Favorite Banana Cookie Recipe

[cookman]

I'm looking for a recipe for a banana cookie that has a strong banana flavor. Can't seem to find a really good one where good strong banana flavor shines through. Any suggestions?

[rooftop1000]

The only banana cookies I do are "hurricane cookies"....cake mix cookies, (2 eggs 1/2C veg oil and 1 box of mix) with pecan bits and chocolate chips.....

but if you come at it with cake in mind and start removing the non fat liquids you may reach cookie

tracey

[K8memphis]

A million years ago in the early 70's there were these dynamite banana cookies. They looked in credibly unappealing like brown uber nubbly rocks with suspicious flat browner bottoms. They came stacked one on top the other in a plastic sleeve type bag. You gotta understand how good they were for me to remember them through the haze as it were. I had them as my lunch meal often.

But they had oats and were soft not crunchy. In light of the way Tracey presented it, they were like a reduced banana bread-ish event but it was a cookie. Too freaking good. Maybe cook some banana down and use it like that? Make a mostly banana oatmeal and bind it with something? I mean what happens when you cook banana down. Don't think I've ever done that.

I wish you the banana cookie best though.

[sugarseattle]

I think k8 memphis could be onto something after all, cookies were invented by putting a dallop of cake batter into the oven to test if the oven was ready. Maybe take a banana bread recipe and increase the butter a bit and try that.

The real problem you're going to run into is you have to add a lot of banana to get banana flavor, and that's not going to let you get a crunchy cookie. However, that's not entirely true as I sit here munching on some chocolate dipped banana cookies I got from Pierre Herme in Paris which are truly crunchy and have amazingly natural banana flavor.

I remember trying to make a banana scone and I ran into a similar problem with not enough banana flavor, so I replaced some of the cream with bananas, but that was still not enough so I supplemented with a little bit of banana extract. However, because the extract was imitation, there was a slight chemical tinge to the scones, but they did have good banana flavor. Perhaps there is a natural extract avaialble?

Another idea is I've made banana buttercream, just butter, pow sugar, bananas, a little citric acid to preserve color, and a dash of nutmeg (which really works with bananas!). Perhaps a sandwich cookie? Perhaps a parisan macaroon?

[baroness]

You could boost the banana flavor by using bits of dried bananas in the cookie dough as well as very ripe bananas.

[sugarseattle]

was just looking through my recipes and found a banana mousse recipe which called for creme de banana. You can use the actual alcohol or I've actually used the Torani soda syrups which have a good scent.

Dehydrated bananas work better than banana chips for baking.

[srhcb]

I haven't made these for a few years, but I seem to recall they had a pretty pronounced banana flavor. They're called Banana Split Sundae Cookies, and were supposed to be served on a plate with ice cream and strawberry topping, but I just made them as cookies with a brown sugar frosting.

Remember to use bananas that are quite ripe to get the most flavor.

1 Cup Butter softened

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1 1/2 Cups Bananas (4 medium) mashed

2 Eggs

2 tsp Vanilla

2 Cups AP Flour

2 1/2 Cups Oats uncooked (quick or old-fashioned)

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

1 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (optional)

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Beat Butter and Sugar together until creamy

Add Banana, Eggs and Vanilla and beat well

Stir together Flour, Oats, Baking Soda, Salt and Chocolate Chips, add to wet mixture, beat well

Drop by 1/4 cupful onto ungreased baking sheet about 3" apart

Spread dough into rough 3.5" circles

Bake 14-15 minutes until edges just turn light brown

Cool 1 minute on sheet, remove to rack to cool completely

Makes about 2 dozen

[dockhl]

Those sound good. How about two (thinnish) sandwiched together with a banana cream of some sort?

[srhcb]

Those sound good. How about two (thinnish) sandwiched together with a banana cream of some sort?

←

Actually, back when I used to make these I'd sometimes cut them horizontally and put slightly softened vanilla or chocolate ice cream between the layers!

And I found the original recipe. It was in the August '93 issue of a magazine called BestRecipes. I'd put a large Post-It Note to mark the page because every time I wanted to make these cookies I'd page through the banana-themed issue looking for it in vain.

