Banana Bread Muffin Cookies

These cookies, as the name suggest, are a bit of a mash up of inspiration. Who doesn’t love banana bread? But what if it was a soft, chewy cookie? And then what if I added a crumble top, like all the good muffins have? And it was this line of thinking that prompted me to pull out my flour and sugar and experiment a little.

Plus it’s been cold (it snowed over the weekend here, again) and baking cookies when it’s cold is just about the best thing ever.

And as you’ll see from the ingredients, these are indeed cookies. Meaning they aren’t necessarily health food, but I must admit that I did eat two for breakfast one morning and I’m not that sorry about it. They are just really good with coffee. 🙂

Banana Bread Muffin Cookies, makes one dozen

1 ripe banana (around 90 grams once peeled)
1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
for the crumble top:
3 tablespoons cold butter
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons flour

I’ve added the weight of my banana just to show you that it was on the smaller side. If your ripe banana is a little bigger or smaller than 90 grams, it probably won’t make a big difference. But if it’s significantly larger, it might, so just keep that in mind.

First, mash the banana (a fork works well). Then cream together the mashed banana, butter, sugars, and vanilla extract until well combined. Then add the cinnamon, flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir until a soft dough ball forms. Then stir in the walnuts.

In a separate, smaller bowl, use a pastry blender or your clean hands to combine the crumble topping ingredients until they form, well, a crumbly topping. 🙂

Divide the dough into 12 balls (a cookie scoop works really well here). You can also use the back of the scoop to press a little indention in each dough ball before adding the crumble top. This little bowl indention helps to keep more of the crumble top on the cookie, rather than rolling off the sides.

Bake at 325°F for 15-16 minutes. Placing the baking sheet in the middle to upper 2/3 of the oven (so the bottoms don’t brown too much). After baking, remove to a cooling rack.

Once they are cool enough to handle, you are ready to serve! Note: You can substitute up to 1/4 cup of the flour for whole wheat flour if you like. It barely changes the texture and it adds a little more nutrition, although these are still cookies. Lol. Any cookies you don’t consume in the same day just store in an airtight container for at least a week (probably would last longer, or you could freeze them). Enjoy! xo. Emma

P.S. If you like these, then you’ll probably love our Blueberry Muffin Cookies too.

Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with the ACS for Desktop actions.

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Banana Bread Muffin Cookies

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana around 90 grams once peeled
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

for the crumble top:

• 3 tablespoons cold butter
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons flour

Instructions

1. First, mash the banana (a fork works well). Then cream together the mashed banana, butter, sugars, and vanilla extract until well combined. Then add the cinnamon, flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir until a soft dough ball forms. Then stir in the walnuts.

2. In a separate, smaller bowl, use a pastry blender or your clean hands to combine the crumble topping ingredients until they form, well, a crumbly topping.

3. Divide the dough into 12 balls (a cookie scoop works really well here). You can also use the back of the scoop to press a little indention in each dough ball before adding the crumble top. This little bowl indention helps to keep more of the crumble top on the cookie, rather than rolling off the sides.

4. Bake at 325°F for 15-16 minutes. Then remove to a cooling rack.

Recipe Notes

I’ve added the weight of my banana just to show you that it was on the smaller side. If your ripe banana is a little bigger or smaller than 90 grams, it probably won’t make a big difference. But if it’s significantly larger, it might, so just keep that in mind. You can substitute up to 1/4 cup of the flour for whole wheat flour if you like. It barely changes the texture and it adds a little more nutrition, although these are still cookies.