Banana Chip Cookies Recipe

A riff on one of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes. This version features banana chips, chocolate chips, toasted walnuts, toasted wheat germ, and whole wheat pastry flour.

Banana Chip Cookies

Riffing on one of my favorite cookie doughs, the one I use in SNC for the mesquite flour chocolate chip cookies, these decadent cookies get plenty of flavor and crunch from toasted walnuts and chopped banana chips. I have to admit, it was hard for me to resist adding even more ingredients (coconut, ground espresso, and on and on), but I fought the urge, and stopped short after the chocolate chips, oh and the wheat germ. Essentially I was on a bender in the bin section at the grocery store and these cookies were the result.

Banana Chip Cookie Recipe

This is what your dough should look like just before you drop and bake the cookies. If you don't like banana chips leave them out, same goes for the nuts - or swap in something more to your liking...

Banana Chip Cookie Recipe

Before and after. I'm actually curious about how these cookies might turn out if I used coconut oil/coconut butter in place of the unsalted butter. If any of the vegan bakers out there try it, please report back. I suspect it would be delicious and add a nice undercurrent of coconut flavor. With all the hot weather we've been experiencing, I think the trick would be making sure the coconut is in its solid state (so chill just a bit before beating/adding sugar)...

Banana Chip Cookie Recipe

I actually froze off most of this batch of cookies, and will bake them on demand :) I crowd them onto a single baking sheet and place them in the freezer for about 30 minutes, long enough for them to firm up. Then I transfer them to freezer bags (double bag). It makes baking off a couple at a time a breeze, and the pre-freeze ensures you don't end up with frozen bags of mashed cookie dough. And to get this shape over and over I push the dough out of the tablespoon with my thumb.

101 Cookbooks Membership

Premium Ad-Free membership includes:
-Ad-free content
-Print-friendly recipes
-Spice / Herb / Flower / Zest recipe collection PDF
-Weeknight Express recipe collection PDF
-Surprise bonuses throughout the year

spice herb flower zest
weeknight express

Banana Chip Cookie Recipe

If you can't find whole wheat pastry flour, regular all-purpose white flour will work. If you can't find wheat germ, substitute an equal amount of flour. I look for organic banana chips - the ones I like are made with organic coconut oil and bananas.

1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (see head notes)
1/2 cup (toasted) wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup natural cane sugar (or brown sugar)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup banana chips, loosely chopped
1 cup chocolate chips
2/3 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, racks in middle/upper middle. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flour, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, or stand mixer, beat the butter until lightly and fluffy, then beat in the sugar until it is the consistency of a thick frosting. Beat in the eggs one at a time, incorporating each fully before adding the next, and scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times along the way (important!). Stir in the vanilla. Add the reserved flour mix in two increments, stirring/mixing a bit between each addition (but not too much). By hand, stir in the banana chips, chocolate chips and walnuts - mix just until everything is evenly distributed.

Drop 1 heaping tablespoon of dough for each cookie onto the prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart and bake for about 7 - 8 minutes, until barely golden on top and bottom. Resist over baking, they will come out dry and not as tasty. Cook on racks.

Make about 24 cookies.

If you make this recipe, I'd love to see it - tag it #101cookbooks on Instagram!

Comments are closed.

Apologies, comments are closed.

Comments

Oh btw I live in the UK as that will make a difference as to what is available here and what isn't :/

Saqib

Man, I can't find wheat flour anywhere here (I am a novice baker so forgive me if I sound stupid). What can I use instead? Do the walnuts have to be toasted? And also the wheatgerm? Thanks in advance, Saqib.

Saqib

Made these last night for a dinner party and people could not stop eating them. They were awesome! Followed the recipe except I subbed 1/4 c. of mashed ripe banana for one of the eggs. Thanks so much for another great recipe!

Allison

Used Canola Oil instaed of butter worked realy great!!! mmmm... yummy

Debby

Just finished putting the second batch of these in the oven - and the first batch is rapidly disappearing! These were great - I made them vegan, using Earth Balance and egg replacer. Didn't have any banana chips on hand, but I added a handful of toasted macadamia nuts to the batter (which was fabulous as well, of course). Thanks for a great recipe!

Spike

Looks so yummy! I love bananas and chocolate!

jessica

Just made these today...used an organic baking mix in place of the flour/levening/salt. The banana chips do add a surprising crunch to the mix...might chop the banana chips more finely next time, to distribute the banana flavor more evenly. Thanks for the recipe, Heidi!

