Chewy Banana Oatmeal Cookies (Printer-friendly)
Soft and chewy cookies bursting with ripe banana flavor and hearty rolled oats, ready in under 30 minutes.
# What You’ll Need:
→ Wet Ingredients
01 - 2 ripe bananas, mashed (about 3/4 cup)
02 - 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
03 - 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
04 - 1/4 cup granulated sugar
05 - 1 large egg
06 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
→ Dry Ingredients
07 - 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
08 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
09 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
10 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
11 - 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
→ Optional Add-ins
12 - 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped walnuts
# How to Make It:
01 - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, beat together the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar using an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
03 - Add the mashed bananas, egg, and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Beat until fully combined and smooth.
04 - In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt until evenly distributed.
05 - Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring gently with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
06 - Fold in the rolled oats and, if desired, the chocolate chips or chopped walnuts until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
07 - Drop rounded tablespoon-sized mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.
08 - Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the edges are golden brown and the centers appear just set.
09 - Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving or storing.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The banana flavor is subtle enough to feel like a warm hug rather than a hammer over the head.
- They stay soft and chewy for days, which means they actually taste better on day two if you can wait that long.
02 -
- If you underbake these by even one minute too few, the centers will collapse into gummy little sinkholes once they cool.
- Mashing the bananas with a fork until they are almost liquid gives you a smoother dough than leaving chunky bits behind.
03 -
- Use bananas that are so ripe they look ruined, because that is when the starches have fully converted to sugar and the flavor is at its peak.
- Rotate your baking sheets halfway through the cook time if your oven has hot spots, since even browning makes a real difference in how these taste.