These Brown Butter Banana Pecan Cookies with Chocolate Chips are crispy on the edges, chewy in the center and filled with oats, pecans, chocolate chips, nutty flavors and warms spices.
If you love banana bread, you'll love these Banana Pecan Cookies. They have the same taste as a banana loaf, but in cookie form. So essentially, similar results, with less wait time, and smaller quantities. These Banana Pecan Cookies are made with brown butter, oatmeal, warm spices, pecans, and chocolate chips. They have the perfect banana bread flavors, crispy edges, and chewy centers. They bake up beautifully, and they last at room temperature for days.
For more brown butter recipes, you can check out some of my favorites: Chocolate Chunk Blondies, Biscoff Blondies, Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies, and so many more brown butter recipes.
Why You'll Love this Recipe
Banana Bread: If you love banana bread, you'll love this Banana Pecan Cookies with Chocolate Chips recipe. It's incredible because it truly is reminiscent of banana bread.
Brown butter: You can never go wrong with brown butter, especially since it goes so well with banana bread. In this recipe, the brown butter adds more flavor.
Texture: The texture of this cookie is so chewy and soft on the inside from the brown sugar, bananas, and oatmeal, and crispy on the edges. It's perfect!
Chocolate: The addition of chocolate chips adds another element of flavor to the cookies.
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Ingredient Notes
- Butter: This Banana Pecan Cookies recipe uses salted butter. I've tested out this recipe using unsalted butter as well, and both work. I've kept the same amount of salt in both test batches and every time I've made this recipe it was a good amount of salt.
- Banana: It is important to measure the banana correctly. I've tried using what I thought was a medium sized banana without measuring and it was too much and ended up spreading the cookies out way too much because it ended up adding more liquid than necessary. Measure about 80-90 grams of banana after peeling.
- Sugar: Both brown sugar and granulated sugar are used. I love using dark brown sugar for the deep flavor, but in a pinch, you can use light brown sugar. Granulated sugar is important for the crisp of the cookies.
- Salt: This cookie uses salted butter, but I like to add more salt because it truly does enhance the flavor of the cookie.
- Egg: Only one egg is used for this recipe. Creates structure, gives color, and adds moisture.
- Vanilla: You can use vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
- Flour: For the best texture and cookie, use regular all purpose flour.
- Leavening: Both baking powder and baking soda are used. Helps with lifting and spreading the cookies.
- Spices: I add cinnamon and nutmeg to give a banana bread flavor, but you can leave them out or add some extra spices.
- Pecans: Chopped pecans. You can toast them for extra flavor.
- Chocolate: For this recipe, I like chocolate chips. You can chop up a bar of chocolate as well.
See recipe card for quantities.
Step-by-step Instructions
Brown the Butter: Melt butter in a medium sauce pan on medium heat. Stir the butter to make sure it melts evenly. Once the butter is completely melted, it will start to foam up. Continue stirring the butter. As it cooks, it will start to change into a deeper color. This could take 6-8 minutes. You'll start to notice a nutty aroma and the butter will begin to have brown specs at the bottom of the pan. Continue stirring and remove from the heat and pour into a heat-proof bowl and let cool about 10-15 minutes before continuing with recipe.
- The entire process of browning butter from start to finish should not take more than 10 minutes on medium heat.
Mix the batter: Once brown butter is cooled, add the sugars (both brown and granulated) into the bowl of the brown butter, and mix with a spatula. Add the egg, vanilla extract and stir until combined. Then add the banana and stir. Add the rolled oats and mix completely.
HOT TIP: If you don't have overripe bananas, you can preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and bake the bananas on the baking sheet until dark brown almost black, for about 15 minutes. I do this quite often because I always want banana bread or banana cookies when my bananas aren't ripe.
Hint: Measure banana by weighing 80-90 grams. About ⅓ of a cup.
Mix dry ingredients: Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate and pecans and mix.
Scoop & Bake: Scoop cookie dough using a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoon scoop). Place cookie balls on baking sheet, making sure to spread them apart at least 2". Top with extra pecans and chocolate chips. Bake for 11-13 minutes.
Tip! To achieve a round cookie, immediately after removing from the oven, use a cookie cutter to form round cookies, or my favorite way is to just use a spoon to push the edges into a round circle.
Substitutions
Butter: You can use unsalted butter instead of salted butter in this recipe.
Chocolate: You can use chopped chocolate instead of chocolate chips.
Variations
Nuts: You can add different nuts, like walnuts.
White chocolate chips: Switch up the chocolate with white chocolate.
No chocolate: You can completely leave out the chocolate for more of a banana bread cookie.
Spices: I love the addition of spices, but you can leave them out or switch it up and add cardamom and cloves.
