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These moist and chewy banana oatmeal cookies are hands down the best banana flavored cookie I’ve ever had. Not only are they moist and chewy for days, they are unmistakably banana-y!
Banana is one of those flavors that can get lost when you bake with it. It can be a really subtle flavor. It always bums me out when that happens, because we love the taste of banana.
These cookies meet the category of being FULL of banana flavor. Just the smell of this cookie dough mixture with the banana in it is intoxicating. And they are so moist and tender, the nearly melt in your mouth. They are perfect for using up overripe bananas and super easy to make. You don’t even need a mixer!
This is one of those old fashioned recipes that everyone loves. It’s originally from my grandmother’s cookbook. Her book is full of newspaper clippings with recipes and the names of those who submitted and shared them with the paper. I just love it. Such a different time in the world. Now we find everything online!
These cookies make the list of banana things to go crazy for. Without a doubt, it’s a tie between them and my Banana Bread Recipe! Or, maybe they are tied with my Banana Cupcakes or Banana Chocolate Chip Layer Cake. Then there’s my Homemade Banana Pudding — I just can’t decide. Banana desserts are just so tempting.
- Texture. These cookies are super soft and tender and they stay that way for several days.
- Nutritious. With both banana and oats in these cookies, they are packed with nutrients. I love them on busy mornings when I need breakfast on the go!
- Easy to make. Making these tasty banana cookies is just as easy as eating them. They’d be great to make with kids! You can mix everything in one bowl. That means less clean up, and that’s always a good thing.
- Grandma’s recipe. Another reason this recipe is extra special is because I got if from my grandmother (my dad’s mom). She passed away in 2008. A few years after she passed, when I started baking a lot, my uncle gave me her cookbook. This recipe was tucked inside it, and it brings back so many special memories. I made a few changes to her original recipe to make the cookies thicker and softer, but they are essentially the same as grandma used to make.
What You’ll Need
- All-purpose flour: Be sure to measure your flour. Too much flour and you’ll end up with dry cookies, too little and they’ll get runny.
- Baking soda: A little baking soda gives the cookies a light, fluffy texture.
- Ground cinnamon & cloves: These warm spices nicely compliment the banana.
- Salt: Helps to enhance the flavors and spices in the cookie dough batter.
- Cornstarch: This is one of the secret ingredients for this recipe. Cornstarch gives the cookies a chewy texture, helps them not over spread and gives them a lovely soft texture.
- Unsalted butter: I highly recommend using unsalted butter because it allows you to control the saltiness of the cookies. However, salted butter will also work, but you’ll want to leave out the rest of the salt in the recipe.
- Sugar: Using both granulated sugar and brown sugar gives the cookies a deep, richer flavor. The brown sugar also provides extra moisture.
- Egg: You’ll need 1 egg to bind all your ingredients together.
- Vanilla extract: You can’t go wrong adding a little vanilla to banana cookies.
- Bananas: Make sure to use overripe bananas for the best flavor. They should have plenty of brown spots, but not be completely brown and nearly falling apart. If they don’t hold together anymore, they are probably too ripe and your cookies may not turn out well.
- Oats: This recipe originally called for old-fashioned rolled oats but after some kitchen testing, I decided I like quick 1-minute oats better. The texture of the cookies is a little softer when you use quick oats, but either will work.
Here’s a quick look at how to make this banana cookie recipe. Don’t forget to scroll to the recipe card below for more detailed instructions.
- Prepare the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, salt and cornstarch to a medium sized bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
- Combine the butter and sugars. Add the melted butter and sugars to a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add the egg and vanilla. Whisk the egg and vanilla extract into the creamed mixture until well combined.
- Add the mashed bananas: Add the mashed bananas to the creamed mixture and whisk together until well combined.
- Add dry ingredients. Stir the dry ingredients into the batter and mix until just combined.
- Add the oats. Pour in the oats and fold together until well combined.
- Form the dough balls. Create cookie dough balls that are 1 ½ tablespoons in size.