This issue also had the Light Brown Glaze I used on the Banana Sundae Cookies. (It was with an Applesauce Drop recipe):

1/4 Cup Butter

2 Cups Powdered Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

1-2 Tbl Milk

Heat Butter in a saucepan until light brown.

Stir in Sugar, Vanilla and Milk until smooth

Ice Cookies

I noticed a recipe for Giraffe Grilled Cheese Sandwiches too:

2 Slices Whole Wheat Bread

1 Slice American Cheese

Softened Butter

Cut Bread and Cheese into Giraffe (or other animal shape) with cookie cutters

Place Cheese between Bread Slices

Spread outer sides of sandwich with Butter

Cook on griddle or non-stick skillet, turning once, until brown on both sides

Serve immediately!

SB (so maybe it wasn't quite Gourmet Magazine )

[danlepard]

Hi cookman,

I printed a banana cookie recipe in the Guardian a few weeks ago:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,2065992,00.html

that you might like. They are plain chocolate, very rich, and are dredged with confectioners sugar before baking to so they get that sugary crackled crust.

125g castor sugar

125g soft light brown sugar

2 very ripe bananas, mashed

250g unsalted butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla essence

200g plain flour

50g cocoa

2 level tsp bicarbonate of soda

175g rolled oats

lots of icing sugar

Beat the sugars, banana, butter and essence until fluffy. Sift the flour, cocoa and soda together, beat this in followed by the oats. Cover and chill the mixture for 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 180C (fan assisted) and lightly grease a baking tray. Spoon nuggets the size of unshelled walnuts (40g - 50g) out of the bowl, roughly shape into balls then press these onto the tray spaced 3-4 cm apart. When the tray is full, return the bowl to the fridge, then get cracking with the dusting. Using a tea -strainer heavily sift a load of icing sugar over each unbaked blob so it disappears under the whiteness.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until the cookie looks baked (it's a tricky one to judge) then leave for a moment before easing each off the tray with a spatula onto a wire rack, and repeat with the remaining mixture.

[mukki]

Here's a paraphrased recipe for Banana Cream Cheese Mounds that I flagged (but haven't tried) in Rosie's Bakery Chocolate-Packed Jam Filled Butter-Rich No-Holds-Barred Cookies Book (phew). The author says these are among her favorites in the book.

1.5 cups + 1 tablespoon sifted cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp

5 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1/2 cup + 2 tablesoons mashed very ripe bananas

Preheat over to 400. Sift dry ingredients together. Cream butter, both sugars and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Scrape the bowl. Add egg and mix until blended, about 15 seconds. Scrape bowl. Add banana and mix just until blended, about 10 seconds. Fold in flour mixture by hand. Blend with mixer for 5 seconds. Scrape and mix on low speed till smooth and velvety, 10 seconds. (This is a bit detailed, wouldn't you say?). Drop by heaping tablespoons about 2" apart. Bake about 10 minutes until puffed and just firm to the touch.

Frosting:

3/4 cup cream cheese, room temp

6 tablespoons confectioners sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp

Blend in a food processor until smooth. I imagine you could use a mixer here. When cookies are cool, spread a generous tablespoon of frosting over the top of each cookie.

[emilyr]

If you like other flavors with the banana, I make the Joy of Cooking ('70s edition) peanutbutter cookies, but sub half of the peanutbutter wtih mashed bananas. Yum! And if they're for my little sister, I add choclate chips. Also yum!

[rooftop1000]

Cream cheese frosting makes for a great banana cookie sandwich

these are my sins...cake mix cookies shmeared with cream cheese frosting

tracey

[miladyinsanity]

Cream cheese frosting makes for a great banana cookie sandwich

these are my sins...cake mix cookies shmeared with cream cheese frosting

tracey

←

Sin on, Tracey!

[sugarseattle]

Also, I've made awesome banana whoopie pies...fabulous and they keep really well.

[cookman]

Thanks to everyone for their great suggestions, and to those who posted recipes. It's interesting how few published recipes there seem to be for banana cookies. I'm looking forward to trying these recipes soon, and will report back!