So, I did a juice cleanse earlier this week. And now I’m craving cookies. Cookies, cookies, cookies.
That’s how it’s supposed to work, right?
Well, since these cookies have peanut butter and banana in them, maybe that can at least partially count as health food. ;)
Actually, the inspiration for these tasty little cookies did come from a healthier source — this protein-packed Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie recipe. It was so good when I made it for breakfast, that I thought about re-making it for dessert after dinner. And then the idea occurred to me — why not translate it into a cookie?
I mean, everyone loves peanut butter and bananas when it comes to baking. So the idea seemed to have potential.
And sure enough, it was a winner. Here’s how to make them!
Start out with your basic cookie ingredients, plus a nice ripe banana and a bunch of peanut butter.
Mix up a simple dough, then form it into balls on a cookie sheet.
Use a fork to make the classic PB cookie criss-cross pattern if you’d like. Then sprinkle with a pinch of turbinado sugar (or granulated sugar). Bake ’em for about 8-10 minutes…
…the voila! These cute and easy little peanut butter banana cookies are yours to enjoy.
They are sweet but not too sweet. They are soft and chewy, especially when just out of the oven. And they basically taste like banana bread meets peanut butter cookies. Aka, peanut butter banana heaven.
Alright, run to your kitchen and make some already!
Peanut Butter Banana Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup creamy natural peanut butter (I used creamy natural from Trader Joe’s)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1 medium banana)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- (optional: cane sugar, for sprinkling)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, cornstarch, salt, baking soda and cinnamon until combined. Set aside.
- In the (separate) bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add peanut butter, egg, banana, and vanilla, and continue mixing on medium speed until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl once if needed. Fold in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Measure out a rounded tablespoon-full of dough, roll it into a ball, then place on the baking sheet. Use a fork to press down the top of the ball and make a criss-cross pattern. Sprinkle with a pinch of cane sugar, if desired. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until slightly golden around the edges. Cool for 10 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve immediately or store in a sealed container for up to 1 week.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
I usually just have chocolate desserts, but this was AMAZING!
I had a hankering for banana bread but I don’t own a loaf pan, so I looked up a banana cookie recipe and tried this one out. Mine came out like little peanut butter & banana bread bites of heaven! I can see how some people thought they are not “cookie” enough as they are a cake-like texture (fine by me), and not as “peanut-buttery” as a traditional peanut butter cookie, BUT the subtle peanut butter flavor lets the banana flavor shine through very nicely, and they are PERFECT if you like a not-so-over-the-top sweet treat!
My recipe modifications were purely ingredient swaps because I didn’t have everything on-hand: swapped brown sugar for 1/2 cup white sugar + 1/2 tbsp maple syrup, and baking powder for 1/2 tsp white vinegar + add’l 1/4 tsp baking soda. Worked like a charm! If you need ingredient substitutes for any recipe, google “(ingredient name) substitute” and use the healthline.com articles, they are the best :)
I read the comments before making these cookies. My dough came out sticky too, so I placed it in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm it up a bit before baking. I also rolled each cookie in granulated stevia before pressing with a fork and placing them in the oven. They turned out delicious…
So I didn’t follow the recipe to a T! With all the negative reviews I was worried about it being dry and floury tasting.
I added an extra egg, an extra banana, some peanut butter/chocolate chips, and about 2tbs of honey. I also cooked them about 12 minutes.
These turned out wonderful, though I did take a wee bit of advice from te comment sections and used a bit more than stated for the PB, banana and sugar. Mine were a little too soft to roll into balls, and stayed puffed up without that, so at 3 minutes left in the baking cycle I smacked them down with the back of the spatula. :-) Worked like a champ, and they had time left to still rise.
They taste good but found them a bit dry.
Wonderful recipe! My cookies came out with a delicate flavor and pillowy texture. Perfect with a cup of milky chai tea.
I did double the amount of cinnamon (next time I may use a full teaspoon, we love cinnamon in our house), and I used two bananas, which ended up being about 3/4 cup mashed. I used “drippy” natural peanut butter – lots of flavor, and I am certain that helped the cookies come out as moist as they did. Not sure if a stabilized peanut butter would work as well. I gave them a generous sprinkle of turbinado sugar. Thinking of a chocolate drizzle next time!
Sorry but These were not good cookies at all . I threw them in the garbage and I know I put all the ingredients in. They were very flat tasting.? just don’t want anyone to waste the ingredients is that I did
I can tell you these are one of the best cookies I’ve ever tried. They are suited to French taste: with just the right amount of sugar, banana and peanut butter add such a deepness of flavour, in a word, delighful!
These cookies are great. I added a little extra flour in the end because they seemed a little sticky. The batter has lots of banana flavor-so do the cookies.