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!
Very dry and not enough sugar or peanut butter . Sorry, waste of time and ingredients
We’re sorry to hear you didn’t care for these, Ken!
These cookies are amazing! I love anything peanut butter related, and found that I had a number of ripe bananas so I figured why not give these a shot? I like that these cookies come out soft as I’m not a fan of hard, or crunchy cookies. The dough was off putting at first because it’s really moist and sticky and looks like it’d be a pain to deal with so I actually refrigerated the dough overnight and made them first thing in the morning. I unashamedly ate a ton of these for breakfast. I also rolled the balls of dough in some granulated sugar prior to doing the criss cross press with a fork. It was just the right amount of sweet for me. I will definitely be making these again!
A big mistake adding the cornstarch so I will try this again without it and hope they are better cause so far they are too dry and I did exactly everything right as the recipe says.
We’re sorry to hear these came out dry Anna — we haven’t had any issues with that before. We wonder if the banana was ripe enough?
These were amazing!! I don’t understand how people’s were dry! I LOVE this recipe. I now keep bananas on hand at all times so I can make them every couple weeks! Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks for your sweet words about these cookies Emily! We’re so glad you love them! :)
Made these yesterday, forgot the cinnamon and forgot the sugar for sprinkling. Still tasted good! I do agree with some of the comments that this cookie is a little floury/cake-like in texture, but they are soft and hit the spot for when you’re craving something sweet but don’t want to feel the guilt.
We’re glad you enjoyed these! :)
Very easy recipie, and delicious. Once I began making the cookies I realized I didn’t have any eggs, so I substituted vegetable oil and a little extra banana for the egg, still came out great! No cornstarch on hand either, once again came out fine. I also used a cookie scoop for forming the dough, so much easier. Thanks for the recipie! ?
Oh wow, good thinking Heather! We’re so glad you were still able to make these work using what you had! We’re happy you enjoyed these! :)
Hello! Just wanted to say I tried these with gluten free flour and for those attempting that, increase peanut butter to 3/4 cup. They aren’t as moist and peanuty as they should be otherwise.
Thanks so much for sharing Paula, that’s good to know!
These cookies are the best!! Delicious, moist and so easy to make, the best breakfast for a cold and cloudy day!
Thanks Andrea, we’re happy you liked them! :)
Best. Cookies. Ever.
I just tried the recipe, everything worked well, and, best of all, it was easy to get my husband to help me rolling the most delicious cookie dough ever… ;-) I am glad he left over some dough for the cookies!
Thank you for the recipe!
Thanks so much Tine, we’re happy you and your husband enjoyed these! :)
Made these early last evening for a quick treat to have in the house. My daughters got to lick the spoons too ! The cookies are very sticky but, put them in the refrigerator for a little & they did get more firm to roll in balls. I also used coconut oil ( not vegetable ) & used more flour (instead of corn starch) too ! Did not use any sugar to coat them either. They are a moist cookie & the favor is yummy with a little banana – a little peanut butter, just enough of each . Actually, it feels like your eating something healthy & not too bad for you either. So eat up & enjoy !
So glad you enjoyed the cookies, Julie! :)