Soft and tender banana chocolate chip cookies are a delicious way to use your brown bananas in one of the most iconic and classic cookies. The cookies have a lovely cakey texture, a mild banana flavor and gooey melted chocolate chips in each bite.

Chocolate chip cookies bring up warm memories for many people. They are simple, homey and full of deep flavor. A wonderful variation to chocolate chip cookies is to add some bananas. If you have a few extra brown bananas, put them to good use. Once you try these, you may have to buy bananas specifically for these cookies because they are so good.

The addition of bananas gives the cookies a wonderful banana flavor and adds sweetness to the batter, which means you don't have to add too much sugar. I really like that these cookies aren't too sweet. I love the soft, cakey texture of these cookies with melted chocolate chips sprinkled in. Pack these into lunchboxes, take them along on a picnic, or on a road trip. They are perfect to snack on throughout the day.

We really enjoy banana desserts in our family, like Banana Cream Cheesecake, which is my personal favorite, Banana Muffins are so simple and are so nice with coffee or milk and a simple but unique banana recipe is my Banana Coffeecake. One of my boys' favorite breakfast that doesn't have any flour or sugar are Banana Egg Pancakes, so these chocolate chip cookies are another way to enjoy bananas.

Ingredients For Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies:

butter - I use unsalted butter, but salted butter will work here too. The butter needs to be at room temperature, so take it out of the fridge before you start making the cookies.
sugars - the best chocolate chip cookies use both granulated sugar and brown sugar. They will give the cookies the best texture and flavor.
egg - 1 large egg. The egg also needs to be at room temperature.
bananas - brown, soft and overripe bananas are best for this recipe. 1 large banana will usually be enough but you may need to use more than 1 banana if your bananas are small. Mash the banana and measure before adding tot he batter to make sure you have the proper amount.
vanilla extract - vanilla is a must in cookies and gives these a wonderful aroma and flavor.
flour - I use unbleached all purpose flour in this recipe and have not experimented with other flours.
baking soda - this will add a bit of color to the cookies and, course, help them rise and become fluffy.
salt - I like adding just a bit of salt to most baking recipes too.
chocolate chips - you can use any chocolate chips or chocolate chunks that you like. I like semi sweet because they aren't too sweet.

How To Make Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 1-2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
Add the egg, banana and vanilla. Mix to combine.
Mix the dry ingredients separately.
Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix to combine.
Add the chocolate chips and mix to combine.
Scoop out the cookie dough into about 2 Tablespoon portions and place on a baking sheet.
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven until set and lightly golden on the bottom and the edges.

How To Store Cookies:

Store the cookies at room temperature for about 3 days. You can cover them up with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap so they stay soft and don't absorb any odors.

These cookies freeze really well too. You can freeze them in an airtight container or a freezer bag for up to 3 months.

Soft Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies on a cooling rack.

Helpful Tips:

Use room temperature butter and eggs.

In baking, it's really important to use room temperature ingredients, especially butter and eggs. This will give you the best texture. If the butter is too cold, you won't be able to incorporate enough air into the batter when you are mixing it with the sugar. The eggs also need to be at room temperature. If you add a cold egg into fluffy and creamy butter and sugar, it will cause the butter to get cold and the batter will look curdled.

Cream the butter and sugars for at least 5 minutes.

This will make sure that there is enough air whipped into the butter, which will make your cookies soft and fluffy.

Use really ripe bananas.

Bananas that are really ripe will be sweeter and have a more concentrated banana flavor. They are also easier to mash. Plus, this is a great way to put them to good use and enjoy the yellow bananas fresh.

Use a rubber spatula to mix the dry ingredients.

Since there is a good amount of flour in this recipe, if you start mixing it with a mixer, you can have a cloud of flour all around the kitchen. Either start the mixer on really low speed or just mix the flour in by hand. The dough is pretty soft, so it's really easy to do.

Flatten the cookies before baking.

The cookies don't spread out very much when they are baking, and they will puff up too, so I like to flatten them out just a bit after portioning them out onto the baking sheet.

Don't overmix the batter.

After adding the dry ingredients, mix just until combined. If you overmix after adding the flour, the cookies can end up dense. (That's another reason mixing it by hand is a good idea.)

Don't bake the cookies too long.

The cookies will be really tender and fluffy if you don't overcook them. Remember that they will still continue to bake even after you take them out of the oven on the hot baking sheet, so take them out when they are still soft in the center. Start checking them 5 minutes before they should be done.

Other Delicious Banana Desserts: