Alright, I know you wonder why bananas at the end of December. I debated on the cookie of the week while looking at my counter. Four lonely bananas were staring at me, turning browner by the day. Knowing I could not eat all four bananas before they were too ripe, I decided to make banana cookies.
Bananas are a great source of potassium and vitamins B6 and C. If you would like to read more about all the benefits of bananas, I am providing a link to Healthline.
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Best Banana for Cookies
If you are on the fence about what banana to use for your cookies, this picture may help. When picking bananas to use, I tend to go between the ripeness of the bananas in this picture.
The banana on the left is just a little too ripe for me. They tend to have brown sections in the banana after you peel the skin off, and they are mealy in texture. I would use this banana for banana bread.
The banana on the right needs to be more ripe for my cookies. Green to totally yellow skins are not as sweet so you will would have to adjust how much sugar you add to the cookie dough.
So, I use bananas between the stages of these two bananas in the picture above.
Ingredients You Will Need
- Butter unsalted - I have found the most consistent butter taste and quality is Land-O-Lake.
- Cream Cheese - My favorite is Philadelphia Cream Cheese
- Light brown sugar - I used light brown instead of dark brown since I did not want too strong of a molasses taste for my cookies.
- Sugar white
- Vanilla bean paste - If you do not have any on hand, you can use vanilla extract. The difference is the paste has vanilla bean specks.
- Egg
- Bananas - I used bananas that had some spotting on the skin but not solid dark brown skins.
- All-purpose flour - My go-to flour is King Authur All-Purpose Flour.
- Baking powder
- Kosher Salt
- Dark Chocolate Chip
- Caramel Chips
- Hazelnuts
Mixing Banana Cookies
Weigh or measure your light brown and white sugars into one bowl and set it aside. Then, in another bowl, weigh or measure the flour, salt, baking powder, and run a whisk through to blend.
I cut the bananas into slices to make them easy to mash.
Using a fork, mash the bananas; they can be a little chunky, but you want mostly a mushy banana.
Add the cream cheese and butter to a mixer bowl and mix on a medium mixer speed for a couple of minutes.
Scrape down the sides and add both sugars to the butter-cream cheese mixture. Mix on a medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. You should have soft peaks when mixed.
Next, blend the vanilla bean paste, egg, and mashed bananas into the sugar-butter mixture.
Scrape down the bowl sides and across the bottom. Turn the mixer on to a medium-low speed and add about ¼ of the flour at a time into the wet dough. Try not to over-mix the cookie dough. If a little flour still needs to be blended in, you can use a solid one-piece spatula to finish. The longer you mix the flour, the tougher the cookies will be.
Finally, add the caramel and chocolate chips along with the hazelnuts and mix for about 15 seconds, just enough to incorporate the nuts and chips.
Now, scrape down the sides and lightly cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Scoop and Bake
Pre-heat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) and line two cookie sheet pans with parchment paper.
Take a medium cookie scooper and scoop 12 mounds onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Ensure the tops of the cookies are not shiny before pulling the pan from the oven.
Leave them on the pan for a minute before moving them to a cooling rack.
Enjoy!
FAQ's
As with any cookie that has fresh fruit, do not seal them in an enclosed container. I also add a piece of parchment paper between layers if I am stacking them in any container. I usually just lay the lid slightly off-center so the cookies get some air. These cookies will last between 4-5 days.
Of course, no rule says it has to be dark chocolate. I would swap that out if my preferred chips were the semi-sweet. Banana and caramel also goes well with white chocolate.
You could break them into small pieces and add a small amount to the cookie dough to make the cookies crunchy. I tend to like my banana cookies on the softer side.
Try Other Cookies with Banana
Recipe
Banana with Chocolate and Caramel Chip Cookies
Barbara HallWould you like to save this recipe?
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Ingredients
- ½ cup (113.5 g) Butter unsalted room temperature
- 4 oz (4 oz) Cream Cheese softened
- ½ cup (110 g) Light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) Sugar white
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Vanilla bean paste
- 1 (1) Egg
- 2 (2) Bananas ripe
- 2 ¾ cups (343.75 g) All-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Sea Salt
- ¾ cup (131.25 g) Dark Chocolate Chip
- ¾ cup (177.44 g) Caramel Chips
- ½ cup (60 g) Hazelnuts
Instructions
- In a bowl, mash two ripe bananas with a fork and set aside. Weigh or measure the light brown and white sugar into a bowl and set it aside. In another bowl, weigh or measure the flour, salt, and baking powder, and run a whisk through to blend.
- Add the butter and cream cheese to a mixer bowl and blend on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. If the butter or cream cheese is still cold, it will take 3 minutes or a little longer. It should be smooth-looking, not chalky. Add both sugars and mix for another 2 minutes. I stopped and scraped down the sides and across the bottom before adding the vanilla bean paste, mashed bananas, and one egg. Mix till the egg and bananas look incorporated.
- Turn the mixer to a low speed and add the flour mixture about a quarter at a time. I turn off the mixer and scrape the sides and across the bottom before adding the caramel chips, chocolate chips, and hazelnuts. Blending the chips and nuts throughout the cookie dough only takes a few seconds. Cover lightly and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C), and line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper. Using a medium-sized cookie scooper, scoop 12 mounds onto a cookie pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes. If any of the cookies still have a shiny top, leave them in the oven for another minute. Leave them on the pan for a minute after pulling them from the oven before moving them to a cooling rack.
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NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.
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