- Refrigerate (optional). If desired, chill the dough balls in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or overnight. The longer they are refrigerated, the stronger the banana flavor will be.
- Prepare to bake. When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, line a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and arrange the cookie dough balls on the baking sheet. (No need to bring the cookies to room temperature. You can bake them immediately after pulling them from the fridge.)
- Bake. Place in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes.
- Cool. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack lined with parchment paper.
Tips for Success
These simple suggestions will help guide you through the process of making these cookies. Check them out to make the best banana cookies.
- Measure carefully. Proper measuring of the flour and sugar plays a big roll in determining how much your cookies will spread during the baking process. So, measure carefully. If you want to achieve the perfect light, chewy texture, check out my tutorial on How to Measure Flour Correctly. It’s best to use a food scale, but if you don’t have one, use the spoon and level method. Whatever you do, don’t pack the flour into the measuring cup.
- Use quick oats. The biggest change I made when I updated this recipe was switching from old-fashioned oats to quick 1-minute oats. You can totally use either, but I really like the way 1-minute oats absorb more moisture. The cookies not only spread a little less, but they also develop a softer texture, which I love. If you decide to use old-fashioned oats just remember that they won’t absorb as much moisture (and may spread more), and the cookies will turn out a little firmer with a bit more texture.
- Make this recipe with overripe bananas. Make sure to use overripe bananas for the best flavor and texture. They should be soft on the outside and easy to mash when you peel them. They should also smell appetizing. Overripe bananas will have plenty of brown spots, but not be completely brown or nearly falling apart. If they don’t hold together anymore, they are probably too ripe and your cookies won’t bake properly.
- Refrigerate the cookie dough balls. You don’t have to refrigerate them (they will still taste amazing), but I highly recommend refrigerating them at least 2-3 hours; overnight is even better. Refrigeration helps the dry ingredients soak up more moisture, which helps them spread less. It also allows the flavors to permeate the cookie dough better. Cookies refrigerated overnight will have the strongest banana flavor.
- Use parchment paper. These cookies can be a little sticky from all the moisture and sweetness in the bananas. You’ll want to line your cooling racks with parchment paper. If they stick to the parchment paper after cooling (and they probably will), just give them a little twist before lifting them. They will come right off.
Store the cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature. If you are going to stack them in a container, put parchment between the layers so the cookies don’t stick to each other. These cookies are best if eaten within 4-5 days.
More Banana Recipes
If you’re like me, desserts with bananas are always a good idea. Here are some of my other favorite recipes featuring bananas.
- Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Easy Banana Bread
- Banana Cream Cheesecake
- Banoffee Cupcakes
- Bananas Foster
- Banana Pancakes
- Overnight Banana French Toast Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Chill Time: 2 hour
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 35-40 Cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Moist and Chewy Banana Oatmeal Cookies are hands down the best banana flavored cookie I’ve ever had. Not only are they moist and chewy for days, they are unmistakably banana-y!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (195g) all-purpose flour (measured accurately)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 3/4 cup (168g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (225g) packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (104g) sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240ml) mashed over ripe bananas (2-3 bananas)
- 3 cups (240g) quick 1-minute oats
Instructions
- Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, salt and cornstarch to a medium sized bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
- Add the melted butter and sugars to a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk together until well combined. Add the mashed bananas and whisk together until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and fold together just until well combined. Add the oats and fold together until well combined.
- Create cookie dough balls that are 1 ½ tablespoons in size. You can refrigerate the cookie dough before baking, if you’d like, but you don’t have to. I think the flavors get even better if you refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 2-3 hours, or overnight.
- When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with a silicon baking mat or parchment paper. (No need to bring the cookies to room temperature. You can bake them immediately after pulling them from the fridge.)
- Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes or until golden around the edges and lightly golden on top.
- Allow the cookies to cool for about 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack lined with parchment paper to cool completely. The cookies can stick to the parchment paper a little bit. I find that it helps them to release if you give them a little twist on the paper before lifting them up.
