We had a few bananas at the house that were too ripe to eat. You know what I mean. Soft, shriveled, and covered in dark brown spots. The peel makes them look unappetizing (or even rotten). But inside, the fruit is intensely fragrant and mushy, with a rich, almost caramel-like flavor. This overripe stage brings out the natural sugars, making them ideal for baking.
My wife found a banana cookie recipe to use up those bananas. The recipe she chose included chocolate chips. We’ve had banana bread in the past that had chocolate chips in it, so we thought this might make a good cookie as well.
A Butterscotch Twist
The recipe called for 1 ½ cups of chocolate chips. Unfortunately, we only had about 1 cup available at the time. So she used ½ cup of butterscotch morsels to make up the difference. And what a difference they made!
The new version of the banana cookies was incredible! Slightly crisp, golden-brown edges with a soft, chewy center. The butterscotch and chocolate, mixed with the strong banana flavor turned out to be a wonderful combination.
I’ve made these cookies several times since, and I always use the half cup of butterscotch chips. To be honest, I’ve never made them with just chocolate chips.
Recipe Adjustments
The recipe as it is makes pretty good cookies. But I made a couple of adjustments (besides the butterscotch chips) that I think makes them even better. Instead of 3 cups of all-purpose flour, I use 2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour and ½ cup of bread flour. The higher protein content of the bread flour ramps up the chewiness factor. And I use salted rather than unsalted butter.
Soft and Chewy Banana Cookies
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup bananas (very ripe; well mashed)
- 1 cup salted butter (melted and cooled) 2 sticks
- 1 cup light brown sugar (packed)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup bread flour
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
- 1/2 cup butterscotch morsels
Instructions
- Mash bananas with a fork in a medium sized bowl. Add butter, brown sugar, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla. Stir until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, bread flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder. If you are using unsalted butter, add 3/4 tsp of salt.
- Add flour mixture to banana mixture in 3 parts. Mix until completely combined.
- Add chocolate and butterscotch morsels and mix until combined.
- Line 2 baking sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Scoop dough and drop on prepared baking sheet about 2" apart. I use a black handled Farberware ice cream scoop. You can use a smaller scoop or a spoon if you would like smaller cookies.
- Place pans in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Once dough is almost chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes (turn pan half way through for even baking) or until the edges are beginning to brown. Allow to cool for 10 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Link to original recipe: https://sugarspunrun.com/banana-cookies.