Banana cookies with oatmeal is an incredible classic recipe that’s ready to eat in under 30 minutes, prep included! This age-old comfort dessert is easy to make, chewy, moist, and highly customizable. Plus, it's got chocolate chips and brown sugar - all the things I love!
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love These Banana Oatmeal Cookies
- Equipment Needed
- What Goes Into This Recipe
- How to Make Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Recipe Yield
- Recipe Variations
- Expert Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Storage Tips and Shelf Life
- Other Delicious Cookie Recipes
- Recipe
- Recipe Variations
- Keep them Fresh!
Why You'll Love These Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Easy - All you do is mix and bake; no refrigeration of the cookie dough is needed.
Quick - These cookies are ready to eat in under 30 minutes!
Flavorful - The rich banana flavor is the star of these cookies! Reminiscent of banana bread 🙂
Simple Ingredients - You likely have most of the ingredients already on hand.
Equipment Needed
Large and small mixing bowls
Measuring cups and spoons
Electric mixer (I love this hand mixer from KitchenAid. It's great because you can lock the cord either on the left or right side of the mixer)
Whisk, large spoon, spatula
Large rimmed baking sheet
Parchment paper (or skip the parchment paper and use non-stick cooking spray on the sheet pan)
What Goes Into This Recipe
All-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt: Your typical cookie-baking supplies!
Butter and eggs: For both of these ingredients, room temperature is best. Make sure your butter is nice and soft, but not liquified.
Ripe bananas: You’ll want to use overripe bananas (look for the dark spots) and mash them until they resemble baby food.
Quick oats: This is the “oatmeal” part of the recipe, of course, and provides that delicious chewy texture. I always reach for the Quaker Oats brand, but any brand will work just fine.
Ground cinnamon and vanilla extract: Contributes to the amazing flavor of the cookies!
Light brown sugar and granulated white sugar: Another contributor to the flavor and texture of the cookie. Be sure to use both, as the ingredients list suggests!
Chocolate chips: To add a lovely chocolate twist to the cookies. Any of your favorite flavors will do, but I tend to use the standard semi-sweet chips.
How to Make Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
(1) Preheat your oven to 375F and line a large rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper. Set aside. In a large bowl, blend the butter with both sugars. Use an electric mixer, on medium speed. Blend for about 3 minutes until smooth and creamy.
(2) Add in the eggs, vanilla extract, and bananas. Mix on low speed for about 1 minute (until just until blended. Don’t overmix). Mix the dry ingredients and add to the wet ingredients. Mix for about 2 minutes. Stir in the chocolate chips with a spatula or large spoon.
(3) Using a teaspoon, scoop out the oatmeal cookie dough and place it onto the sheet pan, spaced about 2 inches apart. You can use a heaping teaspoonful – just make sure they are all the same size. I usually get 12 to 16 teaspoonfuls of cookie dough on the cookie sheet, depending on what size cookie sheet I use.
(4) Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges of the cookie are lightly browned. Tip: for soft, cake-like cookies, be sure to bake "just until done" and remove them from the oven before any browning occurs. Remove cookies from the oven and set the cookie sheet on a wire rack to cool for about 10-15 minutes before eating.
Recipe Yield
This recipe makes 24 soft and chewy cookies.
Recipe Variations
Not everyone’s tastes are the same, of course, so here are a few variation suggestions for these amazing cookies!
- Instead of semi-sweet chocolate chips, you can use dark chocolate, white chocolate, or peanut butter chips.
- You can also add fruits or nuts to your batter for more crunch or flavor. Pecans, raisins, or craisins, in particular, make this recipe about ten times more delightful.
- In addition to cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg also taste wonderful when added to this recipe.
Expert Tips
Ripe bananas - be sure to use bananas that are very ripe. The ones with brown spots on the peels should be perfect! Mash them real good until they look like baby food or applesauce.
Don't rush - follow the instructions by mixing the wet ingredients first, then the dry ingredients. This ensures even distribution of the ingredients and the best cookie outcome!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can store the dough in a Ziploc bag and keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months, if necessary. (Make sure to thaw the dough overnight before baking!) In the fridge, the dough will last 2 days.
It’s possible to substitute the quick oats with old-fashioned oats in a pinch. The main difference would be the texture of the cookies; quick oats will create a more delicate texture.
While I prefer butter for cookies (better flavor and texture), you certainly can use margarine! I would recommend using the stick margarine and not the kind that comes in a tub.
Store baked and cooled cookies in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Storage Tips and Shelf Life
Store your fully-baked cookies in an airtight container. They’ll last in the fridge for about a week, or at room temperature for 4 or so days. I really like these glass containers with lids from Bayco.
Other Delicious Cookie Recipes
This recipe was originally published in August 2021 and was updated in November 2021.
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Recipe
Banana Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips - Soft and Chewy
Equipment
- large and small mixing bowls
- measuring cup(s)
- measuring spoons
- Electric mixer
- whisk
- large rimmed baking sheet
- parchment paper (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (room temperature)
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- 2 eggs (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas
- 3-½ cups quick oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Or you can simply spray thesheet pan with non-stick spray instead of the parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, blend the butter with the brown sugar and white sugar until creamy. Use an electric mixer, on medium speed, for about 3 minutes.
- Add in the eggs, vanilla extract, and bananas. Mix on low speed for about 1 minute.
- Add the quick oats, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low speed just until blended; about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the chocolate chips with a spatula or large spoon.
- Scoop out about a teaspoon size of cookie dough and place on the cookie sheet. Place each scoop of cookie dough about 2 inches apart. I can usually get 12 to 16 teaspoonfuls of cookie dough on the cookie sheet, depending what size cookie sheet I use.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges of the cookie are lightly browned. Tip: for soft, cake-like cookies, be sure to bake "just until done" and remove them from the oven before any browning occurs.
- Remove cookies from oven and set the cookie sheet on a wire rack to cool for about 10-15 minutes before eating.
Notes
Recipe Variations
Not everyone’s tastes are the same, of course, so here are a few variation suggestions for these amazing cookies!- Instead of semi-sweet chocolate chips, you can use dark chocolate, white chocolate, or peanut butter chips.
- You can also add fruits or nuts to your batter for more crunch or flavor. Pecans, raisins, or craisins, in particular, make this recipe about ten times more delightful.
- In addition to cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg also taste wonderful when added to this recipe.
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