Soft or crunchy, these Banana Cookies with Chocolate Chips are not only delicious, but are perfect for using up over-ripe bananas. Vegan, gluten free and refined-sugar free.
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Gluten Free Banana Cookies – Something different for over-ripe bananas
Looking for ways to use over-ripe bananas? Eat Banana Cookies! They make a change from the ubiquitous Banana Bread… And much as I adore quick and easy Blender Banana Ice Cream, sometimes only cookies will do!
It seems we have endless over-ripe bananas in this house… I can never work out exactly how many bananas we need. There are weeks when they seem to be piling up in the fruit bowl… and others when they disappear in a flash. Either way… We never let bananas go to waste and have, over the years, gathered a veritable feast of gluten free banana recipes here at Gluten Free Alchemist.
The development of my Gluten Free Alchemist Banana Cookies recipe…
As with so many great creations, these gluten free Banana Cookies were developed accidentally. Many years ago, I created some very moreish frozen energy balls. They affectionately came to be known as our Coco Banana Freeze Bites. They remain one of the most requested recipes by my daughter, because they are a quick and reasonably healthy snack that is great to ‘grab and go’.
Anyway… The original Freeze Bites tasted so great that I tried adapting them into baked Banana Cookies. It was one of those experiments that just worked. That was back in 2014. The recipe was published on the blog as ‘Chocolate-Banana-Coconut Macaroon Cookies’. And while I have no idea whether anyone bothered to make them, they have more recently, undergone further transformation to make them completely Vegan and slightly less ‘busy’.
…New Vegan Banana Cookies with Chocolate Chips
I have now deleted the old recipe with this updated version simply called Banana Cookies with Chocolate Chips. But trust me… These babies are vastly improved on the original! They taste more balanced, are hand-dippingly moreish and very delicious…
They have the option to be softer and slightly chewy on the inside… Through to drier and more crunchy… But either way, they are creamy with oats… Decadent with dark chocolate chips… A little textured with nuttiness… Slightly ‘squeaky’ from little pockets of desiccated coconut… Not over-sweet… At the healthier end of the biscuit spectrum… And shot through with a natural banana and coconut sweetness.
Are these biscuits suitable for all Coeliacs (Celiacs)?
My Gluten Free Banana Cookies are made using gluten free oats. And of course regardless of being ‘gluten free’, oats do create difficulties for some people with Coeliac Disease (Celiac)… Those who are either unable to access gluten free oats where they live, or who remain highly sensitive to the protein Avenin they contain.
With this in mind, my Banana Cookies recipe won’t be suitable for everyone with Coeliac Disease. And while it is quite possible that subbing the oats with an alternative (maybe buckwheat flour and buckwheat flakes), it is not something I have tried. Should you give it a go, please let me know how it goes.
What ingredients are used to make these Vegan Banana Cookies?
- Banana – Obviously! Preferably soft and over-ripe. Over-ripe banana will offer better moisture and sweetness.
- Oats – in the form of both oat flour and rolled porridge oats. The combination gives body as well as texture.
- Ground Nuts – I use a combination of ground almonds (almond meal) and ground roasted hazelnuts (for depth of flavour). But it is fine to use one or the other… Or even an alternative ground nut-meal of choice.
- Desiccated Coconut – The amount of coconut used has been far reduced from the original recipe (which was more macaroon than cookie). But the coconut brings distinctive flavour, texture and a little ‘squeaky’ chew.
- Unrefined Sugar – In the form of soft light brown sugar and natural Maple Syrup. If you prefer, you can switch the brown sugar for coconut sugar and/or the Maple for honey.
- Coconut Oil – In place of the standard butter that is usually used in baking biscuits.
- Spice – A touch of vanilla and cinnamon bring warmth and a little exoticness. But again, they can be switched for alternatives or omitted.
- Dark Chocolate – Both as chips and to decorate. I use chips within the cookies that are 70%+ cocoa… Super-dark. But as long as they fit your dietary needs, any and all chocolate chips work well.
How to bake oat Banana Cookies for perfect texture
I bake my oat Banana Cookies for varying textures depending on my mood. So, here’s the low-down…
- Chewier Cookies – Cook for a couple of minutes less and take straight out of the oven when baked.
- Banana Cookies that are softer in the centre and crisper on the edges – Test by sight and touch, but the timings given in the recipe should be good (depending on your oven).
- Crunchy ‘biscuits’ that are crisp throughout – Cook as in the recipe instructions… Then turn off the oven, briefly let a little heat out and leave the cookies in the oven to cool slowly with the drying heat.
However you cook them, be aware that these are not cookies that spread in the oven… So, remember to flatten them well before baking.
Have you tried my gluten free, vegan Banana Cookies?
I hope you love these gluten free, vegan Banana Cookies. If you make them, let me know how you find them. Leave a comment, rate the recipe and share your photos on social media, remembering to tag me in. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter. #glutenfreealchemist.
And if Banana Cookies aren’t your thing… no worries! There are plenty more recipes where these came from. Just head over to our dedicated Gluten Free Cookies and Biscuits Index and take your pick.
For everything else, there’s hundreds of great gluten free recipes to be accessed through our main Gluten Free Recipes Index. If there’s something you can’t find, let me know.
More great gluten free recipes for using over-ripe bananas
Banana Cookies with Chocolate Chips
Key equipment
- fork
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1 medium ripe banana weight approx 100 g without skin – mashed
- 50 g oat flour gluten free
- 40 g rolled oats gluten free
- 15 g ground almonds (almond meal)
- 15 g ground roasted hazelnuts
- 10 g desiccated coconut
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- pinch fine sea salt
- 45 g soft light brown sugar
- 50 g dark chocolate chips dairy free as required
- 24 g maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 40 g coconut oil – melted
Decoration
- dark chocolate to decorate – melted (optional)
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas 4.
- Base-line a couple of baking trays with baking paper.
- Mash the bananas in a large bowl.
- Weigh and add the oat flour, oats, nuts, coconut, cinnamon, salt, sugar and chocolate chips and stir through with the banana.
- Add the maple syrup, vanilla extract and melted coconut oil and stir thoroughly.
- Use your hands or a firm spoon to knead the dough slightly until smooth and firm.
- Break off small pieces of dough and roll into balls about the size of a large walnut.
- Flatten each ball using the palm of your hands to make dough disks just under 1cm in depth.
- Place the disks on the baking paper with a small gap between each (they will not spread much in the oven).
- Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes (depending on how crisp or soft you want them), until the biscuits are golden.
- For softer cookies, remove from the oven once baked and leave on the trays for about 15 minutes to begin cooling before removing to a wire rack.
- For drier more crunchy cookies, turn the oven off once baked and open the door for a minute before closing the door while leaving the cookies to cool inside with the oven.
- When cold, carefully melt some dark chocolate (if using) and drizzle over the cookies.
- Leave to set.
Notes
Nutrition
© 2019-2023 Kate Dowse All Rights Reserved – Do not copy or re-publish this recipe or any part of this recipe on any other blog, on social media or in a publication without the express permission of Gluten Free Alchemist
Thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with us at Full Plate Thursday, 578. Hope you have a great week and come back to see us real soon!
Miz Helen
You’re welcome. Thanks for hosting x
Love this idea! I don’t always have enough over ripe bananas for banana bread so cookies made with 1 banana are a definitely must.
Thank you Janice. We definitely need plenty of options for over-ripe bananas. Much as I love banana bread, you can have too much of a good thing x
Yay! Another recipe to use ripe bananas! Love this idea! The cookies are calling my name! Thanks a bunch for sharing at Fiesta Friday party! I hope to see you next week.
You can’t have too many left over banana recipes! Especially in my house… And these are definitely a winner. Healthier too xx