Family Banana Baking Traditions | Our Kitchen

Welcome, friends, to our kitchen! We’re so glad you’re here. Pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable. Today we’re going to bake some banana cookies while we chat about it. We know everyone’s tastes are different, and we want to hear about yours. So, feel free to join in on the conversation by commenting at the end of the post, catching up with us on social media, or shooting us an email (mr@wolfestew.com or mrs@wolfestew.com). Afterall, a stew is only as good as it’s components and we value what you have to add to it.

If you just want to get the recipe, run to your kitchen and make it, then chat with us about it later: it’s right here. Enjoy, and happy baking. But, if you’re content to stick around, we’re content to chat about it. (Although you might want to check out “the things you might like to know” section below.)

When given the choice of fruit to eat, do bananas make the list? Among those in our household, bananas are a favorite only of mine. Inevitably, we buy a banana bunch, I eat my one (or two) and then the rest end up looking like this:

Which is okay. One may even argue we buy bananas so they may go bad. Who do I petition to change the slogan from, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” to “When life gives you bad bananas, make cookies?”

In all honesty though, it’s not usually cookies we make with our rotten bananas. And I’m willing to bet, you don’t often make cookies with your rotten bananas either. Banana bread, banana nut muffins, banana pancakes, banana smoothies, banana ice cream. There’s no doubt about it, bad bananas are useful.

What’s your favorite way to use a bad banana? For us, most of the time, it’s banana nut muffins. We’ve even used banana bread to make banana bread French toast, which then turned into bananas foster bread pudding. I’m not sharing that recipe today, because, well, I didn’t like the way it turned out, quite honestly. Although, I still may share it and seek your advice on how to make it better. Because I think the idea was good, the execution was just not quite right.

But the banana cookies I am sharing are a classic, at least in my household. Mom-made as a child and self-made as an adult. Indeed, the most recent time I made banana cookies my mother (miles away) also made them. And, no, it was not planned.

Before I share the recipe, there’s a few things you might like to know.

1. First, my secret: Whenever I bake with bananas, I always add an extra. So, if the recipe says three bananas, I throw in a fourth. It deepens the flavor and keeps it moist. If you want a more traditional flavor and texture, leave one out of my recipe.
2. Second, the darker the banana the better. These probably weren’t quite ripe enough, but I was impatient. If they get to the perfect stage of ripeness, but you’re not ready to bake with them, peel them, mash them, put them in a Ziploc, and freeze them. Then, when you’re ready for banana baking, take them out, thaw them, and add them to your recipe.
3. Third, I always add nuts. However, if you don’t like nuts, leave them out.
4. Fourth, while frosted, the frosting is not super sweet. I like the tanginess of cream cheese, so use less sugar. If you like more sugar, double the amount I use. And I’m not the only one that likes it that way; my nephew literally licked the bowl clean.

And now without further ado, here’s the cookie recipe we’ve stewed on for you.

Banana Cookie Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting

Before you go, we’d love to know:

1. What’s your favorite way to use a bad banana?
2. Are you a super-sweet or just-sweet-enough frosting kind of person?

We’re looking forward to hearing from you!

With Love from Our Kitchen to Yours,

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