Soft Banana Cookies With Cream Cheese Frosting
Banana Bread Cookies are light and fluffy, with a hint of cinnamon and vanilla. Each cookie is topped with a sweet pecan cream cheese butter frosting. These soft cookies are simply delicious!
Ingredients
For Banana Cookies
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened but not too soft
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup mashed bananas, about 2 large bananas
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, pure kind
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For Cream Cheese Frosting
- 3 ounce cream cheese, softened
- 1 tablespoon butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoon pecan nuts, chopped, optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Make the cookie batter. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until the mixture becomes light and fluffy.
- Add the egg, mashed bananas, and vanilla to the mixture, and mix on low speed until the batter is smooth.
- Incorporate the dry ingredients: baking soda, salt, and flour, mixing until everything is well combined. I like to use spatula here to prevent overmixing and too cakey cookies.
- Portion the cookies. Use a cookie scoop (a 2-inch ice cream scoop works well) to form cookie dough portions on a parchment-lined or greased sheet pan, ensuring there is at least a 2-inch gap between each cookie.
- The batter will be sticky due to bananas. If you find it hard to work with a cookie scoop, then I recommend lightly dusting your hands with flour while scooping and rolling the dough by hand will solve the problem. Alternatively, chilling the dough briefly can also make sticky dough easier to handle.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies turn a golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 2-3 minutes on the pan, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Make the frosting. To make the frosting, beat together the cream cheese and butter until the mixture becomes fluffy.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar and vanilla, continuing to beat until the frosting is smooth.
- Using a small spoon, spread the frosting over the cooled cookies, and if desired, sprinkle them with chopped pecan nuts and additional banana slices.
Notes
- Why is my cookie dough so sticky? The stickiness of this cookie dough is due to the bananas. I've discovered that lightly dusting my hands with flour while scooping and rolling the dough resolves this problem. Alternatively, chilling the dough can also make sticky dough easier to handle.
- What’s causing my cookies to turn out thin and flat? Typically, cookies turn out too flat if there's not enough flour in the recipe, or if it calls for overly softened butter.My recipe is true and tested to ensure they yield thick cookies, so you shouldn't encounter this problem. Chilling the cookie dough before baking is an option. Additionally, avoid using nonstick baking spray on your cookie sheet, as that can also lead to flat cookies.
- To store leftover frosted banana cookies, keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-4 days for the best quality. For longer storage, you can refrigerate them for up to 1 week.
- Freezing. I recommend cooling them and then freezing without the frosting. For proper freezing start by placing the banana cookies on a tray until they become firm (you can also flash freeze them for 20 minutes or so). Then, transfer them to a freezer bag. Unfrosted cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Just remember to thaw them before enjoying them.
Nutrition
Calories: 258kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 3gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 116mgPotassium: 98mgFiber: 1gSugar: 26gVitamin A: 296IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!