If you love the combination of bananas and oatmeal and enjoy soft and chewy oatmeal cookies that have crispy edges and a thick soft middle, this recipe is for you!
These homemade banana oatmeal cookies are not the healthy 3-ingredient version, instead, they are deliciously sweet cookies made with butter, two kinds of sugar, lots of oats, and plenty of fresh banana pieces.
I have really enjoyed experimenting with lots of oatmeal cookie recipes starting by creating the perfect soft oatmeal cookie recipe.
This banana oatmeal cookie recipe has now eclipsed my oatmeal raisin cookies to become my favorite. As much as I love raisins in my oatmeal cookies, I have to admit that bananas are even better!
Some recipes call for blending mashed bananas into the cookie batter but I chose to add chunks of bananas instead. I wanted bits of moist banana speckled throughout the oatmeal cookie.
I really wanted these cookies to have a distinct oatmeal cookie taste with pockets of bananas instead of having them taste like banana bread.
Each cookie has a nice buttery toffee-like flavor and is loaded with oats and bananas so they stay thick when baked.
The cookies are easy to make too. You do not need a mixer!
I hope you love these cookies as much as I do.
Meaghan and I have created lots of amazing cookies over the years to share here on this blog and on our other blogs. Be sure to check them out.
More Oatmeal Cookie Recipes
- oatmeal chocolate chip cookies recipe
- chewy oatmeal raisin cookies recipe
- soft and chewy oatmeal cookies recipe
Chewy Oatmeal Banana Cookie Ingredients
- bananas - Use fresh bananas that are nice and yellow or that are just starting to spot. Cut the bananas into ¼-inch thick slices, then cut each slice into 4 triangle-shaped wedge.
- unsalted butter - You will melt the butter, so you don't have to worry about setting it out on your counter to soften it.
- You can melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove.
- cinnamon - You'll use ¾ teaspoon of cinnamon which will get bloomed in the melted butter (mixing it into warm butter will enhance the flavor). You can add less if you prefer a more pronounced oat flavor.
- vegetable oil - The oil is a key ingredient for making soft oatmeal cookies.
- granulated sugar - This sugar will not only add sweetness but it will also encourage browning.
- brown sugar - I used dark brown sugar to give these cookies a more robust toffee flavor, but light brown sugar works fine too.
- egg/egg yolk - You will use 1 large egg and 1 egg yolk. The extra yolk adds extra moisture to the cookie and ramps up the rich flavor.
- vanilla - Always use pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste for the best flavor.
- all-purpose flour - The amount of flour in this recipe is lower than in most recipes and this lower amount keeps the cookies from having a cakey texture but it's needed to give the cookies structure.
- salt - Use ¾ teaspoon of table salt to balance the sweetness in the cookies.
- baking soda - Just ½ teaspoon will give your cookies the rise that they need.
- old-fashioned rolled oats - Your cookies will have the best flavor and texture when you use old-fashioned rolled oats.
Let's make banana oatmeal cookies.
step 1 - cut and freeze the bananas
- Unpeel two medium bananas.
- Cut into ¼-inch thick slices.
- Then, cut each banana slice into 4 wedges.
- Measure out 1 ½ cups of the diced bananas.
- Spread the pieces in an even layer on a silicone mat or wax paper lined baking sheet or cutting board and place them in the freezer for 30-60 minutes.
You want the banana pieces to hold their shape when they are mixed into the oatmeal cookie dough. If you don't freeze them, then they will mash making your cookies more like banana bread.
step 2 - mix the wet ingredients
- Melt the butter in the microwave for about 40-50 seconds on high power or in a small saucepan set over medium-low heat. You can brown the butter if you prefer, but it's not necessary.
- Stir the cinnamon into the hot butter and allow it to rest for about 30 seconds.
- Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl.
- Stir in the oil until blended, then add the granulated sugar and brown sugar, and mix until combined. The mixture will look gritty once blended together.
- Add the egg and egg yolk and vanilla and stir until combined.
step 3 - stir in the dry ingredients
- Combine the flour, salt, and baking soda, then fold it into the wet ingredients.
