First of all, thank you for your sweet comments yesterday regarding my move to Chicago. I’m so thankful for all of your support and wonderful recommendations; it means so much to me. Apparently many of you either live in Chicago or have lived in Chicago and absolutely love it. This gives me hope that I’ll love it too. Perhaps one day I’ll do an Ambitious Kitchen dinner and be able to meet some of my Chicago readers!
But before we talk dinner, we must discuss dessert. And I’m quite certain that today is a lovely day to bake up a batch of cookies. Especially if you happen to have bananas on hand!
The day before I left to head back to Minneapolis from Chicago, I made Tony these hearty banana chocolate chip cookies that basically taste like delicious banana bread. Two days later he texted me, “The banana bread cookies might be the best thing you’ve ever made.” Yes, I have officially won his heart.
I was actually quite surprised he loved them so much, particularly because the cookies are made with whole grains, coconut oil instead of butter and only 1/2 cup of brown sugar (or coconut sugar) in the entire recipe! I was expecting my sugar-loving boyfriend to say he was disappointed, but I’ve learned that when you can make anything taste like banana bread, men will love it.
These cookies are soft in the middle with a slightly crisp edge. They’re best when made with extra ripe bananas (the kinds with spots on them). They also get softer by the day, so if you like soft cookies, try them the next day and you’ll fall in love. If you prefer crisp, bake them for a minute or two longer and enjoy after they cool.
Either way, if you love banana bread cookies or muffins, I’m sure you’ll enjoy these. They’re a breeze to whip up, too! I’m quite certain you could do it in one bowl if it came down to it. You can also experiment by adding in 1/2 cup coconut flakes. I tried this in one of my batches and it was absolutely fabulous. If you’re a coconut lover, I highly recommend it.
Hope you love the cookies – be sure to tag your photos #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram so we can be baking friends! xo!
More healthy cookie recipes to try:
The Best Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies You’ll Ever Eat
Healthier Flourless Monster Cookies
Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Dank Coconut Oil Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Whole Wheat Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (made with coconut oil!)
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 2 large extra ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/4 cups rolled oats
- 2/3 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer beat coconut oil, brown sugar, vanilla, and egg until well combined, smooth and creamy. Keep mixer on low speed and add in mashed banana.
- Next add in all dry ingredients (except oats and chocolate chips); mixing until just combined.
- Gently fold in bowl oats and chocolate chips with a wooden spoon.
- Using a cookie scoop, drop dough onto prepared baking sheet. Bake cookies for 10-13 minutes or until edges become golden brown. If your cookies are too thick for your liking, you can gently smoosh the dough down with the palm of your hand before baking. Makes about 20 cookies.
This was a very easy recipe and agreed these are one of the best cookies! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I added chia seeds and as I couldn’t bake it once I made it, I chilled it and baked it the next day by leaving it on the counter for an hour on a summer day. It kept its shape and didn’t spread. I so baked at 350F as the oven runs hot at the same duration.
The perfect treat! Glad you enjoyed!
This was a very easy recipe and agreed these are one of the best cookies! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Delicious recipe! Tried it because one kid doesn’t like almonds and one doesn’t like oatmeal only cookies. Switched out date sugar for the brown sugar and used 1/2 the amount. But my kids are used to less sweet and only banana sweetened. Nicely done and thank you!
Perfect! Glad they enjoyed!
Serving size should be one cookie not one gram, right?
Correct! Just updated for clarity 🙂
Big hit with the adults and picky eaters alike!
User 1/2 the sugar called for.
So happy to hear that!
These were really tasty and quite easy to make. A great option when you have ripe bananas but want something other than banana bread!
Perfect! So glad you found this recipe and are loving it ❤️
A wonderful recipe.. soft, cakey cookies which my children loved.. since they wanted it more chocolaty so I added a little unsweetened cocoa powder.. thanks
Aw yay! So happy everyone is loving this recipe 🙂
I should have rated this amazing recipe long ago. I cannot tell you enough how delicious these are. I have made these so many times I have lost count. They are great as a quick bite on the go and for long car rides. I have some ripe bananas so I am going to make these again today. So damned delicious!!
