Gluten Free Banana Bread Cookies

I love Banana Bread but sometimes I don't feel like baking an entire loaf (it's not the baking, it's the waiting for it to be completely cooled part) This is when these delicious Gluten Free Banana Bread Cookies with a muffin top texture come in handy. Picture a bite-sized version of classic chocolate chip banana bread, packed with banana flavor and chocolate chips, topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting.

Recipe Ingredient Notes

Gluten Free Flour: I tested this recipe for Banana Cookies with my own Gluten Free Multipurpose Flour Blend as well as Bob’s Red Mill 1 – to 1. Both flours worked very well in this recipe. This does not mean other brands will not work in this recipe. I just have not tested them in this application. Flour blends used to develop this cookie recipe do contain xanthan gum.

Corn Starch: Cornstarch is a tenderizing agent. It helps create a softer and more tender texture in cookies. It also help to retain moisture. This can prevent cookies from becoming overly dry and crumbly, resulting in a melt in your mouth texture.

Banana: for this recipe, you need just 125 grams of ripe but not mushy banana. I actually preferred using yellow bananas with a lot of brown spots in my recipes instead of overly ripe bananas.

Butter & Vegetable Oil:  I use a combination of unsalted butter and oil. Like canola oil or grapeseed oil, even a mild olive oil would work here. The butter gives the banana bread cookies cake a lovely flavor while the oil keeps the crumb tender and moist.

Cream Cheese: I use full-fat cream cheese in the frosting.

How to make Banana Bread Cookie Dough

This recipe for Banana Bread Cookies is very simple and can be made in less than one hour. Please make sure your butter and your eggs are at room temperature. The dough does have to rest for 30 minutes in the fridge, but this mainly helps with scooping because otherwise the dough is very sticky.

Step 1: Start by sifting together the gluten-free multi purpose flour, corn starch, ground cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt in a bowl and set aside.

Step 2: In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the room temperature butter, oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla extract and mix for 3-4 minutes at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Halfway through, pause to scrape the bowl and beater with a flexible spatula.

Step 3: Add the whole egg and egg yolk and mix until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides.

Step 4: With the mixer running on low, add your dry ingredients and mix until the wet ingredients are almost completely incorporated.

Step 5: Turn off your mixer and add the chopped banana and chocolate chips. Turn the mixer back on and at a low speed mix until the bananas and chocolate chips are blended in.

Step 6: Remove the mixing bowl from the mixer and with a flexible spatula give the dough a quick stir to make sure all the mashed bananas are fully incorporated. The dough may appear loose and more like a cake/muffin batter. It seems tempting to add more flour but please don't.

Step 7: Place your mixing bowl in your refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow the banana bread cookie dough to firm up.

How to bake Gluten Free Banana Bread Cookies

Depending on how ripe your bananas are, your dough may be on the softer side and can be frustrating to scoop. This is why it is important to allow your dough to rest at least 30 minutes. The longer the cookie dough is refrigerated, the less the cookies will spread.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Step 2: With a medium cookie scoop (around 1.5-2 tablespoons), portion out the cookie dough between the two sheet trays. You should get around 16-18 cookie dough balls from this batch. I like to bake 8 cookies at once per tray.

Step 3: Bake the banana bread cookies one tray at a time at 350F for 13-15 minutes until they are lightly golden brown in color. Your cookies should be puffy and look like muffin tops.

Step 4: Allow the gluten free banana bread cookies to cool for a few minutes on the sheet tray and then transfer them to a cooling rack for them to cool completely. I recommend using an offset knife or butter knife to remove them from the parchment. The cookies can stick to the parchment paper. Repeat with the second tray of cookies.

Cream Cheese Frosting

To make the cream cheese frosting, combine the room temperature unsalted butter, cream cheese, salt, and a generous teaspoon vanilla extract in a medium bowl, and with an electric hand mixer mix to combine. You may also do this in your stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Mix until light and fluffy.

Carefully add the powdered sugar (also known as icing sugar) – I recommend doing this in two steps (powdered sugar has a mind on its own). Remember you can always add more sugar if the frosting is not sweet enough to your liking. Mix until light and fluffy.

To frost these Gluten Free Banana Cookies, drop a small scoop of frosting in the middle of their top and use a spoon or an offset knife to spread it out. Garnish with additional mini chocolate chips if you like. If you plan on eating them right away, feel free to top them with a thin slice of bananas. You can also decorate them with some nuts such as cinnamon spiced pecans or chopped walnuts or banana chips.

Storage & Freezing

The frosted cookies can be kept at room temperature for up to 4hrs but if your kitchen is on the warmer side, I recommend storing them in the refrigerator. Unfrosted cookies can be stored at room temperature.

I have not frozen the unbaked cookie dough but have frozen the baked, unfrosted banana bread cookies. Store them in an airtight container in the freezer up to 2 months and allow them to thaw in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter.

FAQ - Banana Bread Cookies