Chewy Banana Oatmeal Cookies (Printable version)
Soft, chewy cookies bursting with banana flavor and wholesome oats—a perfect anytime snack.
# What You'll Need:
→ Wet Ingredients
01 - 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
02 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
03 - 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
04 - 1/4 cup granulated sugar
05 - 1 large egg
06 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
→ Dry Ingredients
07 - 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
08 - 1 cup all-purpose flour
09 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
10 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
11 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
→ Mix-ins
12 - 1/2 cup chocolate chips or chopped walnuts (optional)
# How to Prepare:
01 - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together using an electric mixer or whisk until the mixture is light and creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
03 - Add the mashed bananas, egg, and vanilla extract to the creamed mixture. Stir until all wet ingredients are thoroughly combined.
04 - In a separate bowl, whisk together the rolled oats, all-purpose flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt until evenly distributed.
05 - Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, folding gently with a spatula until just combined. Avoid overmixing to keep the cookies tender.
06 - Gently fold in the chocolate chips or chopped walnuts, if using, until evenly dispersed throughout the dough.
07 - Drop tablespoon-sized mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them approximately 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.
08 - Bake on the center rack for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookie edges are golden while the centers remain soft and slightly under-set.
09 - Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before serving.
# Expert advice:
01 -
- The banana does double duty here, adding natural sweetness and an incredible chewy texture that keeps these cookies soft for days.
- They come together in under 30 minutes with ingredients you probably already have sitting in your pantry.
- The brown sugar and cinnamon combination makes your whole kitchen smell like a bakery on a lazy Sunday morning.
02 -
- Overmixing the dough once the flour is added will make the cookies tough instead of tender, so stir gently and stop early.
- If your bananas are not quite ripe enough, you can speed things along by baking them in their peels at 300 degrees F for about 15 minutes until they turn dark and syrupy.
03 -
- Use a cookie scoop instead of a spoon so every cookie is the same size and bakes evenly across the whole tray.
- Chilling the dough for 20 minutes before scooping helps the cookies hold their shape and develop a chewier texture.