These brown butter banana bread cookies have everything I love about banana bread in cookie form. Unlike most banana bread cookies that tend to be soft and cakey, these have crispy edges, and chewy, gooey middles studded with chocolate. My recipe uses more banana than most recipes, brown butter, brown sugar, and a hint of coffee to achieve the perfect texture and a beautiful nutty, toffee-like banana flavor. And they're so easy to make: one bowl, no mixer, and NO EGGS! And no long chill times either - you have to rest the dough for just 20-30 minutes before baking.
No cakey cookies here!
If I am being honest, these cookies turned me into a mad scientist - I've made at least a dozen batches in the last 2 weeks alone... My goal was to add as much banana as possible while still maintaining a chewy texture, but that proved much harder than expected. Bananas add moisture, which results in puffy, cakey cookies (that, frankly, feel more like bread). But I am so thrilled to have finally nailed these, and here's how:
- No eggs! I thought I needed to add an egg yolk for richness, moisture and structural integrity. But because we are already getting a lot of that from the banana itself, the cookies kept turning out cakey no matter what. So, we actually skip the eggs altogether, which makes this recipe suitable for those with egg allergies or dietary restrictions
- More banana than most recipes. Because of the moisture in bananas, most banana cookie recipes add a small amount. But my recipe uses 125g (nearly double of most) and gets away with it because we aren't using eggs. So there's no mistaking that these are banana cookies!
- High ratio of butter to flour. Just like my brown butter chocolate chip cookies, this recipe uses a high ratio of butter to flour for the most buttery, chewy texture
- The brown trifecta. We use brown butter, brown bananas and brown sugar - the perfect combination for a nutty, caramel-y banana flavor and a beautiful deep golden color
- A hint of coffee. I love adding a tiny amount of instant coffee to my brown butter desserts (like my brown butter banana bread). You just have to trust me on this one, the flavor is incredible
Step by step photos
Let's quickly go over the steps with photos to help you visualize this recipe.
Let the cookies cool down slightly, then enjoy!
I love using a cookie cutter or cake ring to "scoot" the cookies into perfect circles while they're hot from the oven. Cookies are malleable at this stage so you can easily fix them and even make them smaller and thicker if they've spread too much. Any burnt/overdone edges? You can use the same ring to cut them off. See the last picture above?! 😉
You can adjust the thickness to your liking
A great thing about these cookies is how customizable they are!
- If you like your cookies to be thin and crispy, you can bake them straight away without any rest time. They will spread more than pictured
- For regular cookies (as pictured), rest at room temperature for 20-30 minutes
- For thicker cookies that spread even less, rest in the fridge for 20-30 minutes before baking
The baking time is quite similar for all 3 options, just keep an eye and stop baking once the edges are set. They will continue cooking from the residual heat of the baking sheet as they cool down.
A few more tips before you make them
- Measure with a weighing scale for accuracy. This is especially important for the bananas - bananas come in various sizes and adding even a little less or a little more will impact the flavor and texture of the cookies
- Make sure your banana is extra ripe and brown. This is how you can maximize the banana flavor in these cookies!If in a pinch, bake the bananas at 350F for 5-8 minutes to caramelize them first
- Use a light colored baking sheet. A dark pan will brown the cookies too fast and is likely to burn the bottoms
Banana Bread Cookies (Chewy & Gooey!)
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 16 cookies
Description
The perfect banana bread cookies with crispy edges, chewy and gooey middles, and a nutty, toffee-banana flavor. The secret is more banana than most recipes and no eggs!
