Banana Bread Cookies
Made with sweet, ripe bananas, warm comforting spices and rich chocolate chips, these oversized, vegan banana bread cookies are an incredible combination of traditional banana bread and chocolate chip cookies.
Why you’ll love these banana bread cookies
Not only do these banana bread cookies combine two of my favorite treats, you get the flavor of banana bread with the convenience of cookies, making them perfect for a grab and go treat.
If you love all-things banana, you’re in the right place. I have so many banana recipes for you. You simply have to try my vegan banana pudding, banana cupcakes with banana frosting and this banana berry smoothie. But, you should also try these oatmeal banana chocolate chip muffins, oatmeal banana bread, banana fosters pancakes, or chocolate banana muffins. They’re all delicious.
Ingredients & substitutions
- Dairy free chocolate chips – Not all chocolate chips are dairy free. Definitely check you labels. For this recipe I used Guittard super chips (they are safe for us, but do have a CC warning). You can also use their dairy free semi-sweet chips which are free from top allergens.
- Bananas – You are going to want spotted, soft bananas for this recipe (see the photo below).
- Walnuts – This is optional, but I love walnuts in my banana bread, so naturally, I wanted them in these cookies. Leave them out, or swap them for a different nut. That’s totally up to you.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
The following is a detailed overview of the recipe steps with added tips and tricks for recipe success. For a simplified and printable version, including ingredient amounts and more formal instructions, see the recipe card below.
How to make these banana bread cookies
Make the dough. Mash the banana in a mixing bowl and then stir in the rest of the wet ingredients.Next, whisk the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Then, combine them with a rubber spatula and stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. You want nice, fluffy cookies for this recipe, so be careful not to over stir the flour.
Let the dough hydrate for about 15 minutes before scooping and baking! This helps the cookies to bake more consistently between batches and prevents them from spreading too much. Don’t skip this.
Bake your cookies. When your oven is preheat to 350˚F. Scoop the dough into large balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. To get oversized cookies, I used a 1/3 cup scoop. You can use a normal sized scoop, but you’ll have to adjust the baking time.
Bake your cookies for 13 – 15 minutes, or until cookies have set and the edges are beginning to brown. Remove them from oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Optional: sprinkle a little flaky sea salt on the cookies when they come out of the oven for added flavor and crunch.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup mashed banana
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (roughly chopped)
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 35o˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mash the banana. Then, whisk in the sugars, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, spices and salt together until combined.
- Using a rubber spatula, stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Then, stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
- Let the dough hydrate for about 15 minutes. Then, place 1/3 cup scoops of dough on your prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 13 – 15 minutes, or until edges are golden and centers have set.
- Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Nutrition
Can I substitute the vegetable oil for olive or coconut?
Yes. You definitely can as long as the coconut oil is in liquid form.
Why do recipe developers always say, “mix until thoroughly combined” or “don’t over mix” and never approximate the time required to get the best result, whether by hand, hand beater or stand mixer? Very aggravating to have to guess since baking is supposedly a science.
This recipe states to use a rubber spatula, so it would be done by hand. I don’t time the recipe while I’m doing it and people’s strength and technique vary, so there’s no real way to time it. I definitely add this to my recipes when I know the amount of time is important, or I will give visual descriptors to help ensure that you mix the correct length of time.