![Overhead view of banana cookies](https://www.seriouseats.com/thmb/w61I_5yNeHI8U2eM6xlwaxMnjxQ=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/20240514BananaCookies-AmandaSuarez07-7fb8a4786ae64d5590c54f86b0e8b5a3.jpg)
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
Why It Works
- Browning the butter and caramelizing the bananas gives the cookies a strong toffee and banana flavor.
- Refrigerating the dough for at least 30 minutes ensures the cookies hold their shape when formed and also develops deeper flavor in the cookies.
When you’ve got a bunch of bananas slowly turning spotty on the countertop, the common course of action is to mash them up and turn them into banana bread, right? But the next time this happens to you, I suggest making banana cookies instead.
![Overhead view of looking inside banana cookie](https://www.seriouseats.com/thmb/t14SVibBC4kc9dILrf4lBL16y9c=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/20240514BananaCookies-AmandaSuarez08-0f7fafaa7f81439aa066a373e1be2738.jpg)
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
I understand why banana cookies, or bananaramas as I playfully call them, don't have the same level of fame as banana bread: They’re usually too cakey or gluey in texture and the banana flavor is so dull that the fruit tastes more like an afterthought than a showcased ingredient. Unlike those subpar banana cookies, these cookies have the same rich banana flavor as the very best banana bread but with a chewy, tender cookie texture that makes them perfect for dunking into a cold glass of milk.
After baking batch after batch of cookies with countless bunches of bananas, I’ve developed a recipe for cookies that have a pronounced banana flavor with notes of butterscotch and toffee.They also have my ideal cookie texture: soft and chewy with lightly crisp and browned edges. I think they’re perfect just as they are, but I’ve also included options for gussying them up with coconut flakes or chocolate chips. Here are my tips for making the best banana cookies at home.
Key Steps for the Most Banana-y Cookies Ever
1. Use perfectly ripe bananas. As with banana bread, the ripeness of the fruit has a large impact on banana cookies’ texture and flavor. Underripe or green bananas are so high in starch and low in sugar that they result in dry and cakey cookies that not only lack sweetness, but also have a vegetal and slightly astringent flavor due to the abundance of starch. On the other end of the ripeness spectrum, bananas that are completely black make for dense, somewhat gummy cookies. So instead using overripe or underripe fruit, reach for yellow bananas that are just beginning to turn spotty brown. At this stage of ripening, the bananas have a mix of sugar and starch that will produce cookies with a welcome light texture and sweet, well developed banana flavor.
If you find yourself with underripe bananas, you can speed ripening by a day or two by putting them in a paper bag to trap their ethylene gas, which speeds ripening. To speed the process even more, add a ripe banana or any other ripe ethylene-emitting fruit to the bag (avocados, apples, and oranges all work well). Or if you have no fresh bananas on your counter, this recipe works well with frozen ripe bananas. Just be sure to thaw the bananas on the counter for about 15 minutes before cutting into them.
2. Brown the butter and bananas for a deep, banana-toffee flavor. Brown butter makes most baked goods taste better and these cookies are no exception. The key to the cookies’ rich banana-forward flavor is the combination of brown butter and caramelized bananas in the base of the dough.
It takes only a few minutes on the stovetop to do this. The three key stages to this process are searing the bananas, browning the butter, and frying the bananas in the brown butter until it forms a homogenous, deep brown, syrupy mixture. It’s important to brown the butter on its own—if you try to brown the butter with the bananas, the solids in the butter will never brown properly due to the moisture from the bananas. Once the bananas and butter are fully cooked, your kitchen will smell like caramelized bananas and you might be tempted to eat them right out of the pan, but hold out.
3. Let the dough rest before shaping. It’s important to refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes before trying to portion and shape the cookies for baking. Refrigerating the dough not only cools it down to the proper temperature for rolling and shaping, but—as Kenji explains in his chocolate chip cookie recipe—resting the dough also further develops the cookie's flavor. So how does it work? Harold McGee explains in Keys to Good Cooking that during the resting process, both flour proteins and starches break down a bit, which leads to more browning and caramelization as the cookies bake. Also, as the dough rests, the flour in the dough hydrates, and the ingredients meld together, resulting in a richer flavor. Even just a 30 minute rest will enhance the cookie's flavor, but if you have the patience and time, I recommend refrigerating the cookie dough overnight for the most flavorful cookies possible.
![Overhead view of cookie dough](https://www.seriouseats.com/thmb/F3LltRbLOxuNQG_440Fb33fDai0=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/20240514BananaCookies-AmandaSuarez00-e651775b28a94c83aa8c21a1da9ec71a.jpg)
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
4. Press each cookie into a round disc. After the cookies are portioned and rolled into round balls, use wet fingers to press them into flat 3-inch round disks. The glue-like starches in the bananas cause the dough to spread less than other types of cookie dough, so patting the cookies flat ensures they will have the right thickness and will bake evenly.
