Molasses Banana Cookies with Cinnamon

Mashed bananas go in last. That’s the move—molasses and brown sugar creaming up first, then everything comes together without deflating the bananas. Twenty minutes to throw it together. Twenty-five in the oven. These come out chewy every single time.

Why You’ll Love These Molasses Banana Cookies

Taste like comfort. Seriously. Molasses and cinnamon and something warm underneath that you can’t quite name—that’s cardamom and nutmeg doing their thing. They’re chewy in the middle. Not cakey. Not crunchy. Make a batch, and it’s gone by Tuesday. Maybe Wednesday if you hide them. Takes 45 minutes total from nothing to eating one still warm. The spices work. Dark brown sugar does something molasses alone can’t.

What You Need for Molasses Banana Cookies

All-purpose flour. Two cups, sifted—matters more than people think. Oat flour on top of that. Half a cup. The oats change the texture. Not in a weird way. Just softer somehow.

Baking powder. One tablespoon. Dark brown sugar—packed. Three quarters cup. Molasses. One third cup plus a tablespoon. That’s the base. That’s what makes them taste like something.

Cinnamon. Half a teaspoon. Cardamom. Same. Nutmeg just a quarter teaspoon. Salt. A pinch. These four are the whole reason you’re making these instead of any other banana cookie.

Butter. Seven tablespoons, softened. One large egg. Two ripe bananas. Mashed. Not blended. Mashed. There’s a difference.

Sugar for sprinkling if you want it. Optional. Doesn’t change much.

How to Make Molasses Banana Cookies

Heat the oven to 347. Middle rack. Line two baking sheets with parchment. That part matters because the bottoms can burn if the heat’s too close.

Sift the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt into a medium bowl. Use a whisk if you don’t have a sifter. Just break up any lumps. Set it aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and molasses with a mixer on medium speed until it looks fluffy. Takes like two minutes. Maybe three. You’ll see it get lighter. That’s when you know.

Add the egg. Mix until it’s just combined—don’t go crazy. Then fold the dry ingredients in slowly. Use a wooden spoon or switch the mixer to low. The batter gets thick. Sticky. That’s right.

Add the mashed bananas last. Fold them in gently. This is where most people mess up. They overwork it. Don’t. Just until you don’t see white streaks anymore.

How to Get These Chewy Every Single Time

Drop the dough by three tablespoon spoonfuls onto the sheets. Space them about two inches apart—they’ll spread. Sugar on top if you want that crunch, but it’s not necessary.

Bake one tray at a time. Twelve to eighteen minutes. The edges should be golden. The bottoms lightly browned. The middles? Still soft. That’s the whole thing. Underbake them slightly and they stay chewy. Overbake and they get cakey—which isn’t bad, but it’s not what you want here.

Pull them out when the edges look done but the center still has a tiny bit of wobble. It’s not much. Just barely there. That wobble bakes out as they cool.

Cool them on the sheet for five minutes. Just five. Then transfer to a wire rack. They’ll finish setting up as they cool completely. Patience here pays off. They firm up but stay chewy inside.

Molasses Banana Cookies Tips and Common Mistakes

Brown sugar needs to be packed. Loose brown sugar measures to way less than packed does. Packed. Do that.

Bananas should be properly ripe. Not green. Not brown and weird. Yellow with maybe a little brown spot. Mash them with a fork—don’t make a puree out of them. Little chunks are fine.

The spices work because they’re balanced. Don’t skip the cardamom thinking you’ll just use cinnamon. It tastes different. Flatter. The cardamom adds something peppery that you don’t see coming.

Molasses matters. Dark molasses, not unsulfured, not blackstrap. Dark molasses has the right amount of bitter without tasting like dirt.

One tray at a time. Your oven probably has hot spots. Baking one tray means you control that better.

Molasses Banana Cookies with Cinnamon

By Emma

Prep:

20 min

Cook:

25 min

Total:

45 min

Servings:

18

Ingredients

• 290 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour sifted
• 60 g (1/2 cup) oat flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon ground
• 1/2 tsp cardamom ground
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg ground
• Pinch salt
• 100 g (7 tbsp) unsalted butter softened
• 180 g (3/4 cup) dark brown sugar packed
• 110 ml (1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp) molasses
• 1 large egg
• 2 ripe bananas mashed
• Sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Method

1. 1 Set oven rack middle position. Preheat oven 175 °C (347 °F). Line two cookie sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
2. 2 Sift or whisk together flours, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, salt in medium bowl.
3. 3 In large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, molasses until fluffy with mixer on medium. Add egg, mix until just combined.
4. 4 Fold dry ingredients into wet slowly, add mashed bananas last. Use wooden spoon or low speed mixer. Batter thick and sticky.
5. 5 Drop dough by 45 ml (3 tbsp) spoonfuls on sheets spaced 5 cm (2 in) apart. Optional sprinkle sugar on top for crunch.
6. 6 Bake 12-18 minutes one tray at a time. Edges golden, bottoms lightly browned. Avoid overbaking to keep chewiness.
7. 7 Cool 5 minutes on sheets then transfer to wire racks to finish cooling.

Nutritional information

Calories

160

Protein

2g

Carbs

28g

Fat

5g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Molasses Banana Cookies

Can I use olive oil instead of butter? Not really. Butter is doing structural work here, not just adding fat. It creams with the sugar. Olive oil doesn’t.

How long do these last? Three days in an airtight container. Maybe four if they’re somewhere cool. They don’t go stale like you’d think—they just lose the chew and get crumbly.

What if my bananas aren’t that ripe? Green ones are too starchy. Won’t taste right. Wait. They’re worth waiting for.

Can I double the recipe? Yeah. Just bake in batches. Easier than trying to fit everything on multiple sheets at once.

Why do mine spread too much? Butter was too warm or dough was too soft. Chill the dough for fifteen minutes before baking. Changes everything.

Is there anything I can swap for the oat flour? More all-purpose works. Comes out less tender. Whole wheat flour works too—tastes more nutty.