Brown Butter Banana White Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are easily the BEST banana cookies! They’re soft and chewy, and baked with brown butter for lots of flavor. Made with simple pantry staple ingredients, no mixer is required for these Brown Butter Banana White Chocolate Chip Cookies.

If you’re anything like me and love cookies, you are going to fall in love with these Brown Butter Banana White Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are chewy with soft centers, and perfectly crisp edges, like any great cookie should be. Served with a cold glass of milk, these banana cookies are going to be your new favorite!

This recipe is one of my go-to recipes when I half overripe bananas sitting on the counter. I developed this recipe a few years ago and have been making it frequently since. It took a few tries to perfect, but once I got the recipe down to a science, these cookies are one of my most requested desserts by my friends and family.

Why This Recipe Works

• The use of brown sugar adds great flavor and moisture to the dough to produce soft and chewy cookies.
• Using browned butter gives these cookies an irresistible nutty and buttery richness.
• Lemon juice prevents the banana from oxidizing and turning the cookies too brown. The acidity of the lemon juice also helps to break down some of the gluten, achieving a chewy yet tender cookie.
• Chilling the cookie dough prevents the cookies from spreading too much during the baking process. 
• The white chocolate complements the banana flavor and the nuttiness from browned butter to make an overall delicious cookie.

For more ways to use up ripe bananas, be sure to check out my Whole Wheat Banana Bread, Banana Nut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, and Marbled Chocolate Banana Bundt Cake. 

Ingredient Notes

• Butter: You can use salted or unsalted butter to make the brown butter. If you are using salted butter, you can omit the salt completely from the recipe, or keep it if you are a fan of sweet/salty desserts.
• Banana: You will need one extra ripe banana for these banana cookies. You’ll know the banana is ripe enough when it begins to form black streaks on the peel. 
• Lemon juice: The acidity of the lemon juice prevents the banana from turning too brown and breaks down some of the gluten for perfectly chewy cookies. It is such a small amount, that you won’t taste it in the cookies, so make sure that you do not leave it out!
• White chocolate: I always choose high-quality white chocolate chips like Ghirardelli or Guittard for my baking! You can also use chopped white chocolate from a bar with great results! 

Pro Tip: If you are not a white chocolate fan, you can swap it out for milk, semisweet, bittersweet, or dark chocolate chips!

How to Make Brown Butter

Don’t be intimidated by browning butter. The process is very simple. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Start off by placing the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. 
2. Once the butter has melted, continue cooking while swirling the pan often until the butter begins to foam. This will take about 5-8 minutes. 
3. Once the butter has turned a light brown color and smells nutty, remove from the heat and keep whisking until it turns a rich brown color. 
4. Transfer the butter to a bowl, making sure that you scrape down the brown bits from the bottom of the saucepan. Allow the brown butter to cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes before using.

Step by Step Instructions

1. Brown the butter. Before you begin making these cookies, brown the butter so that it has enough time to cool.

2. Mash banana. Mash the banana with the lemon juice, and set aside.
3. Combine the butter with sugars. Place the brown butter into a large mixing bowl. Add the granulated and brown sugar and whisk to combine.

4. Add the wet ingredients. Next, add the egg yolk, mashed banana, and vanilla extract to the butter/sugar mixture. Whisk well to combine.

5. Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
6. Add dry ingredients to wet. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until combined.

7. Stir in white chocolate. Finally, stir in the white chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough.
8. Chill the cookie dough. Use a cookie scoop (No. 40) to drop 1.5 tablespoon-sized dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover the cookie dough tightly with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. Chilling the dough will help the dry ingredients absorb the wet ingredients and prevent the cookies from spreading too much during baking. If you are in a rush, you can chill the cookie dough for a minimum of 30 minutes.

9. Preheat the oven and bake. Arrange the chilled cookie dough balls 2 inches apart (no more than 10 cookies per tray). Bake the cookies in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.
10. Cool and enjoy! Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Expert Tips

• Accuracy: Measure all of your ingredients accurately. I like to use a kitchen scale to weigh out all of my ingredients.  
• Room temperature ingredients: Make sure the brown butter is cool to the touch and the egg yolk is at room temperature before beginning.
• Overripe banana: This cookie recipe will come out best if the banana you use is overripe. 
• Chill the cookie dough: Do not skip out on chilling the dough! Chill the dough for a minimum of 30 minutes, if you must. For the best results, the dough should be chilled for at least 1 hour.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes cookies soft or crispy?

