Chocolate Banana Pecan Cookies

Fudgy, nutty, and packed with chocolate chips and pecans, these chocolate banana pecan cookies are divine with a cup of tea or coffee. But, of course, you won't resist cookies served warm with a glass of milk, too.

These cookies are tasty. Loaded with chocolate chips and chopped pecans with a hint of cinnamon, they are exceptionally delicious.

If you bake these cookies for the first time, you might be surprised by making a whole batch of cookies. But it is easily consumed within 1-2 days.

This Yotam Ottolenghi cookie recipe is easy and fun to make. The only downside is that they require 3 hours of chilling. So, make sure to plan your baking to allow enough time.

Do you not feel like spending hours making cookies? Freeze the cookie dough balls for up to 3 months and bake them anytime.

Why you should try this recipe

This delicious chocolate banana recipe is made with simple ingredients within an hour of hands-on time (chilling time is not included). It rewards you with 24 cookies.

But it makes sense to double or triple the recipe since the preparation time is almost the same.

Adding a banana to the recipe adds moisture and flavor to cookies.

And if the chocolate and raspberry combo is a classic match, the chocolate, banana, and pecan combo will take second place in your heart.

The cookies are tasty and fun to make with the little ones. The kids love making cookie balls with their little hands.

And how much they enjoy wrapping the balls with chopped pecans for extra crunchiness.

Finally, making the cookie dough in advance and freezing unbaked cookies for up to 3 months is the best for saving time during the holiday rush.

Then add your cookies to a Christmas cookie box or package them in a pretty bag, tied with a bow and a printable gift tag.

Ingredients

Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Follow the full recipe below for exact amounts and instructions. I recommend making the recipe as written for the best results.

Butter: the recipe calls for unsalted butter softened at room temperature. Take it out of the fridge 1 to 2 hours before you start.

If desired, use salted butter to make the recipe: the salt balances the sweetness in the cookies. But omit salt as an ingredient in this case.

Sugar: use granulated sugar or caster sugar interchangeably. You can replace it with golden brown sugar to give these cookies a deeper flavor.

Egg: the recipe calls for one large egg at room temperature.

Flour: use all-purpose flour to make these cookies. You can try to replace ⅓ of flour with whole wheat flour for the healthier option.

Baking powder is used as a leavening agent. Use fresh aluminum-free baking powder. Please, don't confuse it with baking soda.

Cocoa powder: Valrhona raw cocoa powder is the best to use.

Ground cinnamon brings a warm note to these cookies.

Salt enhances the flavors.

Chocolate chips: use dark chocolate chips or replace them with milk ones or chopped Valrhona dark chocolate.

According to Epicurious, the best chocolate chips to make cookies are Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips with the most beautiful balance of bitterness and sweetness.

Again Ghirardelli, but their semi-sweet chocolate chips perfectly work to make these cookies.

If you prefer milk chocolate, try Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips. You can also combine dark and milk chocolate chips in a cookie recipe.

Banana: for the best flavor, use overripe bananas with brown spots or brown bananas. You will need to make mashed bananas from about ½ small bananas.

To ripe bananas, place the unpeeled banana on a baking sheet and bake at 250 F/120 C for 20 minutes.

Pecan: use unsalted raw or roasted pecans. They add beautiful flavor and texture. You can replace pecans with walnuts if preferred.

Make sure you buy halved or chopped nuts that save you a bit of time.

Icing sugar: make it yourself with a coffee grinder or use store-bought confectioners' sugar.

How to make chocolate banana cookies

To make the cookie dough, place softened butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat until fluffy.

Add the egg to the bowl and whisk until the mixture becomes homogeneous (photo 1).

Use a flour sifter and sift flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt in a separate mixing bowl.

Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on a low speed for 15 seconds until just combined (photo 2).

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Mash bananas in a small bowl using a potato masher or a fork.

Add chocolate chips and banana mixture to the principal preparation (photo 3) and mix with a rubber spatula (photo 4).

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Use your hands to make the one-inch (2.5 cm) round balls, about 0.7 oz (20 g) each, from the dough. Wash your hands to facilitate rolling the dough into balls.

Place chopped pecans in a small bowl, and roll each ball into pecan pieces to coat.

Press the pecans so that the dough balls are entirely covered with nuts (photo 5).

Place cookie balls on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper - the distance between them does not matter - and refrigerate again for at least an hour (photo 6).

Preheat the oven to 375 F/190 C. Place icing sugar in a bowl and generously roll each cookie ball in the sugar.

Place balls on the prepared baking sheet lined with parchment one inch (2.5 cm) apart, flatten cookies to 0.4 inches (1 cm) thick (photo 7) and bake for 10 minutes.

Remove cookies from the oven and let cool still on baking trays for 10 minutes (photo 8).

Gently transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe variations

To make the ultimate banana pecan cookies, roast your pecans instead of using raw ones. Roasting them will bring a perfect nutty flavor.

To roast, bring whole or halved pecans to the preheated 300 F/150 C oven and roast for 10-15 minutes.

Walnuts are a perfect alternative to pecans, so if you don't like them replace the latter with these delicious nuts.

Use light brown sugar instead of white sugar for these cookies. Brown sugar contains molasses and is more complex in flavor.

Equipment

You should have several baking tools to make this banana cookie recipe.

You will need a stand or electric mixer, a set of mixing bowls, a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, a baking or cookie sheet, and a cooling rack.

Learn the baking essentials every baker should have.

Storage instructions

The best way to preserve cookies is by keeping them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-5 days.

It's not recommended to refrigerate cookies because the imbalanced moisture of the fridge results in cookie texture changes.

Can you freeze chocolate banana cookies? These cookies freeze very well. Store them in a Ziploc bag for up to 1 month to preserve freshness.

You can freeze the unbaked dough as dough balls wrapped in chopped pecans for up to 3 months. Thaw cookies in the fridge overnight and bake the next day.

Expert tips

1. Respect the chilling times to prevent the cookies from spreading.
2. Use a small cookie scoop to form the balls of the dough to make equal size portions.
3. Preheat the oven before baking the cookies to let them cook evenly.
4. Do not over-bake cookies: they should be slightly underbaked to get the fudgy center. Once the cookies cool, the center will finish cooking but remains soft.
5. Serve cookies on the day of baking: they taste the best.
6. Make-ahead option: make the dough, cover cookie balls with chopped pecans, wrap the baking sheet with plastic film, and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Frequently asked questions

Love banana recipes? Try these next!

If you love banana desserts, these delicious recipes are just for you. They vary from sugar-free banana cake to sweet banana bread.

• Banana Bread With Streusel
• Banana Nutella Crepes
• Banana Bread Mini Muffins
• Christmas Banana Bread
• No Sugar Added Banana Bread

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Recipe card

The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.

The recipe was adapted from https://ottolenghi.co.uk/. It was initially published on September 27, 2018. The recipe has been revised to include improved content and photos. All posted pictures are mine.