- Stir in the old-fashioned rolled oats.
step 4 - add bananas
- Gently stir the frozen bananas into the oatmeal cookie dough.
optional mix-ins
toasted walnuts - You can add ½ cup of chopped walnuts to the cookie dough for a nutty crunchy texture.
chocolate chips - If you love chocolate and bananas together you could toss in ½ cup of chocolate chips or use just 1 cup of banana pieces and 1 cup of chocolate chips.
step 5 - scoop and bake your cookies
- Use a 2 tablespoon ice cream scoop to scoop out 24 portions of the oatmeal cookie dough.
- Place the dough balls onto parchment paper-lined baking trays about 2 inches apart.
- Then use your hand to gently flatten the rounded tops of the cookies.
- Your cookies should be flat on top, measure about 2-inches across and be about 1-inch thick. See the picture above. The unbaked cookie pictured on the bottom left of the image above has been flattened and is ready to go into the oven.
- Bake the oatmeal banana cookies in a 375-degree F (190.6° C) oven for 10-12 minutes until the edges turn lightly golden brown and just begin to set. The center of the cookies should look slightly underdone when you remove the trays from the oven.
- Let the cookies rest on the hot tray for 5-10 minutes, to continue baking, then transfer them to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.
TIPS:
Bake these cookies until they look golden brown around the edges and have golden brown spots on the top. If you undertake these cookies they will be mushy.
It's also important to make sure your oven is baking at the right temperature. We recommend placing an oven thermometer inside the oven to make sure your oven is heating to the correct temperature.
The cookies will stay moist for days if stored at room temperature but after about three days they'll get too soft. I suggest you set out enough cookies for a few days then freeze the rest. They taste great right out of the freezer but can be thawed and enjoyed at room temperature too.
Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Thick and chewy banana oatmeal cookies have crispy edges but are soft in the middle. The banana pieces speckled throughout the cookies add a sweet flavor and keep these cookies moist for days.
Ingredients
- 2 medium bananas
- 143 grams all-purpose flour (5 ounces or 1 cup + 2 tablespoons)*
- 5 grams table salt (¾ teaspoon)
- 2 grams baking soda (½ teaspoon)
- 86 grams butter (3 ounces or 6 tablespoons)
- 1 gram cinnamon (¾ teaspoon)
- 74 grams vegetable oil (2.6 ounces or ⅓ cup)
- 149 grams dark brown sugar (5.25 ounces or ¾ cup tightly packed)
- 109 grams granulated sugar (3.8 ounces or ½ cup)
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 6 grams pure vanilla extract (1 teaspoon)
- 300 grams old fashioned rolled oats (10.6 ounces or 3 ½ cups)
Instructions
- Unpeel the bananas and cut them into ¼-inch slices.
- Then, cut each banana slice into 4 wedges. You'll want about 1 ½ cups of diced bananas to mix into the cookie dough.
- Spread the banana pieces on a silicone mat or a wax paper-covered cutting board.
- Freeze for about 30 minutes just so they are cold enough to hold their shape when mixed into the cookie dough.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (189 Celcius).
- Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda, and set aside.
- Melt the butter using the microwave or stovetop.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the warm melted butter with the cinnamon and let rest for at least 30 seconds.
- Stir in the vegetable oil.
- Then, add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix until well combined.
- Stir in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
- Fold in the flour mixture.
- Then, stir in the oats.
- Gently fold in the frozen banana pieces.
- Scoop out 26 cookies using a 2 tablespoon-size ice cream scoop or a measuring spoon onto the baking sheets, spacing the cookies a few inches apart.
- Gently flatten the rounded tops of the cookies so the cookies are about 2 inches in diameter and 1-inch thick.
- Bake one tray at a time for about 12 minutes, rotating them halfway through, until the edges of the cookies turn golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the hot baking pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Store at room temperature for up to 3 days. The cookies will get very soft if kept longer than a few days at room temperature.
- These cookies can be wrapped in wax paper, then placed in a zip-top bag, and frozen for up to 3 months.
- You can enjoy the cookies right out of the freezer or they can be thawed before eating.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
26Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 198Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 134mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 2gSugar: 16gProtein: 3g
HowToMakeEasyCookies.com offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you use to create this recipe.
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