Jody

Hey Heidi, thanks for featuring the long-forgotten banana chips! I buy them regularly because they're cheap, but I hadn't thought it through to use them in a recipe. My question is--do the banana chips soften up after being partially rehydrated in the cookie dough, or are they a surprising crunch in the cookie?

Sprouted in the Kitchen

i made these last night. forgot to pick up walnuts at the store, but they're great cookies even without. not too sweet, and the banana chips add such a great crunch.

niki

This cookies look delicious :-) You have amazing photos!

Manuela

My, my, my!!! What a delightful recipe! I am absolutely in love with choco chip banana cake, so this cookie is right up my alley. I love how you come up with such creative recipes each time. It's always a pleasure to drop in here!

Meena

Wheat germ goes into pretty much everything I bake. And ground flax seed. it is my little homage to health that I use to legitimate my baking binge that I've been on recently. the oven timer literally just went off on my key lime margarita scones. with sea salt. so far I've been able to resist making cookies. because that is a slippery slippery slope...

Erin @ The Skinny Gourmet

Dear God, they look tempting, oh my holy...moly stomach. i'm bananas over banana baking. love that stuff. will definitely try it. your picture and house looks real nice.

muneera

So, are bananas in? everyone has a banana recepie!!! haha so, i tried banana chips the other day... not much my style, but ur cookies seem delicous ill try them!!

delicious chronicles

I love incorporating whole grains into cookies. I find it usually gives a more earthy flavor, especially with some added nuts. Never thought to add banana chips, these sound outstanding.

Nick

These cookies look delish. Anna- thanks for the tip of baking with avocado . I use it in dessert recipes for flavor, but have never tried it as a sub for butter.

Sophia from Kitchen Caravan

Hi Karen – instead of using butter, try coconut oil or Spectrum brand shortening (palm oil). Earth Balance is great if you can tolerate the soy, but if you have problems with dairy you may also have a reaction to the soy protein isolates in Earth Balance (causes arthritis flare ups for me - and I'm under 40!)

Jenn

This recipe was a fabulous guide to some delicious cookies!! I used what I had so I used raw wheat germ instead of toasted, all coconut oil instead of butter, succanat instead of sugar, coconut meat instead of banana chips, soaked and dehydrated almonds instead of toasted walnuts, and rough chopped 70% chocolate instead of chips. I know it sounds like a lot of changes, but Heidi's ingredient amounts were an amazing (and flexible) guide to making some really delicious and fairly healthy cookies! (I am freezing most of the dough...thanks for the tip!) Thanks, Heidi!

Whitney

We have some leftover banana chips we're kind of sick of snacking on. This is a great way to use 'em up! Thanks!

Hillary

Thanks for the recipe. If you freeze them, do you need to defrost them before baking, or do you just bake them a bit longer? About how long does it take for them to defrost?

lori

I have a potluck tomorrow and I know what I'm bringing! Great idea --- banana chips (which I can never resist) and chocolate chips (ditto)

FJK

These look SO amazing!

Kristina

banana chips? wheat germ? i need this cookie dough IMMEDIATELY, so i can eat it with a spoon, raw and delicious.

michelle @ TNS

I have never had these cookies but they sound wonderful! I will be making some of these this weekend.

Christy

I really appreciate the wheat-germ-turned treat theme. It's possible to have a treat and for it to be whole grain! Thanks.

Sprouted in the Kitchen

Great looking cookies! I'm going to try them with half applesauce instead of all butter (sorry - goes with the nutritionist territory). Like the freeze-ahead idea too - so smart. Love your site - please keep up the fab recipes!

Megan

Delicious! Thanks for the freezing tip-I love the idea of 'cookies on demand'!

Rebecca

yum yum yum!! i need to make cookies this week and this will probably be the recipe to use. what a great combo!

Betsy

Mmmmmmmmmm they loook soo incredibly yum!

Krystanna

YUM! I never would have thought to put banana chips in cookies. Bananas + Chocolate is one of my all-time favorite flavor combinations... my favorite dessert used to be a chocolate milkshake with a mashed up banana, and I have a feeling these might rival that!

Jen (Modern Beet)

ooooh those cookies look delish! I use lots of coconut oil in my baking and it works great...also avocado in place of some of the butter is surprisingly good.

anna

Brenda and Kindra, Yes, you can use mashed bananas as an egg substitute. Substitute about half a mashed banana per egg. It's really tasty in chocolate chip cookies, and would probably be good in oatmeal cookies or maybe even brownies as well. It doesn't seem to affect the texture much. You do get a distinctly banana flavor from it, though, so don't use them anywhere that banana wouldn't be welcome.

