Last weekend, my parents invited their close friends from college to come over for a small Super Bowl party. Although they attended a four-year university in southern California, everyone eventually migrated north to the suburbs outside of San Francisco, so they’re able to see each other multiple times throughout the year.
We started off with appetizers and snacks during the first half of the game, which Mom spread out across the dining room table. Chips and salsa, cheese and crackers, crudités and hummus, dried apple slices, M&Ms…
People tried to pace themselves and only take a little bit at a time to save room for the main course, but they never knew when to peel themselves away from the TV to grab a few more nibbles! During the exciting action of the game?… During the hilarious and super cute commercials?…
As a huge sports fan, I opted for the latter!
During the first few minutes of halftime, but before the performance, we headed back to the kitchen for the entrées. Dad had cooked steak, sausages, and pork tenderloin on the charcoal grill in the backyard, along with a quinoa salad and my special roasted Brussels sprouts inside.
Throughout the second half, people wandered over to the dessert table, which included a few store-bought cakes, these homemade truffles, these homemade chocolate graham crackers… And these Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies! They’re perfectly soft and chewy with no butter, eggs, refined flour or sugar—and just 90 calories!
And the best part of our Super Bowl party? Everyone raved about all three of my recipes and asked to bring the leftovers home with them!
To make these healthy cookies, you’ll start with white whole wheat flour. It sounds like a paradox, doesn’t it? Normally white flour and whole wheat flour are two separate things! However, white whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. This gives white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, similar to all-purpose flour, which really lets the banana flavor and chewy texture shine! (Bonus: It has the same health benefits as regular whole wheat flour!)
The mashed banana plays three important roles in these cookies: fruit flavor (I’m sure you guessed that already!), natural sweetness, and an egg replacer. That’s right—these cookies contain no eggs, so the cookie dough is safe to eat raw!
To maximize your banana’s natural sweetness, pick an extra spotty one. Very brown bananas always contain more natural sweetness than pure yellow ones! Because the banana alone doesn’t provide quite enough sweetness for these cookies, you’ll also mix in coconut sugar. That’s exactly what it sounds like: an unrefined sweetener that comes from coconuts! But it does NOT actually taste like coconuts. It has a rich, caramel-like flavor, similar to brown sugar, and it pours like granulated sugar. Most grocery stores have started stocking it near the regular sugar on the baking aisle, and you can also find it online here.
Then for my favorite part… The mini chocolate chips! (I’m a huge chocoholic. That’s why I published my Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook!) I prefer these mini chips because they melt very well and taste really rich. Plus mini chocolate chips ensure that every cookie bite contains chocolate!
Got milk? ? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your cookies and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies | | Print |
- 1 cup (120g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp (21g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (67g) mashed banana (about 1 tiny banana)
- 1 tbsp (15mL) nonfat milk, room temperature
- ⅓ cup (64g) coconut sugar
- 3 tbsp (42g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together the butter, vanilla, mashed banana, and milk. Stir in the coconut sugar. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in 2 ½ tablespoons of miniature chocolate chips. Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Drop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet using a spoon and a spatula. Flatten the cookie dough to the desired thickness and width. Gently press the remaining miniature chocolate chips into the tops. Bake at 350°F for 9-11 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
For a gluten-free flour substitute, I recommend the following: ¼ cup (30g) millet flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, 3 tablespoons (21g) coconut flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends will work as well, if measured like this.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
Light brown sugar may be substituted for the coconut sugar.
This recipe is easily doubled!
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
View Nutrition Information
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Oatmeal Cookies
♡ Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Cookies
♡ Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Brownies
♡ Peanut Butter Banana Bread Brownies
♡ Strawberry Blueberry Banana Bread
♡ Strawberry Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
♡ Chocolate Drizzled Raspberry Banana Bread
♡ Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Scones
Hi Amy, I just took them from an oven and they are so chewy:( but I will eat them anyway because they tastes good 🙂
Do I have to use coconut sugar. Can I use the sugar no calories
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Jacqueline! I’ve actually provided the best alternative to coconut sugar in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions — I know it can be easy to miss!).
If neither of these sweetener options work for you, then did you have something specific in mind? If you share the exact brand + product name, I can try to determine whether it’ll work as a replacement! 🙂
Hello Amy! I Tried these out tonight but my cookies rose so much!! They look like dinner rolls now – haha. Is it because of too much baking powder? But I followed the recipe.. So strange!
It means so much that you tried another one of my recipes, Connie! It’s strange that your cookie rose so much… I’m happy to help solve that mystery! In order to do so, I have few questions for you. 🙂
Did they have a soft and chewy texture, or were they more cake-like?
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section?
Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups/spoons, especially for the flour, banana, and milk?
How much did you flatten your mounds of cookie dough, and how thick were they before baking? (If you have a ruler nearby and can guesstimate, that would be helpful!)
How long did you bake them?
Did they collapse while cooling at all?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but I’ll have a much better idea of the culprit once I know your answers to all of them!
Can almond flour be used?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Angelica! Yes, in this particular recipe, almond flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these cookies if you end up making them!