky sea salt if desired.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
- Once fully cooled, drizzle with caramel sauce. Allow the caramel to set before serving.
Notes
- You can roast the bananas ahead of time if you'd like-just do it the day before and store them in the refrigerator until you're ready to bake.
- For the best texture, follow the recipe, keep the moisture balanced, and mix just until combined for perfectly chewy banana bread cookies.
- The biggest sign they're done is golden, crispy edges. The centers may look slightly underdone, but that's okay. They'll continue to set as the cookies cool in the pan.
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