Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Cookies (Soft and Cakey)
These banana bread chocolate chip cookies taste like a warm slice of banana bread, baked as soft, cakey cookies with melty chocolate chips. You need three very ripe bananas, a mixer and pantry basics, and each batch bakes in 12 to 14 minutes.
I’ll be honest: I started making these because I didn’t have the patience for a loaf that sits in the oven for an hour and then needs another hour before you can slice it. Same three spotty bananas, same smell filling the whole house, but the first cookie is ready to eat (and burn your fingers on) about 15 minutes later. They’re soft and cakey in the middle with caramelized edges, which is exactly what I want from banana bread anyway.
Why They Taste Like Banana Bread
Very ripe bananas do most of the work. The ones with brown, almost black peels are sweeter and mash into a smooth purée, and that’s where the banana bread flavor comes from. Three large bananas give you about 1 1/2 cups (350 g) of mash; if yours are small, use four.
Soft butter beaten with sugar gives the cookies their tender crumb and the caramelized, slightly crisp edges you can see in the photos. Take the butter out of the fridge an hour ahead so it beats up pale and fluffy.
Baking soda makes them puff up and helps the edges brown. Chocolate chips are technically optional, but banana chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate just feel unfinished to me.
The Dough Looks Too Soft? That’s Normal
- It’s closer to a thick batter than a cookie dough. Don’t add extra flour to firm it up, or you’ll lose the cakey middle.
- Mix the flour in on low and stop as soon as it disappears. Overmixing makes the cookies tough.
- Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) between them. They spread in the oven and love to glue themselves together.
- Take them out when the edges are golden. The tops should spring back when you press them lightly.
Walnuts, Cinnamon or a Vegan Batch
For full banana bread vibes, fold in 1/2 cup (60 g) of chopped walnuts with the chocolate chips, or add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon with the flour. To make them vegan, use vegan butter, two flax eggs (2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed mixed with 6 tablespoons of water, left to thicken for 10 minutes) and dairy-free chocolate chips. The vegan cookies come out a little denser.
How to Keep Them Soft for Days
Once they’re completely cool, keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to a week. Thanks to the bananas they get even softer and more cake-like on day two, which is honestly how I like them best. They also freeze well for up to 3 months; thaw them on the counter or warm them for a few minutes in the oven.
If you have more bananas to use up, try my vegan banana bread, these banana oatmeal cookies or the whole collection of banana desserts. For another chocolate chip bake, the vegan chocolate chip blondies are a favorite.
Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Mixer
- Mixing bowl
- Baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Cooling rack
Ingredients
- 3 bananas large, very ripe, mashed, about 1 1/2 cups
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 7 tbsp butter softened
- 2 eggs large
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Beat the softened butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until pale and fluffy.
- Turn the speed down and add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and the mashed bananas. Mix until combined; if the mixture looks a little curdled, that’s fine.
- Add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix on low just until no dry flour remains. Don’t overmix.
- Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.
- Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto the baking sheets, about 2 inches (5 cm) apart, because the cookies spread.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the tops spring back when pressed lightly. Bake in batches if they don’t all fit.
- Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move them to a wire rack.
Notes
Banana Bread Cookie Questions
Because they are meant to be. Mashed banana adds a lot of moisture, so these bake up soft and cake-like rather than chewy. For a slightly denser cookie, use a little less banana and stop mixing as soon as the flour disappears.
As ripe as you can get them: lots of brown spots, or even a mostly brown peel. Riper bananas are sweeter, mash smoothly and give the strongest banana bread flavor.
Yes. Use vegan butter, two flax eggs (2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed mixed with 6 tablespoons of water) and dairy-free chocolate chips. Expect a slightly denser cookie.
Usually the butter was too soft or partly melted, or the bananas were very large. Chill the dough for 20 to 30 minutes before baking and keep each cookie to a heaping tablespoon of dough.
Yes. Freeze the baked, fully cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw them at room temperature or warm them for a few minutes in the oven.
Chopped walnuts or pecans are the classic banana bread pairing. Raisins, shredded coconut or a teaspoon of cinnamon work too.
