Super soft and delicious Gluten-Free Banana Bread Cookies. If you’re a fan of banana bread, you’ll just LOVE these cookies as much as we do! Really easy to put together. These cookies are gluten-free, grain-free and totally dairy-free. Best thing is the dough comes together without a mixer!
Once again, I’m finding myself with an absurd excess of nice and ripe bananas. Mom has been helping out with her production of gorgeous extra large and delish banana muffins.
I usually cut the ripe bananas up and put them in zipped lock freezer bags. They are the perfect addition to my smoothie that I like after a run. Or I use a few up in my favorite sourdough banana bread (you guys really like that recipe, too!).
So craving something different but something very banana, my daughter asked why not make a banana bread cookie, but a little healthier than normal. So what is nice about this recipe is that you may be like me and have a stray bag of almond flour and also coconut flour and it’s a great way to use up those flours.
The other great thing is you're using up some sad and ripe bananas in a different way and it all comes together by hand! The dough needs a 1/2 cup of ripe bananas, which for me is usually one large or two small bananas. Just pack the banana in your measuring cup and measure it out well.I like to use the ripe bananas in smoothies to enjoy after a run or peel and freeze them for a future smoothie. This week I ended up with 5 very ripe bananas. I typically will make my sourdough banana bread (boy, you guys really love this recipe! It’s the most viewed one on my blog for months!!).
What more can I tell you? They’re completely gluten-free. They are completely dairy-free. They are soft with a nice sweet flavor from the almond and coconut flours (and of course, the ripe bananas). And if you are a chocolate fan, stir in some dark chocolate chips!
I’m baking another batch right now while I’m writing out this post and all I can say is that it smells so lovely. The touch of cinnamon is reminding me that fall is around the corner.
How to make these banana cookies dairy free
These grain free cookies are totally dairy free, as I used unsweetened almond milk to make the icing. You could make it with whichever unsweetened non dairy milk that you like. You could even make the cookies without the icing. Either way, they’re just delicious!
Are these almond flour banana cookies vegan?
No, because they do have one egg. I’m not sure how it would turn out using a flax seed egg, but you could try it out (if you do, let me know!).
Almond Flour Cookie Ingredients
Here is what you need to make these almond flour banana bread cookies. Keep in mind, you could totally cut out the sugar and replace with whatever natural sweetener you like. Also, cut out the icing if you’re low sugar/no sugar (my daughter requested with icing!):
- Ripe bananas – there is no no need to use super ripe/mushy bananas. But a nice perfectly just ripe one would work best. A yellow banana could work. I always have a stray/way too ripe banana on my counter. I did not use that one for this recipe. Be sure to measure 1/2 cup mashed banana. Pack it when measuring to make sure it’s correct amount.
- Almond + Coconut flour – I use ultra-fine almond flour, not almond meal. I find my fine almond flour now at every market I visit. Both flours are grain free and totally gluten-free. They both add a nice and light natural sweetness to the cookies. The almond flour is best to pack when measuring (like you would using brown sugar). IF you don’t have coconut flour on hand, add more almond flour in its place.
- Egg - Best to use an egg that is at room temperature. You can crack into a small bowl and it will come to room temp in a few minutes. I have not made without the egg...so not sure what texture would be like.
- Cinnamon: the hint of cinnamon adds that warm, banana bread flavor to these cookies.
- Powdered sugar -this is the base of the easy cream cheese frosting. Feel free to try using my paleo powdered sugar, too!
- Baking soda — so basically, when you bake with almond flour, it will not really rise much like regular flour, so there is no baking powder in this recipe. I add the baking soda just to lighten the batter up a bit.
- Cane sugar – I have a container of organic cane sugar (my better half only likes white sugar for his coffee). I also always have coconut sugar on hand and that could be used in place of cane sugar (the batter will be darker). Also, maple syrup, date syrup, brown rice syrup are other natural options that work well.
- Coconut oil –make sure to bring the coconut oil to room temperature. You could also use any mild flavored oil. Your favorite vegan butter (I like Earth Balance) could also be used. IF you’re not dairy-free, use real grass fed butter.
- Almond milk— I always have unsweetened almond milk on hand. Unsweetened coconut milk or oat milk would work fine. If you’re not dairy-free, use your favorite whole milk.
- Powdered sugar— Use your favorite powdered sugar brand. To be healthier, use an unrefined powdered sugar (you could even make your own with granulated sugar).
- Chocolate chips — If you do not want to make an icing, you could add in your favorite chocolate chips (use dairy-free if you’re keeping it dairy-free).
