Chewy and loaded with tons of banana flavor, you will absolutely love these Sourdough Banana Cookies. This no-frills eggless cookie uses overripe bananas and sourdough discard so you can feel good about using ingredients you may otherwise throw away.
These Sourdough Banana Cookies remind me of the delicious end piece of a loaf of banana bread. That caramelized, chewy edge that’s just a little bit crisp. When I pulled these out of the oven, they tasted like a dream with an intense banana flavor enhanced by a hint of cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and a little bit of molasses from brown sugar.
Eggless No-waste Recipe
I came up with this recipe after staring at a single brown banana that I just couldn’t bring myself to throw away. After making my Sourdough Pumpkin cookies, I knew that I could make cookies without eggs by subbing an ingredient that can bind all the remaining components together. If you like my pumpkin cookies, then you’ll love these as well.
It always feels good to create something delicious out of food that would get thrown away otherwise. Overripe bananas are softer so they are easier to mash up and blend into dough. More importantly, the ripening process converts the starches in the fruit into sugars, so they have a more caramelized and intense banana flavor.
Keeping it Simple
My favorite part of this recipe is how simple it is. Except for browning butter, there’s truly nothing complicated about it. It’s a one-bowl recipe that’s ready in less than 1 hour. The dough can feel a little bit sticky, so make sure you refrigerate your dough for at least 15 minutes to prevent your cookies from spreading too much in the oven.
Baking with Sourdough Discard
Sourdough discard adds a great flavor to these cookies. Since you are not using it to make bread, your sourdough starter does not need to be activated or fed for it to work in this cookie recipe. You can use your discard directly from the fridge. Older discard will have a tangier, acidic flavor than freshly-fed sourdough starter. Both will work for this recipe, you’ll get a slightly different result but your cookies will still be delicious!
Here’s what you need:
Overripe brown banana: the riper the better for this recipe, overripe bananas have a more caramelized intense flavor
Unsalted butter: no need to soften first since you’ll be browning it for this recipe, browned butter imparts a deep, rich caramel flavor to these cookies you’ll quickly see the effort of browning is totally worth it
Cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg: the ratio in this recipe enhances the flavor of banana without overpowering it, feel free to use your favorite brand. If you don’t have these spices or extracts in your pantry feel free to leave them out.
Granulated sugar and brown sugar: the mix of white and brown sugar imparts the perfect chewy texture with a rich molasses flavor
Sourdough discard: feel free to use your sourdough discard directly from the fridge, if you don’t have any discard add 28 grams of flour and 28 grams of water to the recipe
All-purpose flour: the low protein content of all-purpose gives these cookies their chewy, tender texture, don’t substitute another type of flour, such as whole wheat in this recipe as it would affect the texture of the cookies
Baking soda and baking powder: this combination of raising agents, imparts lightness to these cookies and helps with browning and texture
Salt: I used Morton’s for this recipe, use 2 teaspoons if you’re using Diamond Crystal, you can use the same amount by weight
Your favorite chocolate bar: as always, when it comes to chocolate quality matters, I used a dark chocolate bar here which gives my cookies these beautiful chocolate puddles, feel free to use milk chocolate or even chocolate chips if that’s all you have
Walnuts: adds textural contrast to these cookies, if you’re allergic to nuts leave them out or substitute dried fruit or more chocolate
Step-by-step Instructions
- Brown butter in a small saucepan over medium high heat, until the butter smells nutty and is the color of graham crackers, cool completely
- Whisk cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, butter and sugars
- Add in sourdough discard, mashed banana, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the order
- Fold in the chopped chocolate and walnuts
- Cover the batter with plastic wrap and chill for at least 20 minutes while your oven preheats to 375 F
- Portion out the cookie dough using a large cookie scoop (about 3 tablespoon portions)
- Flatten the cookies slightly and bake them for 10 minutes at 375 F
Questions?
If you don’t have overripe bananas, bake unpeeled bananas in an oven preheated to 400 F for 5 to 10 minutes or until they are completely browned. This caramelizes the sugars and intensifies the flavor of the bananas, similar to overripe bananas.
The potency of the flavor of discard depends on your unique starter. Older discard will have a tangier, acidic flavor than freshly-fed sourdough starter. In my experience sourdough added a delicious tang that complements and doesn’t overpower the flavor of bananas.
Absolutely! You can make the cookie dough up to 3 days in advance. Portion out your cookie dough and refrigerate them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet covered with plastic wrap.
Absolutely! I love keeping an emergency freezer stash of these cookies.
To freeze your cookie dough:
1. Portion your dough out using a cookie scoop
2. Freeze your cookies in a single layer on a small baking sheet
3. Once fully frozen, transfer cookie dough balls into zip lock back
4. Cookies should last in your freezer for up to 1 month
To bake frozen cookie dough:
Bake cookies at 375 for 12 to 15 minutes.
Absolutely! Simply use the same proportion of freshly fed sourdough starter in the recipe. Your starter won’t add a strong tangy flavor to your cookies, but will still work.
If you don’t have a starter, but still want to try out this recipe, simply add 28 grams of all-purpose flour and 28 grams of water to your cookie dough.
Your cookies may have flattened out because your butter was too warm which melted the sugars in your dough. Make sure you let your browned butter cool completely and chill your dough while your oven preheats. This solidifies the butter a bit, preventing it from completely melting in the oven.
These cookies last about 7 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
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Sourdough Banana Cookies
Equipment
- large cookie scoop 3 tablespoon scoop
- Parchment paper
- baking sheet 18 by 13 inches
- Kitchen scale
- wire rack
Ingredients
- 113 grams unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon ground
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg grated
- 8 grams vanilla extract
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 100 grams brown sugar
- 56 grams sourdough discard unfed
- 140 grams banana about 1 overripe and mashed
- 180 grams all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 100 grams dark chocolate chopped
- 100 grams walnuts
Instructions
- Brown butter: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat the butter until it begins to smell nutty and turns the color of graham crackers, about 5 minutes. Transfer the butter to a large mixing bowl and allow it to cool.
- Stir in the sugars: Whisk in the cinnamon, brown sugar and granulated sugar until completely incorporated. It may look a little grainy, this is totally ok.
- Make the dough: Add in the sourdough discard, mashed banana, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the order
- Add mix-ins: Fold the chopped chocolate and walnuts into the dough until well distributed.
- Chill the dough: Cover your bowl with a piece of plastic wrap and chill the dough for at least 20 minutes while your oven preheats.
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 375 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Portion out the dough: Using a large cookie scoop, portion out the dough (3 tablespoon portions) and place them on the prepared baking sheet, about 2-inches apart to allow them to spread, about 6 per baking sheet.
- Bake: Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until the tops of the cookies look dry and the edges look set. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet. Don’t move your cookies too soon or they may break apart.
- Enjoy and store: Enjoy them warm, once the cookies have set completely. These cookies get even better once they have cooled completely and their flavor has fully developed. Store leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
Do not over bake these cookies or they will turn out hard and dry instead of soft and chewy.
Your cookies won’t be fully set after you take them out of the oven, so let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before moving them to a wire rack.
If you don’t have a sourdough discard, but still want to try out this recipe, simply add 28 grams of all-purpose flour and 28 grams of water to your cookie dough.
Did you make this recipe? Do you have questions? Let me know!