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!
Found these on Pinterest and made them tonight, I am always experimenting with PB cookies when I have a sweets craving. I love these cookies, I didn’t have cornstarch on hand but they still turned out delish. I’ll be making them again for sure. Thanks!
Thanks Sara, we’re glad to hear that — thanks for giving these a try! :)
Hi I’m going to try out this recipe today.. looks too yummy! Problem is I’m lactose intolerant and it’s hard finding dairy-free butter locally (we’re still a bit behind on these things it seems). Can this be done without the butter?
Hey Rachel! We haven’t tried this recipe without butter, but you might be able to try coconut oil instead. We’d suggest giving that a go. We hope that helps!
I made these yesterday and while they taste super good, my dough was incredibly sticky. I wasn’t able to roll them into the nice balls that are shown in the picture. The only thing I did differently was not add the cornstarch (didn’t have any on hand). Would that have made the difference? I want to make them again, but it was a little frustrating with all the stickiness!
Hey Kristi! Not adding the cornstarch is the only thing I could think of that would definitely explain the sticky dough. Next time, if you want to make them and don’t have any cornstarch, you can always use flour (it will work the same way). Popping the dough in the fridge for a little while should help firm it up as well, but the cornstarch/flour is important. Glad you still thought they were yummy though!
It’s like taking a bite of peanut butter air! I decided to try these because my husband loves peanut butter. (Me? Not so much.) I took the advice of another poster and rolled the balls of raw dough balls in white granulated sugar, and I am very pleased with the result. These are far better than traditional PB cookies because they are cake-like (or like biscuits or scones, as others have mentioned), not hard and crunchy. These are light, fragile when warm, and have a fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth texture, which is enhanced by the contrasting sugar coating.. I used regular creamy Jiff brand and a tad more than what was called for by the recipe, and still the PB flavor really wasn’t all that strong. That’s fine with me. We’ll see what my husband thinks.
Thanks DJ! I hope your husband enjoys these! : )
Can I still make these if I don’t have cornstach ?
Sure, I don’t think it will make much of a difference, so you should be fine!
I see someone already asked the question and you answered!
Would they work without the cornstarch? And with whole wheat flour? Love your recipes!
Hey Ali, you don’t have to use cornstarch, but it’s what makes the cookies puffy (it adds some volume), and a nice pillowy texture. You could use whole wheat flour, though I wouldn’t use all whole wheat flour. I’d do either half and half, or 1 1/2 cups of all purpose, and 1/2 cup of whole wheat. Otherwise, you might find the cookies will take on a very different texture — they’ll be sturdier and denser, versus tender and lighter. I hope that helps!
These cookies are more mild, less sweet, and more cake-like than other peanut butter cookies, but I adore them. I’ve made them multiple times, and I like that they’re soft and not overly sweet. If you like things that are a tiny bit healthier and enjoy all sorts of textures, then these are awesome, and you should make bunches of them!
Thanks Alicia, I’m so happy you like them!
They came out more like scones or biscuits than cookies for me, but if I look at them as peanut butter-banana biscuits they aren’t bad! Probably would benefit from some simple glaze or frosting if I was feeling up to it.
I didn’t use parchment paper. Just sprayed baking sheets lightly with cooking spray (then wiped most of this off). I rolled the dough balls in a little granulated sugar before putting on the cookie sheet and crisscrossing with fork. Baked for the 8 minutes and left cool on the cookie sheet 10 more before removing. Very good!