- Store cookies in an air-tight container with parchment paper between the stacks of cookies so they don’t stick to each other. Cookies are best if eaten within 4-5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cookie
- Calories: 119
- Sugar: 8.3 g
- Sodium: 71.7 mg
- Fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 17.9 g
- Protein: 1.8 g
- Cholesterol: 15.3 mg
I made these cookies today and they are so delish! I had old bananas and didn’t want to make banana nut bread again so I found this recipe and gave them a try! They are so moist and delicious! Thanx a million
Simple and delicious! I generally omit the sugar if there are fruits in the recipe. It’s still delicious and sweet enough!
Hi
Thanks so much for sent the very good recipes (:
These are my favorite cookies!! Maybe even higher than chocolate chip! (I’m sure you know, there are many terrible chocolate chip cookies out there!) I’m trying to think of a way to inhale even more of these at one time! Is there a way to turn these into a sandwich cookie? Or do you think they’d be too soft?
Hmm, you could probably turn them into a cookie sandwich. If they seem a bit soft, you could try baking them for an extra couple of minutes, or make smaller cookies and they’d probably work fine.
I’m glad you’ve enjoyed them!
I just made the banana oatmeal cookies and they came out so flat. For the life of me I can’t figure out what I did wrong. Could my baking soda be old and make them do this?
It’s hard for me to say for sure without being there. I’m sure you can see from the photos that these aren’t particularly thick cookies, but if they were especially flat, one possible reason would be the butter being too soft which would cause them to spread more. Another possibility is under measuring the flour, which would give a less thick dough. Another possibility is did you use the cornstarch? I know sometimes people leave that out thinking it’s not a big deal, but if you left it out it would definitely make the cookies fall flat.
I hope that helps!
I bet it was the butter – I put it in the microwave to soften it…..probably too long. Thanks for the tip!
I stumbled across your recipe in an effort to use three ripe bananas. These things are amazing! Thanks so much for sharing them!
I just made your banana cookies last night and was looking forward to a chewy cookie, however, mine did not turn out that way. They are soft and moist, not really chewy. I bake all the time and followed the recipe, then tried baking a little longer, still no chewiness. I am a real cookie lover and would like these to come out right. Any suggestions?
Perhaps we have a different idea of a chewy cookie? These are chewy/soft vs crunchy. Were you looking for something denser? These Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies are definitely denser and could be more like what you’re looking for.
Hello! Thank you for sharing this recipe, I’ve made this almost everyday! But I replaced the sugar with honey, so I could eat them every day for brekafast along with my tea. I have a question, how long can I keep the cookies in the freezer (days,months etc.)? And should I heat them up immediately in the microwave when I’ve taken them out of the freezer, or should I first thaw them and then heat them up?
Thanks in advance, and keep up the good work!
I’m glad you’ve enjoyed them. I haven’t tested freezing these, but I think generally 3-4 weeks is best. As far as heating them, I’d test both options and see which you prefer. I haven’t tried it.
Hi Lindsay! I made these cookies and we loved them. Thank you for the recipe.
I always have bananas that seem to be getting really ripe before we can eat them all. Rather than throw them away, I searched the internet for a banana cookie recipe and found your recipe for Banana Oatmeal Cookies and decided to try them and they were delicious! I made one pan full exactly as the recipe. On the next batch, I added in chopped pecans (will try walnuts next time), and the last batch added both pecans and chocolate chips. I even made the last few thinner and baked until they were a bit more crispy. All of the versions were great! They were all gone within just a few days and there are only two people in our household. Next time, I’m also going to throw in some dried cranberries and probably some butterscotch or caramel chips. Oh, the possibilities are endless and delicious! Loved the story about your grandmother’s cookbook! I still have the one my mom taught me to cook from. Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
We live in the Philippines and always seem to have (too) many bananas & so I doubled this recipe with great success! I added a few extras (because I am an experimenter!). About 1/2 cup of toasted sesame seeds, about 1/4 cup of ground flax seeds, 1 1/2 cup each of soaked and then drip dried raisins and dried cranberries, 1 cup chopped up chocolate bars, and I replaced the vanilla with almond flavoring because we don’t have good vanilla here. Also, a teaspoon of salt. I let this batch bake 13 minutes due to all of the extras. I topped them off with just 3-4 salted peanuts before I put them into the oven. Absolutely loved these and will be sure to keep the recipe!!! Thanks for an awesome grandmother’s treasure!!!!
i like these. Super thick. Think they coulda done with a little more sugar though.