There are a few factors that play a role in whether a cookie is soft or crispy. Butter adds milk solids and water to the cookies which gives them a softer texture. Alternatively, a lower moisture fat, such as vegetable shortening will produce crispier cookies.

Sugar also plays a big role in the texture of cookies. Brown sugar contains molasses, which adds moisture to the cookies. On the other hand, granulated sugar produces crunchy cookies.

Baking time is crucial in making soft or crispy cookies. Slightly underbaking the cookies will keep them chewy, while overbaking will dry them out resulting in crisp cookies.

Why do you need to chill cookie dough?

Chilling cookie dough prevents cookies from spreading too much once they're in the oven because it allows the fat from the butter to cool. Depending on the recipe, if you don't the dough, you will most likely end up with flat cookies instead of thick, chewy cookies.

Cookies made from chilled dough also have a lot more flavor. As the dough has time to rest in the refrigerator, the flour becomes more hydrated. Hydrating the dough allows the flavors to develop and become more concentrated. This will lead to evenly browned, rich, and decadent cookies.

What is the best way to store cookies?

Store cookies covered in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can also freeze baked cookies in a freezer safe airtight container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months.

Can I freeze cookie dough?

Yes! I love to keep cookie dough in my freezer so that I can make fresh baked cookies any time! To freeze cookie dough, scoop out the dough into balls and freeze them in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Once completely frozen, pack the cookie dough balls into an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Once you are ready to bake, remove the frozen cookie dough from the freezer and bake at 350 degrees F. You may need to add an additional 2-3 minutes to your baking time.

Related Recipes

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Brown Butter Banana White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Angelina Papanikolaou

These are easily the BEST banana cookies! They’re soft and chewy, and baked with brown butter for lots of flavor. Made with simple pantry staple ingredients, no mixer is required for these Brown Butter Banana White Chocolate Chip Cookies.

PRINT RECIPE PIN RECIPE

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Chilling Time 1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 25 mins

Course Cookies

Cuisine American

Servings 24 cookies

Calories 165 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  Kitchen scale
• ▢
  Saucepan
• ▢
  Mixing bowl
• ▢
  Whisk
• ▢
  Rubber spatula

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

US CustomaryMetric

• ▢ ¾ cup butter
• ▢ ½ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ ½ cup light brown sugar packed
• ▢ 1 egg yolk
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ ⅓ cup banana mashed (about 1 medium banana)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 6 oz white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate

Instructions 

• Brown the butter: Place the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, continue cooking, swirling the pan often, until the butter begins to foam. This will take about 6-8 minutes. Once the butter has turned a light brown color and smells nutty, remove from the heat and keep whisking until it turns a rich brown color. Transfer the butter to a bowl, making sure that you scrape down the brown bits from the bottom of the saucepan. Allow the brown butter to cool for about 30 minutes before using.
• Place the brown butter in a large mixing bowl. Add the granulated and brown sugar and whisk to combine.
• Next, add the egg yolk and vanilla extract to the butter/sugar mixture. Whisk well to combine.
• Mash the banana with the lemon juice, and then add to the rest of the ingredients. Mix well to combine.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the brown butter mixture and mix until combined.
• Finally, stir in the white chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough.
• Use a cookie scoop (No. 40) to drop 1.5 tablespoon-sized dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover the cookie dough tightly with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. (If you are in a rush, you can chill the cookie dough for a minimum of 30 minutes).
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Place the chilled cookie dough balls 2 inches apart (no more than 10 cookies per tray). Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, until they are golden and centers are still soft. Remove from oven and cool cookies on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Notes

• Accuracy: Measure all of your ingredients accurately. I like to use a kitchen scale to weigh out all of my ingredients.  
• Room temperature ingredients: Make sure the brown butter is cool to the touch and the egg yolk is at room temperature before beginning.
• Overripe banana: This cookie recipe will come out best if the banana you use is overripe. 
• Chill the cookie dough: Do not skip out on chilling the dough! Chill the dough for a minimum of 30 minutes, if you must. For the best results, the dough should be chilled for at least 1 hour.
• Storage: The best way to store cookies is covered in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can also freeze baked cookies in a freezer safe airtight container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months.
• Freeze: To freeze cookie dough, scoop out the dough into balls and freeze them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Once completely frozen, pack the cookie dough balls into an airtight container or freezer bar and freeze for up to 3 months. Once you are ready to bake, remove the frozen cookie dough from the freezer and bake at 350ºF. You may need to add an additional 2-3 minutes to your baking time.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookieCalories: 165kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 2gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 153mgPotassium: 48mgFiber: 1gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 192IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 22mgIron: 1mg

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