Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies – Banana cookies loaded with candied walnuts and covered in regular and large semi-sweet chips
Today’s recipe inspiration comes from a cookie that stole my heart over the holidays. We were in Orlando and I finally got the chance to try Gideon’s Bakehouse, a famous bakery in Orlando known for their nearly half-pound cookies loaded with chocolate chips. Everyone visits this bakery during their Orlando trip, causing insane 2+ hour waits. Lucky for me, they were doing a virtual queue during our visit so we shopped around until it was my turn in line.
I got a few of the known favorites and a couple that caught my eye. One of my unique picks was the Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Cookie. I love the combination of banana and chocolate so I was so eager to try this one. It was more incredible than I imagined! Not only was the cookie loaded with chocolate and banana flavor, but it also had candied walnuts sprinkled throughout for a sweet and salty crunch. Delish!
The biggest bummer about these cookies is you can only get them in Orlando – no ordering online to get them shipped home. I decided to give the recipe a try on my own and I think I got pretty darn close! The banana flavor is present and not artificial in the slightest and and the candied walnuts are as incredible as the original recipe.
Here are my Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Tips & Tricks
- Mash banana well. Do not leave large chunks of banana. Instead, mash the banana up well to ensure you get even flavor throughout the cookies.
- Chill the dough. The dough needs to chill before baking for two reasons: (1) it lets the flavor build in the dough and (2) cold dough doesn’t spread as much so the cookies stay beautifully thick.
- Push in the chips. When adding the chocolate chips and walnut pieces to the outside, make sure to push them in well so they stick to the dough. This will ensure they stay on during the baking process.
- Candied walnuts are a MUST. The candied walnuts transform this cookie. The walnuts maintain their crunch when they’re coated with sugar on the outside. Plus, that sweet-salty flavor that really appeases the taste buds.
Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1½ sticks butter softened, unsalted
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup mashed banana
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ cup chopped candied walnuts divided
- 1 cup semisweet chips
- 1 cup large semisweet chips
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars together until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, banana, and vanilla and beat until combined. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix slowly. Add ¾ cup of chopped walnuts and mix until combined.
- Using a large cookie scoop or ice cream scoop, scoop the dough and place on a plate or tray. You should get 12 evenly -sized cookies. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until firm, about 4 hours.
- Once cookie dough is chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 2 baking sheets by lining with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place remaining walnuts, and both sizes of chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Toss together until combined. Grab one ball of chilled dough and roll into a smooth ball. Place one side of the dough ball into the chocolate chips and walnuts. Press the chips into the dough to ensure they stick, making sure to cover as much of the top half of dough as possible. Place the dough ball onto a prepared baking sheet, smooth side down. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls, making sure they are at least 3 inches apart from each other on the baking sheet. Place only 6 dough balls on each baking sheet to ensure they don't touch.
- Bake cookies in preheated oven for about 16-18 minutes. The edges of the cookie will turn golden brown when they are done. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely before eating. You can eat them warm but they taste much better cooled to room temperature.
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I really want to make these as I have a plethora of overripe bananas. However, I don’t have wheat flour, and really do t want to go buy a full bag of something I’ll almost never use again. Can I substitute like coconut flour or more regular flour in instead?
I’ll try this! I do go to Gideons and buy only this kind! I put it in the freezer and snack on one for about a week! If you look on the ingredient list on their site have crushed banana chips.
These cookies look so deliciously decadent! We love both banana bread and chocolate chip cookies in this house, so we’ll definitely be giving these sweet cookies a try!
Delicious and so easy to make! Great way to use up leftover bananas
I never thought of adding banana to my chocolate chip cookies, it was pure genius! They were delicious
I made them last week. Loved this easy recipe… Easy for kids to help. I have made it twice and haven’t made any changes since the taste and texture are great. Thanks for sharing!
Wow these are gorgeous! I love the idea of adding banana to the batter…super moist and of course a delicious combo with chocolate. Yum!
Banana and chocolate is my favorite combo (banana bread being my favorite dessert) so I love that these have both while still keeping the cookie texture without it being too caky or bread-like. Definitely making these again!
So I happened to stumble upon this recipe because I wanted to make something other than banana bread to make with ripe bananas and these cookies were so delicious!
These cookies are amazing! I love how tasty they came out and my family already asked me to make them again. SO tasty!
Oooh! THese look SO good!
What a great idea! Good thing I always have bananas in the freezer because I had to make these right away. I had to try one before the kids got home from school because that’s when they magically disappeared.
I am a big banana and chocolate combo fan and these cookies were everything I needed. Absolutely delicious! Thank you for the great recipe!
Nothing quite as delicious as the combination of banana and chocolate and these cookies were no exceptions! Quick, easy and delicious; exactly what I needed to cure my sweet tooth!
I made these cookies over the weekend and they were incredible! SO much banana flavor!
I had a banana on the verge of being tossed so this recipe came at the perfect time! So yummy for a chocolate lover like me
These look like absolute perfection! I’ve always loved banana bread with chocolate chips, so this is right up my alley. Such an awesome treat. Thanks for the recipe!
These were a nice change from regular chocolate chip cookies. I’ll be making them again!
The simpler, the better. These banana chocolate chip cookies are to die for! And so easy to make. Their only problem: they are addictive. I can’t wait to make them again.
You put the perfect amount of chocolate chips in these cookies! I need to remember to make these with my over ripe bananas.
These look incredible! I know I would love them. What a fabulous flavor combo.
Pulled up page; IMMEDIATELY started drooling! Lol! But these look SO GOOD! Why wouldn’t I? Nothing beats a good chocolate chip cookie recipe; which only gets better with bananas. I’ll definitely be trying these out soon! Thank you so much for sharing!
These look SO yummy! I don’t usually eat cookies with banana’s in them but this makes me want to try it! Thank you for sharing!