Also i added pecabs to half the batch for texture. Equally yum but still a bit more sugar
Can you add peanut butter to this recipe?
Possibly, but I haven’t tried it to advise.
How long will these cookies keep, do you think? Need some for a bake sale at school on Friday, it’s Tuesday today – will they still be OK if I keep them airtight or would I be better off freezing?
By the way, my children love them!
I’m so glad you enjoy the cookies! I’d think Tuesday to Friday might be ok generally, but for then for the person buying them at the bake sale they’d be on the later end of when they’d be best.
Anyone ever tried subbing coconut oil for butter?
Coconut oil works just fine, but in its solid form (not melted or liquid coconut oil) that way it mixes well like softened butter. I cream my coconut oil with the sugar until it is smooth (there may be a some specks of coconut oil throughout, but thats fine, they’ll melt right in as they bake). I use the vegan natural butter flavored coconut oil when baking cookies and add a bit of fine ground pink himalayan salt to account for any salted butter when a recipe calls for it, but any salt will do.
This recipe holds up well to the coconut oil because the ingredients are just hearty enough and the banana works well with the oil, keeping them from drying out. The cookies stayed perfectly moist, but not overly so, and had a lovely chew. For me, the oven temperature and bake time needed no adjustment with the oil substitution either. Sometimes you have to be careful with more delicate cookies (sugar cookies, linzers, etc) and bake them just a bit shorter until they almost look done, otherwise the oil will cause the bottoms to brown and you’re left with an overly crisp, slightly greasy cookie.
I have recently been using the Country Crock plant-based butter more often and have used it in this recipe multiple times. The olive oil one is my go to, as it is by far the most neutral flavor-not even a hint of olive oil flavor really-a bit when baking fresh bread, but not in sweets, it tastes closest to butter, has no aftertaste, bakes, mixes and creams just like butter (I even use it in ‘butter’cream frosting/icing and have been told it is the best buttercream people have had-it stays so soft, and very fluffy and delicate, perfect for sweet rolls/cinnamon buns).
*For other vegan substitutions:
I also used a flax egg (1 Tbsp ground flax/flax meal stirred into 3 Tbsp water, then left to sit for 10-15 minutes) at room temp) to sub for the egg. I have also used 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce as the egg replacement and the cookies came out great. Really, if anyone wants more banana flavor, they can sub another 1/4 cup banana for the egg instead and it works fine.
I just adore this recipe. Perfect for a quick boost, as the best breakfast bite, with tea/coffee, for those 2am sweet cravings, for anytime really.
And they make GREAT gifts! They’re perfect for people in the hospital-they provide a sweet natural fiber and vitamin boost (lots of fiber for those issues that arise when somebody’s just had surgery, etc and might be on pain meds, and they have plenty of potassium that can help with lactic acid depletion that causes muscle cramps from lack of eating/nutrition, laying in bed too much and after excersing those sore muscles following surgery, illness, etc). So you’re not only giving them a gift showing you care, but it’s something yummy and that can be very helpful!
Thank you for this recipe. I absolutely adore it! I’m actually taking some to my mum this evening who’s just had a knee replacement. She’ll love them!
I’m so glad you enjoy them!
Thanks for sharing! These came out wonderful!!!
These banana oatmeal cookies had a tremendous flavor, although they were quite dry. I would trybthem again & add a lil bit more banana to see if that helps. Ty forr the recipe. Is a cheap treat too, which was nice, as the cupboards were getting bare. Lol
I’m sorry you found them to be dry. Odds are you could bake them for a couple minutes less and have better luck. 🙂 Glad you still enjoyed them!
This recipe looks great! Do you mix with a mixer or a spoon?
I use a mixer.