This recipe is a regular at our house! Have made it with regular and reduce sugar and it’s always good (I don’t recommend completely omitting the sugar, however.)
I love the crunchy outside they have straight out of the oven. If you want a crispier cookie on the days after baking, throwing them in the toaster oven on a low setting is perfect!
These are so fantastic. I don’t even like cookies that are “cakey”. They would be fantastic without chocolate chips too. In my last batch I added pecans. They are perfectly healthy and delicious. Thank you!
Just made these and half are gone already!!! I used all coconut sugar and followed the recipe as written. Super hearty and perfect for breakfast, bed time snack or school snack! Thanks!!!
YAY!! So happy to hear you’re loving these!
These literally do taste like little bite-size pieces of banana bread. So good! The texture is a bit weird for cookies… it’s almost muffin-like. But the family were big fans and I wasn’t left with many to take home after the party 😉
I’m so happy you guys enjoyed them, Melinda!
Also, the recipe made 33 cookies for me
These really were a breeze to make and taste so good! I used coconut sugar as I didn’t have enough brown sugar abs they turned out great. I followed the recipe as directed otherwise. They smelled so good out of the oven and really did taste like little bites of banana bread.
I’m glad that worked out well! Such a great treat 🙂
Holy cow, these are so insanely delicious. And you are totally right- they’re even better the next day, they get ridiculously moist and almost pillowy?! Thank you so much for this beautiful recipe! <3
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed!
How much mashed banana in cups should I use?
Thanks for this lovely recipe! Tried them and my kids loved it. It was filling snack. Next time will try reduce sugar a little.
So happy to hear that!
best snack ever!
These were wonderful! I have been trying to change my palette for baked goods by removing sugar from my recipes (bear with me!), with some exceptions. I kept the banana (a natural sweetener) and the chocolate chips and added cinnamon and nutmeg to compensate for the less sweet dimension. They turned out great! My family thinks so too. It’s amazing how subtle sweetness of fruit comes through when we focus on it. And those few moments when you bite into the chocolate chip are a scrumptious surprise.
Glad those swaps worked out for you, Julia! Perfect treat 🙂
I made these yesterday. They are very good but little dry maybe because I used regular whole wheat and didn’t have white whole wheat…still good though for sure. I think next time I will use white whole wheat although with the whole wheat you do have more nutrition I think… Is there something i could have added to make them moist? Thanks for the recipe!! I did add raisins, dates and walnuts!!
I added 1/4 cup applesauce the next day… They are very good and we really love these. Next time I will use 1/2 whole wheat flour with 1/2 white whole wheat flour instead of all whole wheat, just to see the difference. But I do love these healthy banana bread type cookies and so did by boyfriend!!
Regular whole wheat flour is a bit more dense than white whole wheat, which is probably why! I would make sure your bananas were super ripe too 🙂 Love the addition of raisins, dates & walnuts.
Love the recipe, super quick and healthy! Just wondering How long do these coonies stay out on tne counter for or should they be refrigerated?
I’m glad you love it! They should stay good for up to 5 days on the counter, or you can freeze them to keep for a few months 🙂
I make these often and love them – great snack for road trips! Think agave could be substituted for brown sugar?
Amazing! I think that should work – let me know if you try it!
I made these cookies with minor modifications. I used Quaker oats and lightly toasted them. Instead of chocolate chips, I added dried cranberries. It came out so healthy and yummy. Both daddy and toddler loved them. Thanks so much.
Delicious! So glad they both enjoyed 🙂
Made these for a potluck today and they were a huge hit with both kids and adults! Mine did spread out quite a bit and didn’t need to flatten the dough. They were moist, soft and delicious!
Amazing! I’m glad they were adult and kiddo approved!
Hi, could I use normal whole wheat flour for the recipe?? Looks delicious!
Hi Marcela! Yes – they just might come out a bit more dense (but still delicious!)