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 (about 3/4 cup)
02 - 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
03 - 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
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
# How to Make:
01 - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, beat together the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar using an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture is pale, light, and fluffy—about 2 to 3 minutes.
03 - Add the mashed bananas, egg, and vanilla extract to the creamed mixture. Continue mixing 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. Be careful not to overmix.
06 - Gently fold in the rolled oats and, if desired, the chocolate chips or chopped walnuts until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
07 - Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing each mound about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.
08 - Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the edges are golden brown and the centers appear just set.
09 - Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before serving or storing.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- These cookies land somewhere between breakfast and dessert, which means you can eat them at 9am without a single guilty thought.
- The banana flavor is real and warm, not artificial, and it makes the whole house smell incredible while they bake.
02 -
- Overbaking is the number one enemy here, so pull the cookies out when the centers still look slightly underdone and trust that they will finish setting on the pan.
- I once forgot the baking soda entirely and ended up with dense little hockey pucks, so double check that step before moving on.
03 -
- Use a cookie scoop instead of a regular spoon so every cookie is the same size and they all bake evenly at the same rate.
- Toast your oats in a dry skillet for three minutes before adding them, it deepens their flavor and makes the cookies taste like they came from a fancy bakery.