Winter weekends in the Midwest tend to get a bit monotonous, what with the cold weather, wind and snow making it hard to do much else besides run errands, go to the grocery store, hit up the gym, and repeat.
Granted, I am a cold-weather WUSS, but still.
I’ve always preferred the summer when Ben and I are able to explore the great outdoors, take long walks, and/or camp out at the nearest patio sipping ice-cold brewskies until the sun goes down.
Well, boring winter weekends be damned. Last night Ben brought the outdoors in, and in the spirit of summer roasted us wieners and s’mores over a crackling campfire. It was amazing! Afterwards we watched Anonymous. Which was…not. Kind of confusing, and the ick factor at the end of the movie was, well, icky.
While there were errands to be run today, I said to heck with it and decided to do something fun like make a hot mess out of my kitchen bake a special treat instead. :)
I’ve been thinking about other pastries that I could turn into cookies since making Blueberry Muffin Top Cookies a few weeks ago, and a quick glance at the brown bananas in my fruit basket quickly showed me the way. I’d make Banana Bread Cookies, of course! Fluffy, moist, cinnamon laced banana bread, in a handheld cookie!
But I wouldn’t stop there though, oh no. I’d go ahead do the damn thing and add brown butter to the batter…and the icing on top. MUWAHAHA!
Brown butter almost tastes like butterscotch, and made my Brown Butter Banana Bread Cookies with Brown Butter Icing OUT OF THIS WORLD delicious. Luckily it’s really simple to make!
Start by placing a stick of butter in a skillet over medium heat.
After the butter melts, start swirling the pan and let the butter “cook” until it turns a golden brown color. You’ll be able to smell a caramel-like scent when it starts to turn. FANTASTIC!
Immediately remove the skillet from the heat, and pour the butter into a large mixing bowl. Time to make some cookies. Mix the butter with some sugar until combined. NOTE: the butter and sugar won’t turn light and fluffy like it does when creaming together room temperature butter and sugar. Instead the sugar will stay kind of granular, which is ok.
Add an egg to the butter and sugar, and cream until smooth.
Next get your bananas ready. You’ll need a cup of mashed bananas, which is about 3 small ones. Mash with a potato masher or fork until smooth.
Next, mix the mashed bananas with baking soda, which will help the cookies rise.
Finally, add the bananas and yummy vanilla extract in and mix to combine.
In a bowl next door, combine flour, salt and warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three batches, mixing until just combined between each batch.
Drop the cookies on a baking sheet, and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until beautifully golden brown and fragrant.
While the cookies cool, whisk together more brown butter and powdered sugar to form an icing, then drizzle it over the cooled cookies. Have a few…I won’t tell!
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Brown Butter Banana Bread Cookies
Description
Brown Butter Banana Bread Cookies are the best of both worlds — banana bread meets cookie! Brown butter makes them even more irresistible!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 small bananas)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups of flour
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- For the icing:
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. When the butter is completely melted, swirl the skillet until the butter becomes a light caramel brown color, about 3-4 minutes. Immediately remove the skillet from the heat, and pour into a mixing bowl.
- Add the sugar to the brown butter and mix on low speed to start, then increase the speed and beat for one minute. (Mixture will not be light and fluffy.) Add in egg, and mix. Stir together mashed banana with baking soda and let sit for 2 minutes. Add mashed banana and vanilla to the bowl and mix.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three batches, mixing just until combined before adding the next batch.
- Drop batter onto a parchment paper lined, or non-stick sprayed, baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are golden brown around the edges. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- For the icing: Follow the directions for browning the butter in step 1. Whisk in powdered sugar, and drizzle icing over cooled cookies. Store cookies in an airtight container.
Notes
Slightly adapted from Simply Recipes
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
These Brown Butter Banana Bread Cookies cookies are pillowy soft and sweet, and taste like the best banana bread you ever had, with a little something extra.
The brown butter icing takes them completely over the top. It tastes almost caramely-butterscotchy. So outrageous.
And, if my Dad nearly hyperventilating when I stopped by my parent’s house this afternoon to drop a few off is any indication, they make great cookie gifts, too. ;)
Julia Steele 02.20.2012
Just made them! I screwed up the icing the first time and basically burnt the butter. I realized it before I put it on and gave myself a mulligan. They are setting up on the counter now!
Diane @ life of di. 02.20.2012
Banana is one of my very favorite flavors (if not my very favorite). I simply can’t get enough. I will definitely be making these. Thanks for the recipe :o)
Looks like you had a great weekend!
Emilie @ Emilie's Enjoyables 02.20.2012
I really need to get on this brown butter train!
Ris 02.20.2012
Wow these look amazing! I know what I’m going to be doing with those browning bananas in my fruit basket!
Amanda at the red table 02.20.2012
Yummo! I agree — the winters are long and monotonous here in the Midwest — even with the mild winter we’ve had. I noticed the robins are back and some trees are even budding here in Omaha. Maybe spring is coming soon?!
Tasha @ Voracious Eats 02.19.2012
Delicious! I think I would eat the brown butter icing like soup…
We’ve had an unusually cold winter and I’m a cold weather hater, too! Anything below 70F and I’m miserable. I miss having a fire place! There is nothing cozier than curling up in front of a fire with tea and a good book on a chilly night.
Now back to the cookies…must make asap!
Katie 02.19.2012
Not sure what the heck I did to the icing… it looks like bacon grease =/ I dusted with powdered sugar instead, the cookies are perfect!
Jessica Joy 02.19.2012
Thats funny you said that about Anonymous because I rented last week and couldn’t get through it!! I returned it without finishing it…so disappointed, the summary sounded so intriguing!
Katie 02.19.2012
Get out of my head! I thought I was going to have to toss the bananas I’d been avoiding turning into banana bread. Making these right now!
Baking Serendipity 02.19.2012
I grew up in Cleveland and surprisingly enough, am trying to move back. I definitely understand the grey, monotony of winter, but know that these cookies would snap me out of it! I love,love,love all that brown butter!
Ivana@Practicing Perfect 02.19.2012
These look great! I have a couple of bananas just waiting to be turned into these cookies. Looks like I’ll be baking tomorrow.
Ashley @ coffee cake and cardio 02.19.2012
Yummy!! Looks great!
kathleen @ the daily crumb 02.19.2012
delicious! i have a bunch of browning bananas that are begging for a recipe like this. does brown butter not make everything…. better?!
Cari 02.19.2012
Ahhh a week to late!!! I was looking for a recipe just like this a few days ago.
Wendy B 02.19.2012
Oh, now I have to go buy bananas! Yumm!
Arlene Jacobson 02.19.2012
Those look yummy. I love Banana Bread so I think I would love these.
Julia Steele 02.19.2012
Brilliant! Great idea.
Sarah 02.19.2012
Yum! I love anything to do with banana bread and browned butter.
Blog is the New Black 02.19.2012
Love this idea! I love banana bread so I’m sure I’d die for these!
Maria 02.19.2012
Mmmm! Cookies!