Tag: banana

Over-Ripe Banana Bread Cookies – Vegan & Gluten Free

I love bananas, but you know how the story goes: you buy them green on Saturday, and somehow, by Thursday, they’ve gone from perfectly ripe to “what am I supposed to do with these?“

These cookies are my weekly answer to over-ripe bananas! Sure, you can freeze them for smoothies (and I do that, too), but why not turn those spotty bananas into something everyone will be begging for?

These cookies are incredibly easy to make, delicious, and the perfect way to use up bananas that have seen better days. In fact, I recommend making a small batch—otherwise, they have a funny way of disappearing!

P.S. They’re also a great recipe for kids to help make. Just be prepared for them to ask when you’re making the next batch!

Note: I have only made these vegan and gluten free, but I don’t see why you couldn’t experiment with wheat flour and butter. Let me know how it turns out if you do.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 10-12 minutes

Servings: 2 banana = 24 cookies

Ingredients

2 ripe BANANAs, mashed
1/2 cup Vegan BUTTER (1 Earth Balance Soy Free stick), melted
1 cup SUGAR
2 cups gluten-free ALL PURPOSE BAKING MIX (King Arthur) with xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon BAKING SODA
1/2 tsp SALT
OPTIONALS:
1/4 cup
Vegan MINI SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS (Enjoy LIfe)
or Gluten Free Nutty Granola
or Walnuts
Parchment PAPER

Directions

  • PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees F
  • COVER 1 cookie sheets with parchment paper (or silicone mat)
  • MASH the bananas, then add melted butter and sugar until blended (I use masher then wooden spoon).
  • ADD the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt
  • ADD any optional ingredients like nuts or chips
  • DROP the batter onto the parchment covered baking sheets in evenly spaced slightly rounded teaspoons of goop (for bigger cookies use a tablespoon instead)
  • Slightly FLATTEN the batter globs if you can, they do spread a little.
  • BAKE for 10 to 12 minutes. They will look undercooked and should be golden on the edges. They will be soft.
  • COOL on cookie sheets for a few minutes and then plate
  • To get them evenly round, I use my little biscuit cutters before they cool on the tray to much.
  • You can FORK the top of each one for a pretty look.
  • STORE them in an airtight container for up to 1 week   
Many yellow banana bread cookies cooling on racks

Banana Bread Cookies Cooling

Make them round with biscuit cutters before moving to cooling racks.

Paleo Banana Bread Muffins – Gluten-Free & Dairy Free

This is my first known attempt at a PALEO treat and they taste amazing. I created these muffins with almond butter, almond flour, bananas, and eggs. They are dense like banana bread but easier to eat in muffin form. They are dairy-free, grain-free, and if you don’t use the paleo chocolate chips, they contain no extra sugar and are soy-free too. We have been eating them with dairy-free cream cheese for breakfast all week.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 19 minutes

Servings: 18 muffins

Ingredients

 
3 large EGGS, room temperature 
1/2 cup natural ALMOND BUTTER
1/2 teaspoon VANILLA EXTRACT
4 ripe BANANAS, mashed (about 1-1/2 cups)*
1 cup ALMOND FLOUR
1 teaspoon corn-free BAKING POWDER 
1 teaspoon BAKING SODA
1 teaspoon CINNAMON, ground
1/4 teaspoon ALLSPICE
1/2 teaspoon NUTMEG, ground
1/4 teaspon SALT
1/3 cup WALNUTS, chopped plus some for topping
Optional: 1/4 cup Paleo dairy-free MINI CHOCOLATE CHIPS** plus
   some for topping 

    *I freeze over-ripe bananas often (why waste them?). They 
    work great for mixes like this. They thaw quickly and
    mash easily. 
    ** Without the chocolate chips these muffins
    will also be soy-free

Directions

  • PREHEAT the oven to 375 degrees. (This is 25 degrees warmer than we are going to bake them at, but the extra heat to start helps the muffins brown on top when cooked.)
  • LINE 18 muffin cups with paper liners (I use 2 12-cup muffin trays because that is what I have.)
  • In a medium bowl, MASH bananas until smooth.
  • In a large bowl, BEAT the eggs and then ADD almond butter and vanilla. WHISK them all together well.
  • ADD mashed banana puree to the wet mixture
  • DUMP in almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Gently MIX dry ingredients with wet mash mixture until there are no lumps. The batter should be a medium consistency. Don’t use an electric mixer because over beating the batter will cause the muffins not to rise. Just mix until you don’t see any more flour.
  • FOLD in walnuts and chocolate chips (if using).
  • Using a soup ladle, FILL each muffin lined cup 2/3 full
  • Optionally, TOP 1/2 the muffin cups with some extra chopped nuts and 1/2 with extra chocolate chips
  • LOWER the oven temperature to 350 degrees
  • BAKE the muffins for 14-19 minutes. Check them at 14 minutes. You know they are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (unless it hits a chocolate chip, then use another toothpick and try again).
  • COOL the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to cooling racks. Cool completely.
  • STORE in an airtight container for 2-3 days or FREEZE in an airtight container for 3 months.
  • Let eggs get to room temperature
  • Mash bananas and whisk wet ingredients
  • Combine mash with wet ingredients
  • Fold in dry ingredients
  • Chop walnuts
  • Add walnuts and chips
  • Fill 18 lined cups
  • Cool competely

TO MAKE A LOAF INSTEAD OF MUFFINS: If you want to try this as a bread instead of muffins, then mix all ingredients as above, but use a loaf pan instead of a muffin tray. LINE the loaf pan with parchment paper. FILL the loaf pan with the batter. TOP with chopped nuts. REDUCE oven temperature to 350 and BAKE for 50-60 minutes (using the toothpick method above to test for doneness). COOL completely in the loaf pan. LIFT out the bread using the parchment paper and slice.

Breakfast muffin with diary-free cream cheese and scrambled eggs with vegan ham