Copycat Crumbl banana bread cookies are warm and cozy with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting topped with crushed pecans ~ Deeeeeelish!
banana bread cookies kick off the fall baking season
These wonderful cookies take their cue from our favorite banana bread ~ they’re soft, cakey, and delicious. Everything a great cookie should be, and more. Perfect for fall sharing.
This idea was inspired by a banana cookie I recently had at Crumbl Cookies. We didn’t have Crumbl in Los Angeles, but right after we moved to Madison I spotted one of their shops and now I’m a regular customer, in the interest of recipe development research, of course 😉 Crumbl cookies, for those of you who don’t know, is a Utah based gourmet cookie company that sells a weekly rotating menu of giant cookies in creative flavors.
I tried their banana bread cookie and it was surprisingly delicious! But right away I had a feeling I could do a better job, without the artificial banana taste. I think my banana bread cookies are superior in every way, I know you’re going to love them.
ingredients for copycat Crumbl banana bread cookies
Bakery cookies are good, but these homemade cookies are way better. Why? It all comes down to the quality of the ingredients, and it’s just as much about what you leave out as what you put in. All the flavor in my cookies is natural.
- banana
- This is the key to these cookies. I take mashed banana and reduce it down in a saucepan so the moisture cooks out and the flavor intensifies. It’s a genius way to pump up that banana flavor without any artificial ingredients.
- butter
- brown and white sugar, plus confectioner’s sugar for the frosting
- egg
- flour
- cinnamon and vanilla
- baking soda and salt
- chopped nuts
- I used pecans, but walnuts are great, too.
- cream cheese
- Cream cheese in the frosting makes these cookies extra special.
- milk
why you need to make these banana bread cookies
We love banana bread around here, but these cookies are giving our favorite fall quick bread a run for its money!
THE FLAVOR: it’s spot on ~ lots of real banana with a hint of cinnamon. No artificial banana flavoring in my cookies!
THE TEXTURE: it’s soft and cakey and so satisfying. There’s a good amount of crunch from the pecans. You really feel like you’re eating something substantial.
THE FROSTING: no question, the cream cheese frosting makes these cookies. It’s thick and creamy with just the right amount of tang.
if you love banana bread cookies I think you’ll also love
Copycat Crumbl Banana Bread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup thickened banana puree (instructions below)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, plus more for topping the cookies
frosting
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 Tbsp cream cheese, room temperature (or at least not cold)
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 tsp cream or milk to thin, add more if needed
Instructions
banana puree
- Basically you want to take a cup of banana puree and reduce it down to 1/2 cup. Take 2 ripe bananas and mash well or process in a food processor until smooth. This should be about one cup. Put in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. When the mixture comes to a boil set the timer for 10 minutes. Boil gently, stirring often to prevent sticking, until the puree thickens and turns darker. You will be able to see the bottom of the pan when you scrape your spoon across the bottom. Be careful because fruit purees are very hot and they tend to sputter! Let cool and then measure out 1/2 cup for this recipe. Note: this can be done the day before, just chill in the refrigerator.
cookies
- Preheat oven to 375F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Blend together the melted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg, then the cooled banana puree, vanilla, and cinnamon.
- Blend in the baking soda and salt, then fold in the flour and chopped nuts. Blend just until everything is well combined, but don't over beat your cookie batter.
- Use a 1 3/4 inch cookie scoop to portion out the dough. Roll into a ball and set on prepared cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Flatten out slightly with your fingers. Note: I like to lightly oil my hands to make this easier, the dough is sticky.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes, just until the cookies are no longer shiny. Let cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a rack.
- While the cookies are cooling make the frosting. Beat all the ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Add a little more milk if it seems too thick, or add a bit more sugar if it seems too thin.
- When the cookies are completely cooled, frost generously with cream cheese frosting and top with crushed nuts.
So…good! The perfect cookie to replace breakfast as we travel. The banana flavor was amazing! Thank you Sue for all your great recipes. Always check you first when I am looking for something.
Can’t wait to make these! 1 question! is the banana purée supposed to be thick??
Yes, you’ll cook it down to remove some of the extra moisture and it will become thicker.
Does the frosting set for the cookies to be stacked?
It doesn’t get super hard, but firm enough that you can lightly stack.
I haven’t even put frosting on them yet!! They are sooo yummy! It’s a bit of a mindflip because it tastes like i’m eating banana bread, but it’s not possible because I know it’s a cookie. Can’t wait for frosting!
I had the same reaction when I tasted them unfrosted 🙂
I tried these today as I had 2 bananas that needed to be used up. I was pleasantly surprised. My only change was to toast the nuts and skip the frosting. These are keepers!
Thanks for the review Em, we loved them too!
I will defin Italy be making these cookies! Thanks!
A friend was ill and not allowed anything that wasn’t fully cooked. She loves my banana bread, so I cooked the banana slices with some butter, then added some of the sugar, and let that summer for awhile. Cooled the mixture and added to the rest of the ingredients. Best…best banana bread I ever made!