Chewy Banana Oatmeal Cookies (Printable version)
Soft, chewy cookies bursting with ripe banana and hearty oats—perfect for breakfast or snacking.
# Ingredient list:
→ Wet Ingredients
01 - 2 ripe bananas, mashed
02 - 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
03 - 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
04 - 1/4 cup granulated sugar
05 - 1 large egg
06 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
→ Dry Ingredients
07 - 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
08 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
09 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
10 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
11 - 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
→ Optional Add-ins
12 - 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped walnuts
# Directions:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together using an electric mixer on medium speed until pale, light, and fluffy—about 2 to 3 minutes.
03 - Add the mashed bananas, egg, and vanilla extract to the creamed mixture. Beat on medium speed until fully combined and smooth.
04 - In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt until evenly distributed.
05 - Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring gently with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. Avoid overmixing to keep the cookies tender.
06 - Fold in the rolled oats and, if desired, the chocolate chips or chopped walnuts until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
07 - Drop rounded tablespoon-sized mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.
08 - Bake on the center rack for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the centers appear just set. Rotate the sheets halfway through for even browning.
09 - Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets for 5 minutes to firm up, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before serving or storing.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The banana flavor is real and mellow, not cloying or artificial, and it makes every bite feel like something your grandmother might have pulled from her oven.
- They stay chewy for days, which means you can bake a batch on Sunday and still have a respectable breakfast cookie waiting on Wednesday morning.
02 -
- Overmixing the dough once the flour goes in will give you tough, bready cookies instead of soft, chewy ones, so stop stirring the moment everything is combined.
- The cookies will look underdone in the center when you pull them out, but they continue cooking on the hot sheet, so trust the timing and resist the urge to overbake.
03 -
- Chill the dough for 30 minutes before scooping if you want thicker, puffier cookies that hold their shape a bit more proudly on the sheet.
- Press a few extra chocolate chips into the top of each dough mound right before baking so they look as good as they taste.