In February, 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, and he also prepared 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 (even with no butter, eggs, refined flour, or refined sugar!) and simple to make.
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!
KEY INGREDIENTS TO MAKE HEALTHY BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Let’s cover the ingredients you’ll need to make these healthy banana chocolate chip 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!)
Tip: I included a few gluten-free options in the Notes section of the recipe, if you’d like to make these healthy banana chocolate chip cookies gluten-free!
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! I included a dairy-free option too… So if you use that, your healthy banana chocolate chip cookies will be vegan, egg-free, and dairy-free!
Tip: To make the best banana cookies, pick an extra spotty banana. I always use ones that are almost pure brown or black. Very brown bananas contain a stronger banana flavor and more natural sweetness than pure yellow ones. They also make your cookies softer!
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 stock it near the regular sugar on the baking aisle, and you can also find it online.
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 bite of these cookies contains chocolate!
HOW TO MAKE BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Let’s go over how to make the best banana chocolate chip cookies! This recipe is easy and straightforward, so I just have a few quick tips.
Chill the cookie dough. This cookie dough is fairly sticky when you initially mix everything together. A brief trip to the refrigerator helps fix that! Chilling stiffens the cookie dough and makes it easier to work with. It’ll still be a bit sticky though, so use a spoon and spatula to shape it — not your hands!
Flatten the cookie dough. These cookies do not spread while baking, so flatten them before you put them in the oven! I like to use these mini spatulas to shape the cookie dough and smooth out the edges into nice round circles.
Do not overbake. The cookies are ready to come out of the oven when the centers still feel a bit soft and underdone. If you wait until the centers are firm, you’ll overbake the cookies — and they’ll turn out cakey, bready, or dry! But if you remove the baking sheet from the oven earlier, when the cookies still feel slightly underdone, they’ll turn out perfectly soft and chewy. (The heat from the warm baking sheet continues to cook the centers all the way through while you let the cookies rest before transferring them to a wire rack!)
Got milk? 😉 And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amys.healthy.baking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy banana chocolate chip cookies!
Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 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) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (67g) mashed banana (about 1 tiny banana – and see Notes!)
- 1 tbsp (15mL) unsweetened vanilla almond milk, room temperature
- ⅓ cup (64g) coconut sugar
- 3 tbsp (42g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- 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 ⅜" thick. 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.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Banana Oatmeal Cookies
♡ Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Cookies
♡ Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Brownies
♡ Peanut Butter Banana Bread Brownies
♡ Strawberry Blueberry Banana Bread
♡ Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
♡ Chocolate Chip Banana Oatmeal Muffins
♡ Banana Chocolate Chip Scones
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy banana recipes!
mine have a bready slightly scone like texture nothing like cookies……
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Mattea! Let’s get that issue sorted out. 🙂 How did you measure the flour, with a kitchen scale or measuring cups? If the latter, can you describe in detail how you measured? Did you measure the banana by a kitchen scale or measuring cups as well? How much did you flatten the cookie dough before baking, and how long did you leave the cookies in the oven? Also, did you make any substitutions, including those in the Notes section underneath the Instructions? We’ll figure out what happened so your next batch turns out perfectly chewy!
Hi Amy, will substituting the white flour for almond flour make a bad cookie?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Rachel! That should work for this particular cookie recipe. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of them!
I made them last night, and oh my goodness the best recipe hands down! Perfectly chewy and delicious without all the guilt! I used frozen banana slices I already had and microwaved them a little over a minute. I highly suggest doing so, it brings out a carmelized flavor! Thanks for sharing your recipe Amy!!!
Oh my goodness, thank you SO much Rachel!! I’m truly honored that you’d call this the best recipe — WOW!! 🙂 I’m so glad you loved them, and thanks for sharing your tip about microwaving the bananas to get that caramelized flavor. I can’t wait to try that myself!!
Amy these cookies are amazing! I’ve been on a weight loss journey for nearly three months and have lost 21lbs. But like all diets I have a weakness and that is chocolate! These turned out perfectly and at a low calorie intake I don’t feel guilty for having one of them! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes!!
Congratulations on your weight loss Shannon!! That’s INCREDIBLE!! I’m so proud of you for sticking with your journey. That’s truly inspiring!! 🙂 I’m really glad you loved these cookies. That means a lot to me that you enjoyed them and want to try more of my recipes — that’s the best kind of compliment! 😉 I can’t wait to hear what you decide to try next!
