Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Cookies

Love the warm, comforting flavors of banana bread but also craving some chocolate chip cookies? This recipe is the best of both worlds! Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Cookies are a treat you can feel good about making and enjoying with your kids! Made in one-bowl, this easy recipe is also packed with whole grains and lower in added sugar than most desserts. The cookies can easily be made egg-free and gluten-free too.

Kids in the kitchen: Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Cookies

  • Mash! Have kids peel and place bananas in a bowl and mash with a potato masher or the end of a whisk. If you want to use a fork to mash, place bananas on a plate and use a the tines of the fork to mash the banana into the plate.
  • Measure! Make sure kids see the difference between a cup that’s heaped up “too full” and a little empty “too little.” Then scoop up the right about and let them see that it’s “full and flat”.
  • Dump! Adding the ingredients to a bowl is fun. Make sure to instruct your child to dump into the center, not on the edge, of the bowl to prevent any spills.
  • Scooping this cookie dough might be a little too messy for little ones to do on their own, so I suggest having your child place three chocolate chips into the top of each scoop of batter as you go. That way, she is occupied and you can scoop the dough evenly.

Subs and Tips for making Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Cookies:

  • No Bananas? You can sub 3/4 cup applesauce instead. Since applesauce isn’t as sweet as bananas, I would also increase the amount of sugar by an additional 2 to 4 tablespoons, depending on how sweet you like your desserts.
  • Gluten-free? Sub a cup-for-cup type gluten-free flour mix for the whole wheat flour and be sure to use gluten-free oats.
  • Egg free? Sub a flax “egg” for the egg. 1 tablespoon ground flax seed mixed with 3 tablespoons water and set aside for 5 minutes to gel.
  • No chocolate? This recipe would be great with any add-ins you can think of…raisins, dried cranberries, chopped nuts, seeds…Yum!
  • Quick oats? I have not tried using quick cooking oats instead of the regular “old-fashioned” rolled oats for this recipe. However, my guess is that it would work with varied results. I would also reduce the amount of flour to 1/2 cup.

Favorite Tools for making Cookies (affiliate links):

  • Parchment Paper Sheets: these precut, unbleached parchment paper sheets make clean-up a breeze and ensure your cookies never stick to the pan. Plus, cutting the right sized piece of parchment paper from the roll is such pain! That’s why I can’t live without these sheets that fit perfectly in a baking pan.
  • Cookie Scoop: make your cookies look more uniform and professional by using a portion scoop to measure the dough. It makes scooping the cooking dough so much easier and kids love to help use these tools too! I really recommend investing in a high quality scoop because the less expensive ones tend to break really quickly. You can also buy a set of three scoops to use for all kinds of baking projects.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Cookies

Banana bread and chocolate chip cookies in one!
4.84 from 6 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 12 cookies

Ingredients
  

  • 2 super ripe large bananas 3/4 cup mashed
  • 1/4 cup oil avocado, vegetable, or any neutral oil
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
  • 1 egg or flax egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp fine salt
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 3/4 cup whole wheat or all-purpose flour or gluten-free blend
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips or 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper, silicone baking mat, or lightly grease with oil.
  • Mash bananas in a large bowl. Stir in oil, maple syrup, egg, vanilla, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
  • Mix in oats and flour until just combined. Stir in about 3/4 of the chocolate chips, reserving some to place on the top.
  • Scoop about 2 tablespoons of batter at a time onto the prepared pan. Top each cookie with a few chocolate chips. Bake until set and lightly golden brown around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes then transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temp for 2 days, in the fridge for 5 days, and in the freezer for 2 months.

Save to Pinterest for when those spotty bananas are sitting on your counter!

Other recipes to check out:

Banana Pumpkin Blender Muffins

Super Green Mini Blender Muffins

Banana Blueberry Muffin Tops

 

 

 

15 Comments

  1. Gina on March 31, 2020 at 3:21 am

    I baked.this amazing.cookies.with my 3 yo little.one.and we absolutely loved them. So easy to make.it.and sooooo delicious. I will definitely bake them.again.

    • Heather on April 2, 2020 at 4:22 pm

      That’s so awesome to hear! Thank you so much for leaving a review!

  2. lautski on April 16, 2020 at 3:14 pm

    4 stars
    So yum!

  3. Laura on October 7, 2020 at 1:11 pm

    5 stars
    Circling back to this recipe … again. Yum!

    • Heather on October 8, 2020 at 1:06 pm

      Yay! So glad you like the recipe. Thanks so much for taking the time to write a review! 🙂 Heather

  4. Amy on January 31, 2021 at 2:15 am

    5 stars
    Made these delicious cookies with my four year old twins and we all loved them! Easy to follow recipe and they tasted yummy ! We will definitely make them again!

    • Heather on January 31, 2021 at 9:54 pm

      Hi Amy! I’m so glad you guys enjoyed making and eating the banana cookies. Thank you so much for taking the time to write a review! 🙂 Heather

  5. Susan on January 31, 2021 at 2:26 pm

    5 stars
    Baked these this morning with my 6 year old and 3 year old. So easy to make and easy for the kids to help! Not to mention delicious! 🙂

    • Heather on January 31, 2021 at 9:55 pm

      Hi Susan! I’m so happy you and your kiddos enjoyed making and eating the banana cookies. Thank you so much for taking the time to write a review! 🙂 Heather

  6. L on February 17, 2021 at 1:46 am

    5 stars
    Loved this recipe! Made it with my 20 month old— the whole family loved them and I could feel good about the ingredients. These were moist and fluffy and sweet enough without refined sugar. Awesome.

  7. Kelly on February 21, 2021 at 8:08 pm

    5 stars
    We’re making these again. So easy and yummy and they’re great to make with younger kiddos too.

  8. Tanya on January 31, 2022 at 3:51 pm

    Can I use oat flour for these?

    • Heather on February 2, 2022 at 11:42 am

      I usually use a combination of oat flour and almond flour when subbing for regular flour. Using only oat flour might make the cookies too dry, but it might be worth a try. Let me know how it goes! 🙂 Heather

      • Tanya on February 5, 2022 at 12:25 am

        I made these with my 3 year old. I ended up just using all purpose flour and I added one tablespoon of chia seeds. These were so yummy!!! Thanks

        • Heather on February 7, 2022 at 11:24 am

          Wonderful! Thanks so much for letting me know!

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