Why This Recipe is a Must-Try
Browning the butter and caramelizing the bananas infuses these cookies with rich toffee and banana flavors. Allowing the dough to chill for at least 30 minutes helps maintain their shape during baking while enhancing their overall taste.
When you find yourself with a bunch of bananas developing brown spots on your countertop, it’s tempting to whip up a classic banana bread. However, I encourage you to try making banana cookies instead!
The Appeal of Banana Cookies
I affectionately refer to these delightful treats as “bananaramas.” While they may not enjoy the same popularity as banana bread, it’s often because many versions tend to be overly cakey or sticky, lacking in vibrant flavor. In contrast, my recipe delivers an intense banana taste reminiscent of top-notch banana bread but with a chewy texture that’s perfect for dunking into milk.
After experimenting with numerous batches using various bananas, I’ve perfected a cookie recipe that boasts bold banana notes complemented by hints of butterscotch and caramel. These cookies achieve my ideal texture: soft and chewy with slightly crisp edges. While they are delicious on their own, I’ve included options for adding coconut flakes or chocolate chips for extra flair.
Essential Tips for Perfect Banana Cookies
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Choose Ripe Bananas: The ripeness of your bananas significantly affects both flavor and texture in these cookies. Avoid underripe (green) bananas as they contain high starch levels leading to dry cookies lacking sweetness; similarly, overripe black bananas can result in dense textures. Aim for yellow bananas just starting to show brown spots—this stage offers an ideal balance of sugar and starch.
If you have underripe fruit on hand, speed up ripening by placing them in a paper bag; adding another ripe fruit can accelerate this process even further! Alternatively, frozen ripe bananas work well too—just thaw them before use.
2. Brown Butter & Caramelize Bananas: For an enriched flavor profile that highlights both the butteriness and sweetness of the fruit, take time to brown your butter separately before mixing it with caramelized bananas in your dough base.
This process involves three key steps: searing sliced bananas until golden brown; browning butter until nutty; then combining both until they form a syrupy mixture full of deep flavors—resist eating it straight from the pan!
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Chill Your Dough: Refrigerating your cookie dough is crucial—it allows flavors to meld while ensuring proper shaping when you’re ready to bake! A minimum rest period of 30 minutes will enhance flavor development significantly; if possible, let it chill overnight for optimal results.
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Shape Your Cookies: After portioning out balls from chilled dough using greased hands or scoops (about 2 tablespoons each), flatten them into 3-inch discs using wet fingers—this ensures even baking since this particular dough spreads less than traditional cookie mixtures due its starchy content from mashed bananas.
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Bake Just Right: Achieving that perfect chewy texture requires careful attention during baking! Remove cookies when edges are set but centers remain soft—they’ll continue cooking slightly after being taken out due residual heat so avoid overbaking which leads dryness!
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Customize With Add-Ins: While these cookies shine alone just fine—they also welcome additions like toasted coconut flakes or chocolate chips mixed into batter! For added visual appeal sprinkle thinly sliced sugared banana rounds atop each cookie prior baking—the sugar will caramelize beautifully during cooking!
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Cool Before Enjoying: Patience pays off here! Allow baked cookies at least 15 minutes cooling time before indulging so they firm up properly—you won’t regret waiting once you take that first bite!
Delicious Banana Cookie Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1⅓ cups (7½ ounces) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or half if using table salt)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided)
- 3 ripe medium-sized bananas
- 1¼ cups packed light brown sugar (8¾ ounces)
- 1 large egg (lightly beaten)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Optional add-ins: -½ cup sweetened shredded coconut (toasted) -½ cup bittersweet/milk chocolate chips
#### Topping Options: -16 thin slices from one additional ripe banana -1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Instructions:
1) Preheat oven at 350°F (175°C) & line two rimmed baking sheets. 2) In bowl whisk together flour,salt,baking soda. 3) Melt 2 tbsp butter over medium-high heat & cook halved crosswise-banana slices till golden-brown (~2–3 mins per side). Transfer cooked slices into bowl. 4) In same skillet melt remaining butter, stirring constantly till light golden-brown (~2–4 mins). Add back cooked-bananas & stir frequently till mixture darkens (~6–8 mins). Off heat mix-in brown-sugar until dissolved. 5) Let cool slightly then mash mixture mostly smooth before whisking-in egg/vanilla followed by folding-in dry ingredients along-with any optional add-ins! 6) Chill dough minimum 30 mins or longer if desired! 7) Portion-out rounded balls onto prepared sheets spaced apart then flatten gently into disks. 8 ) Optionally press topping onto each disk prior placing trays inside oven rotating halfway through bake-time (12–16 mins) till edges set yet centers remain soft! 9 ) Cool briefly on wire rack before enjoying those scrumptious creations stored airtight room temp max five days post-bake!
Now go ahead indulge yourself—you’ll surely go wild over these delightful treats!