Banana Bread Cookies Recipe | Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

Super soft and so easy to make, these banana bread cookies (with chocolate chips or not!) are amazing! The perfect way to get your banana bread AND cookie fix!

If thoughts like “what deliciousness am I going to eat for breakfast” and “can something really be TOO chocolatey” and “how can I make a cookie that tastes just like banana bread??” keep you up at night, you’re in good company.

I’ve been longing for a really good, really easy, really soft (but not overly cakey) banana bread cookie for a while.

It took several variations and some rather maddening attempts as if my bananas were boycotting this cookie party in the name of bananas not belonging in cookies.

But here they are.

Delicious little banana bread cookies in all their splendor.

It’s surprisingly difficult to make a banana bread cookie that isn’t basically just a puffy ball that tastes like a chunk of banana bread.

Yeah, yeah, I know I said I was after a banana bread cookie, but what I meant was that I wanted the flavor of banana bread wrapped up in a moderately flat, soft cookie.

I know banana well enough to know the cookie would still be a little bit cakey, and that’s ok. But I also wanted it to be a legit cookie. Know what I mean?

Is any of this making sense?

Tap. Tap. Is this thing still on?

Anyway, I won’t bore you with the nitty gritty except to say that not overdoing the eggs and backing off on the flour were a few of the key pieces to making these banana bread cookies perfect.

While I don’t always stuff every day banana bread with chocolate chips, I couldn’t resist adding some of the delectable morsels to these cookies.

Of course, the chocolate chips can definitely be left out! And if doing so, I already have visions of slathering the tops of the baked cookies with a cream cheese frosting.

Frosted banana bread cookies. Oh my.

To help the cookies out a little, I grease the bottom of a flat bottomed glass cup, dip in coarse sugar (I use turbinado or raw sugar), and lightly press the cookies before baking.

If that whole situation stresses you out, don’t worry. You can press the cookies with a glass without dipping in sugar first…or just use every day granulated sugar…or not press at all.

The banana bread cookies will be puffier, but they’ll still taste ridiculously yummy.

I recognize there’s a really good chance I’m the only person on the face of this earth who obsesses about things like the proper thickness of a banana bread cookie.

Maybe the most pathetic part is that I’m totally ok with that. And I know myself well enough to know I’ll continue to obsess about menial matters such as that for the rest of forever.

The good news is that in the midst of trial and error for that perfect cookie shape, I discovered that the crackly sugar on top is pure magic for these cookies.

If you have bananas ripening for destruction on your counter, ditch the banana bread this time and make these cookies! You won’t regret it.

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Yield: 2-3 dozen cookies

Soft Banana Bread Cookies

Prep Time:20 mins

Cook Time:10-12 mins

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 8 tablespoons) butter, melted
• 3/4 cup (5.5 ounces) packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 medium bananas, well mashed (about 9-10 ounces)
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 1/4 cups (11.25 ounces) flour
• 1 cup (6 ounces) chocolate chips
• Coarse sugar for sprinkling, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly grease with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, brown sugar, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda and salt until very well-combined.
3. Add the mashed bananas, egg yolk, and sour cream and stir or whisk until the batter is well mixed.
4. Add the flour and chocolate chips and mix until no dry streaks remain making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl well.
5. Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoons (I use a #40 cookie scoop) and place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
6. For super puffy cookies, bake without pressing. For slightly less puffy cookies, spray the bottom of a flat-bottomed glass with cooking spray and press in coarse sugar (regular granulated sugar may work, too) and press each cookie gently until slightly flattened, greasing the bottom of the glass as needed to prevent sticking.
7. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are set around the edges and they no longer look wet in the center.

All images and text ©Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.

Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe