These soft banana cookies are a new favorite of mine! They bake up so tender and soft and are topped with tangy cream cheese frosting.

They taste like the softest banana bread, but in cookie form. It’s truly the best of both worlds!

Why is it Better to Use Overripe Bananas to Make Banana Cookies?

Most banana recipes insist on using only the ripest bananas, including this one. But why are overripe bananas better to bake with??

There are actually several reasons! The first is that as a banana ripens, more of its starch is converted into sugar. This creates sweeter, more tender baked goods.

Another benefit of baking with super ripe bananas is that they’re super easy to mash up. This ensures your banana cookies have a uniform, even texture without any unexpected chunks of banana.

Overripe bananas are also more aromatic and give baked goods a more intense banana flavor than yellow bananas.

The final and best reason (in my opinion) is that it uses up overripe fruit that would otherwise go to waste!

With all that in mind, this recipe will still turn out if you use yellow bananas. It just won’t have as intense of a banana flavor!

Baking Hack: How to Quickly Ripen Bananas

If you only have yellow bananas and want that intense banana flavor, don’t worry!

You can easily turn yellow bananas brown in a matter of minutes. Preheat your oven to 300 F / 150 C and place your unpeeled bananas on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Bake them for about 15 minutes, or until the banana skin is uniformly dark in color.

Let them cool on that pan for 10 minutes, then carefully peel and mash them.

I use this hack all the time for banana bread and it works like a charm.

Substitutions and Swaps

While I love this soft banana cookie recipe just the way it is, I know some of you might not have all these ingredients on hand!

Below are some swaps and substitutions that can be made in this recipe:

• Unsalted Butter – If you only have salted butter, on hand you can use it in place of the unsalted butter in this recipe. Just be sure to omit the salt that this recipe calls for. You can also use vegan butter in its place.
• Brown Sugar – I prefer using light brown sugar in this recipe, but you can use dark brown sugar too!
• Granulated Sugar – This recipe turns out best with a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar. However, you can use additional light brown sugar in place of the granulated sugar if needed.
• Egg – If you don’t have an egg on hand or can’t eat eggs, you can try using a flaxseed egg.
• Sour Cream – You can also use full-fat yogurt, Greek yogurt, or alternative yogurt or milk (almond, soy, oat) if you’re dairy free.
• All-Purpose Flour – This recipe turns out best with AP flour, but you can use a cup-for-cup gluten free flour blend in its place if needed.
• Corn Starch – Corn starch helps these cookies bake up nice and soft. I don’t recommend skipping it!
• Overripe Bananas – If you don’t have overripe bananas on hand, bake your bananas at 300 F for about 15 minutes or until the skins of the bananas are black.

Making These Banana Cookies in Different Sizes

This recipe makes pretty large cookies. Each cookie is made with 3 Tbsp of cookie dough.

If you want to make smaller cookies or use a smaller cookie scoop, decrease the bake time based on the size of the cookie.

For example, if you use 1 1/2 Tbsp of dough per cookie, bake them for half as long as the recipe calls for.

Making These Banana Bread Cookies in Advance & Storage Tips

Frosted cookies can sit at room temperature for 4 hours or be stored in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge. I recommend letting them warm to room temperature before eating them if they’ve been stored in the fridge.

If you need to stack them on top of each other, separate them with a piece of parchment paper to prevent them from sticking to each other.

If you want to make these soft banana cookies in advance, baked (and unfrosted) cookies can be frozen in an airtight container for up to a month.

I recommend waiting to frost them until they’re thawed and ready to be enjoyed.

When you’re ready to eat them, transfer the cookies to the fridge the night before you want to eat them to let them gradually thaw.

Then set them on the counter for an hour the next day to bring them to room temperature, frost them, and enjoy!

You can also make the cream cheese frosting ahead of time or save any leftover frosting! It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month.

This frosting can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months! Just be sure to give it a good mix once it thaws to make it nice and smooth again.

Tips for Making the Best Soft Batch Banana Cookies:

• Use overripe bananas! They have a higher sugar content and stronger banana flavor.
• Properly measure your flour (fluff, then spoon into the cup measure and level) or use a kitchen scale to measure your dry ingredients.
• Ingredients at room temperature mix together better! Set any cold ingredients ahead of time.
• Use a large cookie scoop to make sure your cookies are uniformly sized.
• Space your cookies about 2 inches apart before baking them. They will spread as they bake.
• Don’t over-bake your cookies! They don’t really brown much. Even if they seem a bit soft coming out of the oven, they will continue to bake and set on the tray once they’re out of the oven.

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you make these soft banana cookies with cream cheese frosting, I’d love to hear what you think of them! Please leave a rating and comment below.

Don’t forget to tag me @chelsweets and #chelsweets so that I can see your amazing creations on social media!