These cookies turned out great! I always follow the recipe exactly, but this time I had to make a few changes. I did not have coconut oil or coconut sugar so I substituted olive oil and light brown sugar. I also had 1/2 cup of very, very mashed ripe banana and used it all. The cookies are delicious! Next time I go shopping, I’ll pick up some coconut oil and sugar. This recipe is a keeper! Thank you, Amy!
I’m so glad you loved these cookies, Shelly! Brown sugar is actually perfect for this recipe, so it’s completely fine if you don’t pick up coconut sugar at the store. I’m glad the olive oil worked out, too! 🙂 That means the world to me that you’d call this recipe a keeper — thank you so much!!
Hello Amy 🙂
I made your recipe using almond flour and it came out delicious, I made the first batch and when my and my family tried them, I had to make another batch. The first batch I baked sot and chewy and baked the second one more to become a little crispy, still both were super yummy ?. For any one who is planning to use almond flour make sure u use 2 cups of it instead of one for a medium size ripe banana.
Thank you Amy for your yummy recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Amani! Did you double the recipe, by chance? Or did you measure the mashed banana by “1 banana” rather than by cups? Not all “tiny” or “medium” bananas are the same size, so I highly recommend measuring by grams or measuring cups (especially in all of my recipes made with banana!) to ensure your treats turn out perfectly! 🙂
Hi! So excited to try these. I would like to make these GF but don’t have Millet Flour or Xanthan Gum. Any suggestions for substituting with a combination of almond flour, coconut flour and tapioca flour? Also, can a Almond Milk be an appropriate substitute for regular milk? Thanks so much! 🙂
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Meagan! As the Notes section says, any milk will work — so that includes almond milk! 😉 You can substitute almond flour for the millet flour and omit the xanthan gum. Your cookies just won’t be quite as chewy because that’s the role of the xanthan gum in gluten-free cookies. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cookies!
How long can these cookies stored in room temperature? I’m very much excited to make these for my kids holiday time…
I’m so honored that you’d want to bake these for the holidays for your kids Ketaki! Because of the banana and milk, I very much prefer to store these in the refrigerator. They should last at least a day or two on the counter, but I can’t guarantee much more than that. I’d love to hear what you and your kids think if you try them! 🙂
I made these cookies for my youngest who is gluten free. I used Glutino’s all purpose flour, weighed the ingredients, and tripled the recipe. They came out tasting good, but the texture is a bit grainy. I don’t remember the last time I used this flour, so I don’t remember the results being like this before. It has been a very long time since I have done any baking, sad to say. Any thoughts why the texture would be grainy?
THANKS for posting this recipe.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe! If the cookies turned out with a grainy texture, then that’s actually from the gluten-free flour that you used. I’ve found that too much rice flour in a gluten-free blend often creates a grainy texture, and since Glutino’s all-purpose gluten-free flour blend uses both rice flour and rice protein, that’s probably why. If you’re able to use my homemade blend that I recommend in the Notes section, then you should get much better results! I specifically developed that combination and ratio of different gluten-free flours for cookie recipes to eliminate any grainy texture. (And I skipped rice flour in it for a reason!) 🙂
Hi Amy,
I ve been on a weight loss journey and am a big fan of ur recipies….just a quick question…i prefer my cookies to be crunchy rather than chewy….so how do I achieve that with this recipe?….looking forward to baking these cookies as a New years treat 🙂
New year wishes and Thanks in advance.
I truly appreciate your interest in my recipes Ramhya! That means the world to me that you’re enjoying them and incorporating them on your weight loss journey. 🙂 This recipe was specifically designed to be soft and chewy, so I’m not 100% sure that they’ll turn out crunchy. However, the best thing to try would just be baking them longer! Try an extra 4-6 minutes to start, although they may require a bit more time. I’d love to hear how that turns out if you try it!
How did you make them in such a perfect circle? Mine was very sticky and “gluten” – perhaps I needed to add more flour?
I’m so honored that you tried another one of my recipes Connie! That means a lot to me! 🙂 The dough should be sticky. I just used a spatula to shape the dough — and a lot of time and patience! That’s my secret for perfectly round cookies… I just spend 10-15 minutes shaping the cookie dough with these mini spatulas before I bake them. 😉 I don’t recommend adding more flour; that will cause your cookies to taste cakey or bready instead of soft and chewy!
Oohhhh.. I got annoyed and gave up, haha!! Perhaps I should chill it longer too – I chilled it for almost 45min – Maybe next time 2hrs 😉 I still have a banana in my pantry that I can use 😉 Thank you for the tip, Amy!!
It’s my pleasure Connie! I’m always happy to help! 🙂