Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
These soft and chewy cookies are a fun fruit-flavored twist on classic chocolate chip cookies! They’ll keep for at least one week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator — if they last that long!
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
IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It’s extremely important to measure the flour correctly using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much of will make your cookies cakey, bready, or dry, instead of soft and chewy.
IMPORTANT BANANA NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Use the ripest, most speckled bananas you can find! Ones that are almost purely brown or black are the best. They have a stronger, sweeter flavor and yield a softer cookie texture.
Measure the mashed banana by grams or tablespoons — not by “1 tiny banana.” Not all tiny bananas are the exact same size, which often affects both the taste and texture of your cookies.
IMPORTANT BAKING NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: These cookies don’t spread. They’ll look exactly the same before and after baking (just no longer raw!), so it’s important to flatten the cookie dough before baking.
Do not over-bake these cookies! They’re ready to come out of the oven when the centers still feel slightly soft and underdone. The heat from the warm baking sheet will continue to cook the centers all the way through while you let the cookies rest for 10 minutes after pulling the pan from the oven.
FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: White whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the whole wheat pastry flour. Regular whole wheat flour may be substituted in a pinch, but the cookies will have detectable “wheat-y” taste. Oat flour (gluten-free, if necessary!) may also be substituted, but be extra careful when measuring it because it tends to be more absorbent than wheat-based flours.
COCONUT OIL / BUTTER ALTERNATIVES + NOTE: Stick-style vegan butter may be substituted for the coconut oil or unsalted butter. For stick-style vegan butter, I really like this one and this one. (← I was surprised by how well that one melted in the microwave. It didn’t splatter or pop at all like some other brands do!)
Do not substitute additional mashed banana for the coconut oil or butter. That will give your cookies a more cakey, bready, or dry texture.
MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
COCONUT SUGAR ALTERNATIVE: Light brown sugar may be substituted for the coconut sugar.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: For the gluten-free flour flour, I recommend the following blend: 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 (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will work as well, if measured like this. Certified gluten-free oat flour will also work, but be extra careful when measuring it because it tends to be more absorbent than many other flours.
EGG-FREE, DAIRY-FREE + VEGAN OPTION: Use the coconut oil option or stick-style vegan butter (I like this one and this one) and vegan-friendly miniature chocolate chips (I like these).
DOUBLING THE RECIPE: This recipe is easily doubled!
HOW TO STORE: Store leftover cookies in an airtight container. If left at room temperature, they’ll keep for a couple of days. If refrigerated, they’ll last about a week (if not longer!). Once baked and fully cooled, these cookies also freeze really well!
{gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.