Kirsten

Wow, great pics! Those look and sound so, so tasty!

Hot Garlic

Thanks for the great banana chip cookies recipe, Heidi. I'm the person that love the chips, especially with the banana flavor. Well surely make few jar for my nephew in few more days...

Pork Chop Recipe

Heidi, you are the bomb!! I absolutely LOVE banana chips. AND I love cookies!! Awesome combo. But now I'm sad because I'm going to eat these all summer and not fit into any bathing suits. SIGH.....

Kirby!

Thanks for a cookie recipe that is lighter on the sugar side of things. I typically just omit some of the sugar from the cookies recipes that I have, but I'm always a little nervous that if I omit too much the batch will be wrecked. There are few things I find more depressing that wrecked cookies. Erika - I believe that you can substitute plain ol' white sugar for the brown sugar - the cookie color might be a bit lighter but you can balance that by adding a bit of molasses or treacle (or whatever they call it in Switzerland!).

Paris

My day today consisted of: - Traffic - Work - Gym - More traffic - baking these cookies What do you think I liked the best??? Great recipe, Heidi!

Chris

Message to Karen, yes, use Earth Balance soy butter for baking instead of butter. It's exactly like real butter only made from soy. OMG! You can't tell the diff except no lactose intolerance problems! Yeah! And, it's earth friendly. (Heidi...bender in the bin section...can't we all relate to that! hehehe!

Sue's Good Eats

Such a good idea to pre-freeze. I love having cookie dough around for spur of the moment freshly baked cookies, so thank you for the inspiration.

Abigail Davenport

Wow! The texture of the cookie dough looks perfect. Yum ...

Wheeler's Frozen Desserts

These cookies sound simply wonderful. Beautiful job! Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go

Sheltie Girl

I am very much a novice cook and a friend very helpfully pointed me to this site last week. She is a great cook (teaches cooking classes at Sur La Table, Parties that Cook, etc) and I was going to her house for dinner this past Saturday and wanted to take something. So I tried the Heavenly Pie recipe -- it was really easy and garnered rave reviews. The site is beautifully done and I can't wait to try more recipes (from here and the SNC book) including these cookies! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes with us.

TMonster

As there are just two of us leftover baking usually goes into the bin, so thanks for the tip on freezing the dough! Considering the price of food these days I don't like to think that anything gets wasted. Not to mention the addition of coffee to the mix sounds divine...

Susan

It looks good I am going to the Kitchen now to make me some cookes . So now I Know what I am having for desert tonight cookes and Banana Jallo.

Shirley

YUM! I would also love this with some espresso powder thrown in there. I think you're forcing me to do some baking this weekend :) My husband will love you forever.

bitchincamero

OMG - I just made these delicious delights but could not resist the "kitchen sink" approach". I added 2 TBS chopped crystallized ginger and 1/4 cup chopped dried mango. I used half unsalted butter and half chilled coconut oil (worked wonderfully) with a beautiful hint of coconut notes in the background. I did not have any wheat germ on hand so I used Grapenuts cereal (1/2 cup, toasted). I passed them around to neighbors on my floor and 2 people have already "dropped by" (so I'm sharing the recipe - giving you the credit - and expecting desserts either later tonight or this week. I'm getting to be quite the popular one, *wink*). Thank you Heidi for another innovative and imaginative recipe. Season with hope!!!

Ray

You know I think for people like myself with a sweet tooth, the baking on demand thing helps me eat healthy. I love whole grains, and fruits and veggies, but at the end of the day after dinner I NEED sugar. So baking a few cookies for my husband and I to have warm with milk or a small scoop of frozen yogurt keeps me from wrecking things by eating cookies for lunch, like I do when I bake an entire batch.

Anonymous

I have recently become lactose intolerant so I am no longer cooking and baking with butter. What is a good substitute in cookies? I am not crazy about the flavor of margarine. Ghee has no lactose. Would that be good? Or some kind of coconut oil? What do the vegans out there use? Thanks Karen

Karen

Delicious. Will need to make these for the husband, sans nuts, of course. Thanks, Heidi!

Maggie @ Eat Boutique

As if the mesquite cookies could be any better...I think I am willing to bake during a Philadelphia heat wave for these beauties!

Denise

Oh my, those cookies sound spectacular - yum!! Do report back if you end up trying the recipe again with coconut oil/coconut butter in place of the unsalted butter!!

