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Frosted Banana Bread Cookies are super soft, chewy and topped with a delicious brown sugar frosting. This easy cookie recipe tastes just like banana bread!
You can make these old fashioned banana cookies with only 2 bananas. So, if you’re tired of banana bread, this easy recipe is for you!
I inherited over two bags filled with just about every recipe that my grandmother had ever collected or created. And she collected tons — some went back to the 1950’s and earlier.
For almost an entire weekend, I just sat and sifted through just about every scrap of paper in the collection over and over again. I was definitely in my happy place!
If you’re a recipe collector, or you love old family recipes, you’ll understand.
And somewhere in that gigantic pile, along with The BEST Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, Meringue Chocolate Chip Cookies and No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies, I found the recipe for these incredibly delicious frosted banana bread cookies.
The original name for them was just written as banana cookies, but they really do taste exactly like banana bread. So, that’s what I’m calling them.
How to Make Banana Cookies with Brown Sugar Frosting
The thing about so many old family recipes is that the instructions aren’t always that clear. Know what I mean?
Luckily, this cookie recipe was pretty clear, and I only changed a couple of things. I used butter instead of shortening, and I added cinnamon.
It’s an easy recipe. You start out by creaming butter and brown sugar, and you gradually add the remaining ingredients.
The cookie dough is sticky and a little bit messy. You can either use a spoon to drop the dough onto the cookie sheets, or you can pipe the dough using a piping bag or zip top plastic bag.
A reader shared this tip with me, so I’m passing it on.
You’ll want to line your cookie sheets with foil, parchment paper or baking mats for easier clean up.
The cookies are done when the edges are slightly brown and firm. They take about 8 to 10 minutes to bake, depending on your oven.
And after they cool, it’s time to frost them!
The boiled brown sugar frosting is super easy to make, and it’s seriously good. It’s just butter, brown sugar, vanilla and cream mixed with powdered sugar.
The original recipe didn’t even specify how much powdered sugar to add. It just said to add enough to make the frosting spreadable. So I added about a half of a cup, and this worked perfectly!
If you want thinner or thicker frosting, you can just adjust the amount of powdered sugar.
Note — the frosting is thin but thickens as it cools. Allow a few minutes for the frosting to cool down, and then spoon it onto the cookies.
Actually, the cookies are perfectly delicious without the frosting, so you could even skip that part. But, I really hope you don’t, because the cookies are AhMAYzing with it!
This recipe make about 50 of these little banana bread cookies, which seems like a lot. But trust me, it’s not. These babies go fast!
Originally published in 2017 and updated June 2020 with new pictures and tips.
Frosted Banana Bread Cookies Recipe
Frosted Banana Bread Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- ¾ cup butter
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 2 medium mashed bananas
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups all purpose flour
For the Frosting
- 6 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
For the Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar
- Add the bananas, egg and vanilla extract, and beat with an electric mixer until combined
- Add the baking soda, cinnamon and sea salt, and gradually mix in the flour. Dough is sticky, but this is normal
- Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls or use piping bag to pipe dough onto greased or parchment lined cookie sheets, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are slightly golden brown and firm
- Remove from oven, and allow to cool completely
For the Frosting
- In a medium saucepan, heat the butter, heavy cream and brown sugar until boiling
- Remove from heat, add the vanilla, and gradually stir in the powdered sugar until frosting thickens. Allow frosting to cool and thicken more for a few minutes until it reaches spreading consistency
- Use a spoon to drop frosting onto cookies and gently spread over cookies. Frosting will set more as it cools. Store in refrigerator or a cool place
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is probably the tastiest way ever to use up ripe bananas, so if you have any, you’ve got the perfect excuse to make these. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!
This looks so delicious! I love bananas! I can’t wait to give these a try!
These should come with a warning preparing yourself that you will want to eat them all! They’re so good!!
Thanks, Jen! They do go fast!
This was a huge hit at my house!! My kids loved them!
So glad they liked the cookies! Thank you!
I made these and they were fabulous! I am obsessed with the frosting-I could eat the entire saucepan straight off the stove!
Awesome, Bailey! Thank you so much, and yes, the frosting is so good!
These Frosted Banana Bread Cookies would disappear in our house!
These cookies were such a nice and refreshing alternative to banana bread and the brown sugar frosting simply threw them over the top! My nephew gobbled them up!
I’m so glad you liked them, Tara. Thank you for the wonderful review!
These are so tasty I highly recommend them!
So glad you like them, Amanda. Thanks!
I made these yesterday to use up my bananas because I was so tired of making banana bread. They were absolutely delicious, and I think I’ll be making this recipe when I have bananas to use up instead of making banana bread! Plus the addition of the frosting is amazing!
That’s wonderful, Alexia! Super happy to hear this!
I only have self-rising flour due to COVID-19 shortage. Have you tried these with baking powder instead of baking soda (which I beleive is what is in self-rising flour)?
I haven’t tried using self rising flour or baking powder, but that should work. The cookies might be a little fluffier than usual.
Wow, I just made these and I. Can’t. Stop. Eating. Them! They are soooo good, this will definitely be a go to recipe for me! Thank you so much!
So happy you liked the cookies, Jenelle! Thanks!