Banana Oatmeal Cookies are soft, chewy, and made with banana pudding mix and fresh bananas! Easy oatmeal cookie recipe with a ton of banana flavor!
Oatmeal cookies are a favorite of mine, but I like trying different variations as well. I had some ripe bananas in my kitchen and decided that they would be good in some cookies. The results are kind of like banana bread but in cookie form. The cookies have tons of flavor and the consistency is perfect – the cookies definitely didn’t last long in our house!
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST OATMEAL COOKIES:
After trying out multiple oatmeal cookie recipes over many years, I have picked up several important tips for making the absolute BEST Oatmeal Cookies!
- Make sure that you have enough flour in the dough. If the dough is too sticky, you may need to add a little bit of flour.
- Spend a little extra time when you mix the butter and sugars. Creaming them together for 2-3 minutes will improve the consistency of your cookies.
- Preheat the oven. This will help your cookies turn out right every time!
- Use a cookie scoop! If you want all your cookies to be perfectly shaped and have them all be the same size, a cookie scoop is the way to go.
- Use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Doing this will make it really easy to remove the cookies from your cookie sheet so that you don’t have to scrape them off the pan – they will just slide right off in perfect shape!
- Don’t overbake the cookies – when I take mine out of the oven, they still look slightly underbaked but they will continue to bake on the cookie sheet for a couple more minutes so that’s ok!
WHAT KIND OF OATS ARE BEST IN OATMEAL COOKIES?
You can use quick oats or old-fashioned oats in your cookies- it really comes down to personal preference. I really love using old-fashioned oats in this recipe, but it’s totally up to you and what type of oats you have in your pantry! If you use all quick oats, the cookies will end up being a little bit more dense and a little bit puffier. I like the texture of old-fashioned/rolled oats because it make the cookies a little bit chewier (and also like I am eating real oatmeal which makes it easier for me to justify eating a few of these for breakfast!). You can even use a combination of both types if you’d like!
Ingredients in Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Butter– I always use salted butter, but unsalted works fine too! Make sure it is softened to room temperature before making the cookies.
Butter-flavored shortening – Using shortening and butter helps to make the cookies soft and keeps the consistency perfect.
Brown sugar and granulated sugar – Light brown sugar works best. Make sure your brown sugar is fresh (not dry and hard) for best results.
Eggs – I always use large eggs. Two eggs will bind all of the other ingredients together.
Vanilla extract – The higher the quality of vanilla, the better!
Banana cream pudding mix – You will need one small box (3.4 oz) of instant banana cream pudding mix to add to the cookie dough.
Banana – Adding a banana intensifies the banana flavor in the cookies. Use an overripe banana and mash with a fork before adding to the recipe.
Flour – I always just use all-purpose flour in cookies, but I’m guessing an oat flour or gluten-free substitute would work well in this recipe as well!
Baking soda – This is the leavening agent in the cookies. For best results, make sure that the baking soda isn’t old or expired.
Cinnamon – A little bit of cinnamon tastes so good with the banana!
Salt – Just a little bit of salt helps all of the other flavors to pop.
Oats – I usually use old-fashioned oats in this recipe because I like my oatmeal cookies a little bit chewier, but you can use quick oats if you’d like. Or even a combination of the two!
How to make Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Preheat oven to 350°.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat for 2-3 minutes.
Add the eggs and vanilla and beat for another 1-2 minutes.
Add in the pudding mix and banana and mix again.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add this mixture to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined.
Add in the oats and stir in with a spoon, just until barely combined.
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets (I like to line them with silicone baking mats or parchment paper, but you can lightly grease them instead).
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the edges just barely begin to turn a light golden brown. Don’t overbake unless you like crispy cookies!
HOW DO YOU SOFTEN BUTTER TO ROOM TEMPERATURE?
The best way to soften butter is to set it out for a few hours before you make your cookies. Since most of us (or maybe just me!) aren’t that prepared or don’t think that far in advance, there are a few tricks to softening butter perfectly in just a matter of minutes.
My favorite way to soften butter is in the microwave. It’s definitely fast, but you do have to be very careful not to melt it. Just put the whole stick of butter in the microwave (as long as it isn’t wrapped in foil!) and microwave for about 6-7 seconds. If the butter is still really cold, try another 5-7 seconds and check it again. You may need a few intervals, and if the butter is starting to feel soft, you can shorten the final interval to just a few seconds to make sure it doesn’t start melting.
I actually prefer to use the defrost setting on my microwave – I don’t know exactly what that mode does differently, and it takes a little bit longer (closer to 30 seconds), but it seems to be easier to get the butter to soften without melting.
WHY DO MY OATMEAL COOKIES BURN ON THE BOTTOM BUT AREN’T DONE IN THE MIDDLE?
If your cookies are always burning on the bottom, it is probably a cookie sheet issue! If you are using really dark cookie sheets, the bottoms of your baked goods will tend to burn before they are actually cooked all the way through. If you use a lot of cooking spray, the same result can happen. I prefer to use lighter colored non-stick pans so that I don’t have to use cooking spray at all. As mentioned above, I have been converted to silicone baking mats over the last couple of years and I love how easy it is for cookies to come off the tray – no sticking ever!
Other oatmeal cookie recipes that we love!
- Fudgy Oatmeal Cookie Bars
- Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies
- White Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
- Microwave Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Toffee Oatmeal Cookies
- Blackberry Oatmeal Cookies
- Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Best Monster Cookies
- Lemon Oatmeal Cookies
- Double Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Banana Oatmeal Cookies are soft, chewy, and made with banana pudding mix and fresh bananas! Easy oatmeal cookie recipe with a ton of banana flavor!
Beth says
These look so delicious! My daughter loves banana anything so I’m definitely going to make these for her! Can’t wait to try these!
Kaylie says
Thank you, Beth! Hopefully she loves them!
Ashley F says
Love how moist and tasty these cookies are! The banana flavor really stands out!
Kaylie says
Thank you, Ashley!
Mylanta64 says
These cookies are delicious! I made one change and that was to use 1 cup butter instead of using butter and shortening as listed in the recipe. They are soooo good!