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 hesitated to make these cookies because of the first review but am glad I tried it. It is delicious. Used crunchy peanut butter, increased the cinnamon to 1/2 teaspoon and was generous with the 1/2 cup measurement of the sugar, the banana and the peanut butter. Did some reading and you get dry crumbly cookies if you over mix or over bake so was very careful with that; they turned out beautifully as a result.
Thanks for sharing, Helen, we’re so happy to hear you enjoyed them!
These cookies turned out great! I did alter the recipe and add more sugar cause I could tell they wouldn’t have been sweet enough….and after reading some of the comments I’m glad I did. I know a good recipe when I see one and this is a good base to start with..My daughter came in while I was putting them on the pan and decided to make some of them peanut butter and jam dot cookies! We also realised that because of the cakey texture they would work well for peanut butter and jam woopie pies….but we havent yet tried them with the woopie filling.
Flavor was good but the cookies were dry.
We’re sorry to hear that, Trudy! Was your banana really ripe? If not, that could account for some of the dryness.
Left out the cornstarch, used almond butter instead of peanut butter (we have a corn and peanut allergy), and it was great! Good banana and almond flavor, nice protein content, and our little one loved them!
Thanks, April, we’re so glad to hear that!
Great cookie. Made it for a cafe I work at. Called it the Elvis cookie. Ppl asked for them after they were gone. I put a little chocolate drizzle on top of some. A thick, firm, but airy and fluffy cookie. How useful for over ripe bananas; great alternative to banana bread/muffins. Thank you!
Thanks, Amber, we’re so glad you enjoyed them! :)
This was one of the worst cookie recipes I’ve ever tried. I made it exactly according to the recipe, and let me say the end result can in no way called a cookie. As various others have commented, the flavor is terrible. It is bland. The only flavor that is remotely detectable is the flour. There is some slight tin-ynes from the baking soda and powder as well. The texture is somewhat cake like but lacks all the sweetness and joy of a cake. It’s just a crumbly bland disaster of a recipe. I do not recommend it.
We’re so sorry you didn’t care for this, Andrea! We appreciate your feedback, it’s very helpful!
These were so good. Made it vegan by using an extra banana instead of the egg and coconut oil instead of the butter. We also doubled the cinnamon. It was very very sweet, so I guess the people complaining probably didn’t use overripe bananas. We’ll definitely make it again.
I made these with natural PB and Brown Rice Flour. My son is T1 diabetic so this was the perfect recipe to give him a sweet homemade snack that has a good balance of protein. We both love the cake-like texture, no hockey pucks in our batch! Next time tho, I’m doubling it so I can hide half for myself! :D
We’re so glad you and your son enjoyed these, Sandi! :)
These came out like cake! I believe the recipe should call for baking soda instead of baking powder. Peanutbutter and sugar should also be increased because they were very bland. Next time I will stick with a traditional peanutbutter cookie recipe and just add banana and chocolate chips.
We’re sorry to hear these didn’t work out for you, Alex!
Like most of the other comments, my cookies were dry and bland. They definitely need more peanut butter. I doubled the batter and cooked two dozen before trying one and realizing they were bland and dry. I added some almond milk and white chocolate chips and cooked the remainder of the batter and they were less dry and had more flavor. I’ve made them before with a different recipe (I can’t find it) and they turned out great so they have a lot of potential. I would double the peanut butter and add the almond milk if I made them again. The cookies I made prior to relaxing they were dry and bland I dipped I’m white chocolate and they were much better! Lastly, they seemed more flavorful the day after
We appreciate your honest feedback, Rachel, and we’re sorry you didn’t care for these!
I just made these cookies tonight with my roommate and we LOVE them! We added dark chocolate chips to ours but they turned out light and fluffy and we both love them!
Awesome, sounds delicious!! So glad you enjoyed them. :)