Soft and Chewy Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

These FLUFFY banana chocolate chip cookies are the cookies of my childhood! You are going to love EVERYTHING about these banana bread cookies! It’s your favorite quick bread in cookie form!

The other day, a neighbor posted on Facebook that she had some ripe bananas that she was going to throw away unless someone wanted them. And then I sprinted to her door! Ok, just kidding, but never ever, under any circumstances, should ripe bananas be thrown away! I’ll take them all!

I’d use them to make these amazing banana cookies, and if there are any left over, I’d make a loaf of our perfect banana bread! Oh shoot, but what about our banana bundt cake?! We can’t forget about that one! Needless to say, don’t throw away the bananas!!

Ingredients for Banana Bread Cookies

• Shortening: Creates a tender, softer texture and helps the cookies hold their shape without spreading too much.
• Unsalted Butter: Adds rich flavor, moisture, and contributes to slight spreading and a crispy edge.
• Brown Sugar: Adds sweetness, moisture, and chewiness thanks to its molasses content.
• Sugar: Balances sweetness and contributes to crisp edges and spreading
• Eggs: Bind the dough, provide structure while also helping with leavening
• All Purpose Flour: Provides the structure for the cookies.
• Baking Soda: Neutralizes acidity (from brown sugar and banana) and encourages browning/spread.
• Baking Powder: Provides lift and helps keep cookies light and soft and not dense.
• Salt: Enhances all the flavors and balances sweetness.
• Banana: Adds natural sweetness and banana flavor, moisture, and a soft, tender texture while also reducing need for extra fat.
• Vanilla Extract: Rounds out and enhances the flavor of the dough.
• Chocolate Chips: Add rich bursts of chocolate, balancing the sweetness of the banana cookie base.

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Crisp-edged, crunchy cookies with an intense but perfectly balanced vanilla flavor make up these homemade vanilla cookies. These bite-size cookies go way beyond putting traditional ‘Nilla Wafers to shame, they’re a whole new ballgame.

Homemade Vanilla Wafers

I could not be more ecstatic over these vanilla wafer cookies: the crunch, the flavor, the everything. They are utterly wonderful. While I was working on the recipe for Banana Pudding Ice Cream, I became low-key obsessed with homemade vanilla wafers. (I’m happy to tell you that ice cream is fantastic with both homemade AND store-bought cookies, so feel free to go either route with that one.)

I made these cookies so many times that I lost count while working on this recipe. In the end, I am thrilled with them. So very, very happy. I never would’ve chosen a vanilla cookie as a favorite cookie before making these vanilla wafer cookies, but now? They’re a top 5 for me.

These cookies have proven completely irresistible to every single person who has tasted them, and we all wind up going back for “just one more” all day long.

I find it amusing that I adapted this recipe from a Swan’s Down recipe using their cake flour. But in the end, I preferred the vanilla wafers when I re-tested them with a slightly lowered amount of plain old all-purpose flour. If you prefer a chewier cookie, the cake flour delivers that. My goal was a crispy cookie, most similar to the original Vanilla Wafers, and the all-purpose flour delivers that.

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Banana Cream Pie Cookies – Crumbl Copycat

Banana cream pie cookies are sweet and creamy with a graham cracker crust inspired cookie base and an easy banana cream filling. Now you can make this Crumbl cookie copycat in the comfort of your own kitchen!

Once upon a time I decided to make a peach crisp cookie which was like a peach crisp and a peach cobbler all in one. Then I figured an apple crisp cookie had to come next. It was divine!

So naturally I had to dabble into the cream pie-inspired cookies, and the key lime pie cookie was born and the pumpkin pie cookie quickly followed. And with each new cookie, someone would tell me that Crumbl had the same cookie. Ha! Blast those Crumbl people!

So I guess you can call these Crumbl cookie copycat recipes, but these recipes have really just been my imagination running wild. What kind of cookie should I try to make next that Crumbl hasn’t already made?! Is there anything? I know they have a banana cream pie cookie already, but ours is better! 🤫

Ingredients for Banana Cream Pie Cookies

The ingredients for this banana cookie recipe is divided into two components. First, you have the banana cream pudding and then you have the cookie base. Here is what you will need for both parts:

Banana Cream Pie Filling

• Bananas: You want them slightly ripe, bright yellow with just a few brown spots on the peels to add real banana flavor.
• Whole Milk: Combines with the pudding powder to make the creamy filling.
• Instant French Vanilla Pudding Mix: Make sure it is the instant pudding mix and NOT the cook and serve kind.
• Cream Cheese: adds richness and creaminess
• Sweetened Condensed Milk: adds more sweetness and creaminess
• Cool Whip: You can use regular whipped cream but Cool Whip holds its thickness and structure better.

Cookie Base

• Unsalted Butter: make sure it is softened but not melting at all
• Cream Cheese: need to be softened so it will integrate into the cookie dough smoothly
• Brown Sugar: adds rich flavor and sweetness
• White Sugar: adds sweetness
• Vanilla Extract: adds flavor
• Eggs: adds structure to the cookie base
• Almond Extract: totally optional, but I love the flavor it adds
• Flour: just regular all-purpose flour
• Cornstarch: adds chewiness to the cookies
• Baking Powder and Baking Soda: adds fluffiness and rise to the cookies
• Salt
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