How to make almond flour banana bread cookies?
First step is to gather your ingredients You begin by peeling and mashing the banana into a smooth and nice puree (a fork works fine). Measure it by packing into the measuring cup.
Next step is to stir the liquid ingredients together.
Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir it together to combine. It’s really simple to make entirely by hand, but feel free to use a hand mixer if you prefer *(watch the video to see how I did it).
Place the dough in the refrigerator to chill for about 20 minutes. While the dough is chilling, heat up to oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray with some baking spray or grease it with some oil (or margarine).
Next step is to portion out the balls of dough. Use your hands to roll out the cookies. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet, making sure to leave space in between the cookies. If you find it tricky to roll out the cookies, you could oil your hands with a bit of oil or even baking spray. Let the dough chill for about 15-20 minutes. This will really help you scoop out the dough.
Last step is to flatten the into 5-cm/2-inch wide cookies.
Place the baking sheet in the middle rack of oven and bake for about 15-18 minutes, or until they become just a little golden (not brown!). Bake another couple minutes if the tops seem too soft.
These gluten-free banana cookies bake in the center rack in 13-16 minutes. You know they are ready when the outside is slightly golden brown. If too soft, keep baking until a light color appears on the sides.
Cool the cookies for 15 minutes onto the baking sheet. Once the cookies have cooled down, if using the glaze, spoon some on and sprinkle on some ground cinnamon.
Super soft and chewy cookies with a slight crisp around the edges...you'll just LOVE these cookies!
What could be added in these cookies?
There are some different add-ins/ variations.
- Ground ginger
- Almond extract
- Chopped pecans or walnuts
- Chocolate chips
How to store my cookies?
You can store these banana bread cookies with the icing or without. I added the icing for the kids. When I make them for me it’s without any icing.
- Refrigerator: You can keep in an airtight container on the counter for 1 day. These almond flour banana cookies are best stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Up to a week is best (I’ve had them even longer than a week and they were fine).
- Freezer: Once the cookies have completely cooled, you can freeze the cookies in an airtight container or a zipped lock freezer back for up to 2 months. If placing in a container, line with some parchment paper. Best to keep them in the bag or container in a single layer. Thaw them for 1 hour prior to enjoying.
Some other lovely cookies to enjoy:
- World Peace Cookies
- Lemon Cornmeal Cookies (gluten-free and so delicious)
- Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies
- My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies
Did you make these gluten-free banana bread cookies? Please leave a comment or some feedback below to tell me how they came out! I love to connect with my readers!
Happy Baking, Lora XX
Gluten-Free Banana Bread Cookies
Ingredients
- COOKIES
- ½ cup mashed ripe banana from 1 medium ripe banana
- ¼ cup cane sugar or coconut sugar*
- 2 tablespoons melted and cooled coconut oil use melted butter or vegan butter
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups packed fine blanched almond flour
- ¼ cup coconut flour you could use all almond flour if you do not have any coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ICING
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tablespoons unsweetened almond milk plus more if necessary
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a large bowl whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- In a small bowl mash the banana with a fork. Stir in the egg, sugar, coconut oil and vanilla. Make sure you stir well to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients all at once to the dry and stir until well combined.
- The dough is a stickier dough. Place the dough in the fridge and chill for about 15-20 minutes (this will help to scoop out the dough portions. If you have even more time, you could chill for even an hour).
- While the dough is chilling, heat up oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray with some baking spray or grease it with some oil (or margarine).
- When ready to bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Use an ice cream scooper or a spoon to scoop out portions of the dough. Use your hands to roll them into balls and place each dough ball on the baking sheet.
- Place balls on parchment lined baking sheets. Space them 1 1/2 inches apart. Press down gently with your hands to flatten each portion of dough into 5-cm/2-inch wide/1/2 inch thick cookies. You should have about 12-14 cookies (I rolled out 12, if you roll them smaller, you could get 14).
- Bake for 13-16 minutes, until cookies are pale on top and lightly golden on the bottom. Bake another couple minutes if the tops seem too soft and the color still too light on the edges (they shouldn’t be completely brown).
- Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.
- While the cookies cool, prep the icing. In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and almond milk until it forms a thick but pourable glaze (add more milk if necessary). If it gets too thin, add a little more confectioners' sugar. Drizzle on each cookie, add the sprinkles and let set, about 15 minutes.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information presented below is an approximation and may vary depending on the exact ingredients used.
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