5. Bake until the cookies are just set. You can mix, rest, and manipulate the cookie dough all you want, but if you don’t bake the cookies properly, they will never have the perfect chewy texture. Pull them too early and you’ll have a doughy mess on your hands, bake them too long and they will dry out. The key to cookies that remain moist and chewy once cooled is to bake the cookies until the edges are just set and golden brown. The cookie centers will be slightly puffed (they’ll deflate slightly once cooled) and still soft when removed from the oven. If left in the oven until the tops firm up, the cookies will be overcooked and dried out.
6. Make the recipe your own with add-ins and toppings.These cookies are great as-is, but they also pair well with some crunchy toasted coconut flakes or gooey chocolate chips folded into the batter. For a fun decoration, try topping each cookie with a thin banana round that’s been tossed in sugar. The sugar will lightly caramelize the banana slice while baking for a pretty final presentation.
7. Let the cookies cool briefly. Once the cookies are baked, just make sure to wait at least 15 minutes for them to firm up before biting into one, otherwise they will fall apart. But they’re worth the wait. I guarantee you'll go bananas over these cookies.
Recipe Details
Banana Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
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1 1/3 cups (7 1/2 ounces; 212g) all-purpose flour
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1 teaspoon Diamond crystal kosher salt; if using table salt use half as much by volume
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1/2 teaspoon baking soda
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10 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
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3 bananas, halved crosswise and halved lengthwise
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1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar (8 3/4 ounces; 250g)
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1 large egg, lightly beaten
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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1/2 cup (60g) packed sweetened shredded coconut, toasted, optional (see notes)
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1/2 cup (85g) bittersweet or milk chocolate chips, optional
For Topping the Cookies (optional):
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16 banana slices, cut 1/8-inch thin round (from 1 banana)
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1 tablespoon granulated sugar for sprinkling over banana slices
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1-inch roughly chopped chocolate chunks
Directions
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Adjust oven rack to middle positions and heat oven to 350℉ (175℃). Line 2 rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and baking soda to combine; set aside.
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In a 10-inch nonstick or cast iron skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat until melted. Add banana slices cut side down and cook until glossy, golden brown, and softened, flipping slices as needed, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a bowl.
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
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In the now-empty skillet, add the remaining butter and cook over medium-high heat, stirring and swirling skillet constantly with rubber spatula, until butter is light golden brown and has a nutty aroma, 2 to 4 minutes. Return the browned banana to the skillet and continue to cook, stirring and flipping the banana mixture frequently until the bananas are mostly broken down and the mixture turns dark golden brown and has a deep caramelized, nutty banana aroma, 6 to 8 minutes. Off heat stir in the brown sugar, return to heat and cook, stirring frequently, until sugar is fully dissolved and the syrupy mixture gently bubbles, about 1 minute. Transfer the banana mixture to a large bowl. Let sit until cooled slightly, for 10 minutes or up to 30 minutes.
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Using a potato masher, mash the banana mixture until mostly smooth. Whisk in egg and vanilla until combined. Using a spatula, stir in flour mixture until just combined. Fold in coconut and/or chocolate chips, if using.
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Refrigerate dough mixture until firm enough to roll, at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours. Using greased portion scoop or wet hands, divide into roughly 2-tablespoon portions (about 2 ounces; 50g each) and round each one into a smooth ball. Arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets, 8 dough balls per sheet. Using wet hands or the back of a greased measure cup, press the dough balls into 3-inch round disks.
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
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For topping the cookies (optional): Toss the banana slices with the sugar until lightly coated. Press 1 chocolate chunk and/or 1 banana slice gently into the center of each cookie.
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
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Bake cookies, 1 tray at a time, until cookies are golden brown and puff slightly, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 12 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack and let cookies cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
Special Equipment
10-inch nonstick or cast iron skillet, 2 rimmed baking sheets
Notes
To toast the coconut flakes (if using): Spread coconut in an even layer on a parchment paper lined rimmed baking sheet and bake on the middle rack of the oven at 350℉(175℃), stirring every 5 minutes, until the shreds are a mix of golden brown and white, about 15 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet before transferring to a bowl or airtight container.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Once cooled, transfer cookies to an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Nutrition Facts (per serving) | |
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239 | Calories |
10g | Fat |
35g | Carbs |
3g | Protein |
Nutrition Facts | |
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Servings: 16 | |
Amount per serving | |
Calories | 239 |
% Daily Value* | |
Total Fat 10g | 13% |
Saturated Fat 7g | 33% |
Cholesterol 32mg | 11% |
Sodium 143mg | 6% |
Total Carbohydrate 35g | 13% |
Dietary Fiber 2g | 5% |
Total Sugars 21g | |
Protein 3g | |
Vitamin C 2mg | 10% |
Calcium 30mg | 2% |
Iron 1mg | 6% |
Potassium 156mg | 3% |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. |