Equipment
You don't need much with this recipe. A bowl, a spatula, and a baking sheet. However, a few key things to use to make the cookies better:
Kitchen scale: It's always best to measure your ingredients for the best results.
Scoop: I used this ice cream scoop, but any 3 tablespoon cookie scoop will work.
Storage
Cooked: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.
Uncooked in fridge: You can store uncooked cookie dough in the fridge for up to 72 hours. Once ready to bake, preheat your oven and pop them in.
Uncooked in freezer: These banana pecan cookies freeze well. Just form them into balls, let them chill for at least 1 hour in the fridge, then transfer them to a ziploc bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months. Once ready to bake, defrost overnight in the fridge or let sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours before baking.
Pro Tips
Measure Ingredients Correctly: As always, with any recipe, use a kitchen scale, as it is the best form of measuring your ingredients. If you don't have a kitchen scale, fluff your flour, scoop flour with a spoon into a measuring cup and level off.
Don't burn the brown butter: Once the brown butter starts to pop, foam, and form specs at the bottom of the pan, remove it. Otherwise you could burn it and it will end up tasting bitter.
Weigh banana: Once peeled, measure banana by weighing 80-90 grams. About ⅓ of a cup.
Ripen bananas: If you don't have overripe bananas, you can preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and bake the bananas on the baking sheet until dark brown almost black, for about 15 minutes. I do this quite often because I always want banana bread or banana cookies when my bananas aren't ripe.
Don't over mix: Using a spatula instead of a hand mixer reduces the chances of over mixing, but once your ingredients come together, stop mixing.
Don't over bake: Start checking the cookies at 11 minutes.
Parchment paper: To avoid sticking, make sure to line the pan with parchment paper.
Round cookies: To achieve a round cookie, immediately after removing from the oven, use a cookie cutter to form round cookies, or my favorite way is to just use a spoon to push the edges into a round circle.
Light-colored pan: Use a light colored metal baking pan. It helps cook evenly and doesn't burn the bottom of the cookies.
High quality chocolate: I like using Ghirardelli, Lindt, or Guittard because I know they all taste wonderful in recipes. Here's more info on baking with the right chocolate.
FAQ
Brown butter in this recipe is ELITE. It gives the cookies deeper flavor and even nuttier notes. However, you can reduce the butter by one tablespoon if not browning.
If you measure the ingredients by weight, you should have cookies that do not spread too much. It's possible you added too much liquid from the bananas or not enough dry ingredients.
If you don't have overripe bananas, you can preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and bake the bananas on the baking sheet until dark brown almost black, for about 15 minutes. I do this quite often because I always want banana bread or banana cookies when my bananas aren't ripe.
📖 Recipe Card
Banana Pecan Cookies with Chocolate Chips
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter
- ½ cup (100g) dark brown sugar
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 small very ripe banana (80-90g), mashed measure out after peeling (don't add more than listed) - about ⅓ cup mashed
- ¾ cup (60g) rolled oats
- 1½ cup (180g) all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup pecans chopped (and toasted, optional)
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips + extra for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
For the Brown Butter
- Melt butter in a medium sauce pan on medium heat. Stir the butter to make sure it melts evenly. Once the butter is completely melted, it will start to foam up. Continue stirring the butter. As it cooks, it will start to change into a deeper color. This could take 6-8 minutes.½ cup (1 stick) salted butter
- You'll start to notice a nutty aroma and the butter will begin to have brown specs at the bottom of the pan. Continue stirring and remove from the heat and pour into a heat-proof bowl and let cool at least 10 minutes before continuing with recipe. The entire process of browning butter from start to finish should not take more than 10 minutes on medium heat.
For the Cookies
- Once brown butter is cooled, add the sugars (both brown and granulated) into the bowl of the brown butter, and mix with a spatula. Add the egg, vanilla extract and stir until combined. Then add the banana and stir. Add the rolled oats and mix completely.½ cup (100g) dark brown sugar, ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar, 1 large egg, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 small very ripe banana (80-90g), mashed, ¾ cup (60g) rolled oats
- Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate and pecans and mix until just incorporated. Don't over mix.1½ cup (180g) all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ cup pecans, ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Optional: Chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes (this will help develop more flavor, and reduce spreading).
- Scoop cookie dough using a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoon scoop). Place cookie balls on baking sheet, making sure to spread them apart at least 2". Top with extra pecans and chocolate chips.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes, depending on desired crisp.
- Let cool for a few minutes on baking sheet and then transfer to cooling rack.
Notes
- If you don't have a scale to measure your flour, instead you can use the fluff and scoop method. Fluff the flour with a spoon, then spoon the flour into a measuring cup, then using a butter knife, level off the flour. This way you won't over measure.
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