Okay - if that title doesn’t instantly induce drooling for you, I’m not sure we can be friends. Well…maybe, but come on! These cookies are like the best banana bread you’ve ever had - in COOKIE form!
I would say that I discovered my love of all things banana somewhat late in life. Always liked bananas, but I didn’t realize they were one of my favorite dessert flavors until, perhaps, my late 20s. Caramelized banana, chocolate banana, peanut butter banana…what doesn’t it go with?
Strawberries. This whole strawberry-banana thing the yogurt and smoothie companies got going on - nope. It’s just not right. In fact, I can rarely have fruit smoothies because they ALWAYS have banana and I can ALWAYS taste it, and alongside the berries it’s just…ick.
But banana + nutella is like heaven, in any form really. And these cookies are some of my favorite I’ve ever made, even without the cute little hidden nutella pocket in the middle. You could skip that and these would still be show-stoppers…at least for those who like banana…which should be everyone. :)
Happy Baking!
Adapted from Bravetart
MAKES ~15 large Cookies
INGREDIENTS/SUPPLIES
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperatur
1 cup + 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar (226g)
3/4 cup white sugar (140g)
1 Tablespoon corn syrup
1.5 very ripe bananas, mashed (don’t skimp on this!)*
1 egg yolk
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 Teaspoon banana extract
3 cups AP flour (360g)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1.5 teaspoons salt
1 cup (or more!) mini chocolate chips
1 cup nutella
stand mixer
2 large cookie sheets & parchment
food scale or cookie scoop (optional)
*If you don't have super ripe bananas, bake 2 bananas on a parchment-lined cookie sheet at 300F for 30-40 minutes, let cool fully, and voila!
DIRECTIONS
Cream 2 sticks butter, 226g dark brown sugar, 140g granulated sugar, and 1TB corn syrup in your stand mixer on medium-high for two minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl, add 1.5 mashed ripe bananas, 1 egg yolk, and cream on medium-high for 7-8 minutes, stopping once halfway through to scrape down the sides again and add 1TB vanilla and 1/4tsp banana extract.
While the mixer is going, in another mixing bowl, whisk briefly by hand your 360g flour, 2tsp cornstarch, 1tsp baking powder, 1tsp baking soda, and 1.5tsp salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture and mix on low until just combined, no longer than 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the 1 cup (or more!) mini chocolate chips, and mix for 10-15 more seconds on low, just until the chocolate chips are distributed throughout the batter.
In order to make the cookies look uniform, you need to scoop the batter either with a cookie scoop or by weight. I use a 2.5” cookie scoop to make 15 cookie dough balls, with a bit of batter left in the bowl to cover the tops.
Scoop the dough onto a wax paper or parchment lined cookie sheet, and press your finger into the center of each, creating a little hole in the middle - push down gently, as far as you can but without poking your finger all the way through the batter to the cookie sheet underneath.
Fill each hole with 1 tablespoon of nutella, and then use the left over batter and/or the sides of the cookie to cover the nutella with cookie dough.
Wrap the sheet in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least one hour, preferably two. At this point if you’re not going to bake the cookies that day, freeze the balls of dough on the sheet for one hour, then transfer them to a freezer ziplock bag and the dough will keep for up to 6 months, possibly longer. DO NOT BAKE THE COOKIES AT ROOM TEMPERATURE. Chilling is a must.
When you’re ready to bake heat your oven to 350F. Arrange the cookies a minimum of 3” apart on parchment lined cookie sheets.
Bake for 14-16 minutes, slightly less if they’ve been out of the fridge for a bit, until browned on the edges but still a little gooey in the center. Make sure to rotate the pans halfway through. Don’t overbake! You want the cookies to be nicely crispy on the outside/edges, but still chewy in the middle. Or…at least, I do.
Cool the cookies completely on their baking sheets, and enjoy!