Ingredients
- 12 tbsp unsalted butter (170g)
- ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, packed (163g)
- 125g extra ripe banana (about one and a quarter medium-sized banana, and around ½ cup once mashed)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- ½ tsp instant coffee dissolved in ½ teaspoon water - optional
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ cup + 2 tablespoon all purpose flour (210g)
- 4 oz dark chocolate, chopped (113g)
- 4 oz milk chocolate, chopped (113g)
Instructions
- Line 2 light colored 18"x13" baking sheets with parchment paper (you can also use one sheet and bake the cookies in batches if you don't have two)
- Add the butter to a light-colored saucepan. Place on the stove on medium-low heat, and cook until the butter has melted. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the butter has turned brown. First it will melt and become very frothy, but then it will stop sizzling and you will see brown specks and a nice, toasty smell. Be careful not to overcook, as brown butter can burn very quickly
- Add the brown butter to a mixing bowl (scrape in all the brown specks on the bottom of the pan, too!). Add the brown sugar, mashed banana, vanilla bean paste and instant coffee dissolved in water. Whisk until the ingredients are combined and smooth (almost like a caramel)
- Mix in the salt and baking soda until just combined
- Sift in the flour and add the chopped chocolate. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the ingredients together until you see no more streaks of flour, and the chocolate is evenly dispersed. Avoid over-mixing the dough
- Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets, keeping at least 2-3" between the scoops. Level off the cookie scoops so the cookie balls aren't too big, and you should have 16 cookies divided between the two sheets
- Optionally, you can press in some more chocolate chunks on top of the cookies, and sprinkle some flaky sea salt. I also like adding a thin slice of banana on top of each cookie
- Rest the scooped cookies for 20-30 minutes at room temperature (or the fridge if you want thicker cookies)
- Pre-heat your oven to 370F (conventional / no fan) while the cookies are resting
- Bake the cookies in the pre-heated oven for ~8-10 minutes, until the edges are set but the centers are still slightly soft to touch
- Remove the cookies from the oven, and use a 4" cake ring to "scoot" the cookies into perfect circles while they're still hot. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets until they're set
- Serve and enjoy!
Video tutorial:
Notes
- Baking time: Baking time on these cookies can vary depending on your oven or baking sheet. I highly recommend baking one cookie as a test first so you know exactly how long you need to bake for in your environment
- Storage: These cookies are best enjoyed fresh, but you can store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days. I like reheating my cookies in the air fryer or oven so they are crispy again
- Freezing cookie dough: You can keep the extra cookie dough balls in the fridge (for up to 5 days) or freezer (for several months), and bake straight from the fridge/freezer. In this case, I recommend a baking temperature of 360F, and adding 2-4 minutes to the baking time. Rather than follow a time, check for doneness
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Rest time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Fiza Mamoon says
OMG!! I had been waiting for this for sooo long, and today I finally tried it. NO WORDS. 😭
There is genuinely NOTHING better in this world for banana bread lovers than these cookies!!! They are LEGIT SOOO GOOD—so gooey in the middle, perfectly crispy around the edges, and just absolutely DIVINE. 🤌🏻
I’m OBSESSED. These might honestly be one of the best cookies I’ve ever had. 😭💗
Zoha Malik says
:') Girl you MADE MY DAY. Thank you SOOOO much!!!!
Fiza Mamoon says
Hehe no problem! They were genuinely soo good🎀✨💗
Zoha Malik says
Wooo!
Sayyedah says
Hi Zoha !! Thank you so much for this recipe !! Can we make these a day ahead and bake day off
Zoha Malik says
Hi there! Yes, you can keep the scooped cookie dough balls in the fridge and then bake them!
Ayesha Abdul Qadir says
Absolutely DELICIOUS ended them in a day 🩷✨
Zoha Malik says
YAY!!
Bina C. says
OMG!!!
My list of all your recipes that I want to make grows every day!!
Just added this one!! I was going to make one of the the banana breads... but now might have to make this one..
Zoha Malik says
AWW that's to sweet!! Please try these, they're amazing!
Sobia Zuberi says
These look amazing!! Maximum, By how much can I reduce the sugar 😬😬
You’re not helping me with my weight loss journey ahhaha
Zoha Malik says
haha sorry I don't recommend reducing sugar! it helps with the texture of cookies, not just the flavor 🙂
Shanzay says
Hi! Can I substitute vanilla essence for the vanilla bean paste? And if so, how much should I use? Also, I don’t have a kitchen scale, so would exactly half cup of mashed banana work? Thank you so much! Can’t wait to make this 🤍
Zoha Malik says
Yes, that should be ok, and the same quantity!
Pooja says
Omg! I made them as soon as I saw your Instagram post. These are delicious and I am not even a fan of desserts made with bananas. Will be making these everytime I have super riped bananas to use up. Super hit with kids as well.
Zoha Malik says
WOOOO thank you!!