VeggieGirl

Bookmarking this one for future niece and nephew spoiling reference.... ;-)

Jennifer

Another great one that I can't wait to try. And the freezing tip is brilliant! Why by the unhealthy tub of dough from the kid next door when you can have these cookies on hand?!

Jenn

Oh my yum! My only problem would be keeping the kids and myself from eating all of the banana chips before the cookies were baked.

Karla

I said, Oooooooooh, when I saw the pic. I definately will try this as soon as possible. I made the heavenly pie for Father's Day! I am the best wife ,mother and daughter-in-law on the planet! Enough said. Thank you!

Momo Hunter

These came out so uniquely delicious! Thanks, Heidi!

Hana Kaneshiro

Once I made a batch of chewy banana-cranberry cookies, they were sooooo good... You just can't go wrong with flavor pairings like banana-chocolate. Thanks for the recipe and yummy pic, Heidi.

Julieta

these look so good! if anyone tries with mashed banana, please let us know how you adjusted the recipe. i usually make heidi's incredible Espresso Banana Muffins from SNC when mine have been on the kitchen counter too long, but this sounds like it could be a great destination for them as well.

meliSsa

Heidi, these look amazing! I too thought they'd have mashed bananas but the banana chips are a fun twist. I'd really like to try this with the coconut butter as you suggested--would I substitute 1:1 with the butter?

Courtney

Oh wow - these look amazing and I can't wait to try them. Thanks for the pre-freezer/freezer tip -- I love the idea of baking just a few at a time for my family.

Jennifer

love the "bender in the bin section" comment, had me smiling on this rainy monday!! Two questions, 1. do the banana chips keep their crunchy texture after cooked in the cookies? 2. what is the consistency of the brown sugar you use ... an oddly difficult ingredient to buy in Geneva. I normally import the thick, moist 'north american' variety. many thanks

Erika of Sweet Pea blog

Brenda - yes, you can put mashed bananas in cookies. My mom's Betty Crocker has an alternative to oatmeal raisin that adds mashed banana, and it does an amazing job of keeping them moist. I wonder if it would work as well as applesauce as a vegan egg substitute?

Kindra

Brenda - yes, you can put mashed bananas in cookies. My mom's Betty Crocker has an alternative to oatmeal raisin that adds mashed banana, and it does an amazing job of keeping them moist. I wonder if it would work as well as applesauce as a vegan substitute?

Kindra

"on a bender in the bin section" Oh, yes, I know it well :-) So many unmarked containers in my cabinets quickly led me to start identifying everything by sight. Millet vs. quinoa took awhile :-) great post. i do love me some cookies!

Michelle @ What Does Your Body Good?

"on a bender in the bin section" Oh, yes, I know it well :-) So many unmarked containers in my cabinets quickly led me to start identifying everything by sight. Millet vs. quinoa took awhile :-) great post. i do love me some cookies!

Anonymous

Dear God these look delicious.

Ging

I actually bet the mesquite flour would be a nice addition to these -- I think I'll give them a go that way. The sweet richness of it could work well with the banana flavor. Perhaps just a few tablespoons of the mesquite, to give a hint of the flavor without changing the texture completely. And hooray -- a break in the hot weather. Not a bad week here for baking at all.

Becky and the Beanstock

For a minute I thought this were 'Banana - Chocolate Chip' cookies not 'Banana chip'. While these look lovely - is there any way to use mashed bananas in making cookies? As you do with muffins? I get great organic bananas from our local farm but sometimes can't eat them fast enough so like to use the really mushy ones to bake. I would love to try a banana-chocolate chip cookie....

Brenda

Ooo these look so good. I love anything with bananas.

magpie

thank you for the substitute for whole wheat pastry flour. now i can make these (or i would have died). ;-)

pRiyA

What a lovely recipe idea! I wish I had the recipe a couple of hours ago to make for my stepson who stopped by for Father's Day! I had MOST of the indgredients - I only need to shop for a couple items . . .my kid loves dessert! Thanks for fun ideas!

Kristina C.

Lovely cookies. Hehe that sounded wrong somehow. ANYWAY. I can totally relate to the whole 'putting everything but the kitchen sink' baking scenario. I find myself doing that a lot. Although less is more--it IS fun to see what happens when you play with things. Some really groovy recipes can result from such experimentation. :)

Uncle Hannah

Comments are closed.

Apologies, comments are closed.

More Recipes

101cookbooks social icon
Join my newsletter!
Weekly recipes and inspirations.

Popular Ingredients

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of its User Agreement and Privacy Policy.

101 Cookbooks is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Any clickable link to amazon.com on the site is an affiliate link.