Sourdough Banana Bread Cookies with Walnuts and Chocolate Chips
Chewy sourdough banana bread cookies packed with ripe banana, toasted walnuts and chocolate chips, all the best bits of banana bread in cookie form.
Equipment
- Small saucepan, light-coloured (for browning the butter)
- Balloon Whisk
- Digital Kitchen Scales
- Cooling Rack
Ingredients
- 100 g unsalted butter browned and cooled until just warm
- 60 g granulated sugar
- 90 g soft light brown sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 70 g very ripe banana mashed (weigh it after peeling)
- 80 g sourdough discard 100% hydration
- 210 g all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 70 g walnuts roughly chopped
- 100 g chocolate chips milk or dark
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a light-coloured pan over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until it foams, then turns golden and smells nutty, about 4–5 minutes. Pour into a heatproof bowl straight away to stop it cooking further, and set aside to cool until just warm.
- Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar to the browned butter and beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes, until glossy and combined.
- Add the egg yolk and beat for a further 2 minutes, until noticeably thickened and paler.
- Mix in the mashed banana until just combined. It won't emulsify as smoothly as the butter and egg did, a slightly broken, streaky look at this stage is normal.
- Fold in the sourdough discard with a balloon whisk or spatula, using a light hand.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir until just combined, no dry streaks remaining. Don't overmix here or the cookies will turn tough rather than chewy.
- Fold in the chopped walnuts and chocolate chips.
- Cover the bowl and chill the dough for at least 4 hours. This dough is softer and wetter than a plain sugar cookie dough, so don't shortcut the chilling time.
- Once chilled, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Divide the dough into 10 portions (about 76-78g each) and roll into balls. If your kitchen is warm, freeze the shaped balls for 15–20 minutes before baking to help control spread.
- Space the dough balls well apart on the tray and bake for 18-19 minutes, until the edges are set and golden but the centres still look slightly underdone. As soon as they come out of the oven, drop the tray from 20cm height - this will create a crackly top on the cookies.
- Leave the cookies to cool on the tray for 10 minutes; they'll continue to firm up as they cool, then transfer to a wire rack. Best served on the day they are made, as they lose crispiness over time.
Notes
Weigh your banana (and other ingredients) rather than measuring by "half a banana" or converting to cups and spoons. Banana sizes vary a lot and this dough is balanced precisely around 70g of mashed fruit. Too much and the cookies will spread and turn cakey rather than chewy.
Use the ripest banana you've got, well spotted or even mostly black, for more concentrated flavour without extra moisture.
Toast the walnuts in a dry pan for 2–3 minutes before chopping for more flavour and crunch.
Nutrition
Calories: 321kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 4gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 118mgPotassium: 124mgFiber: 1gSugar: 22gVitamin A: 282IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 32mgIron: 1mg
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