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Got ripe bananas? Then you need to make a batch of my soft vegan coconut flour banana cookies. Made without additional flours or starches, they are grain-free, gluten-free, and only 49 calories each.
Banana Coconut Flour Cookies, Made without Eggs or Other Flours
One thing we all need more of is cookies. Truly delicious cookies. Cookies that are a cinch to make. Cookies that will satisfy a sweet tooth, but are healthy enough to eat for breakfast.
For example, my Vegan Coconut Flour Banana Cookies.
My Chocolate Coconut Flour Cookies recipe provided the inspiration for these banana cookies. Specifically, I wanted to create another coconut flour cookie that is egg-free and has no added flours or commercial starches.
As I mentioned in my chocolate cookie post, egg-free coconut flour baking is a challenge. Coconut flour is highly unusual compared to other flours (e.g., tremendous absorbency, delicate texture, and more), so making it work in the absence of eggs and other flours takes a lot of experimenting.
Cocoa powder made things possible for the chocolate cookies, adding a natural starchiness to the dough. But what to do with a banana cookie, without adding other flours and starches?
Use Slightly Under-Ripe Bananas
The answer? The starchiness of the bananas, specifically slightly under-ripe bananas.
Most recipes (including my own!) that call for mashed bananas specify the use of very ripe bananas. Why? Because they are much sweeter and less stiff. During the ripening process, the starch in bananas is transformed into sugars.
I think you know where this is going. I hypothesized that the starch in under-ripe bananas could work in combination with the coconut flour to make a cookie recipe work.
I was right! It took some trials and errors to get the proportions right, but the final results are stellar. Hurray for bananas!
How to Make Vegan Coconut Flour Banana Cookies
You can whip these cookies up in no time at all. Begin with the under-ripe bananas; for best results, choose ones that are mostly yellow, with no significant brown spots, and a little bit of green (see the photo above; you do not want green bananas). Vigorously mash the banana with a fork until it is very broken down and smooth.
The rest of the recipe comes together in one bowl. Combine the mashed banana, flaxseed meal (this also helps to hold the cookies together), coconut sugar, oil, and vanilla in a medium bowl.
These cookies have half the oil and half the sugar of my chocolate coconut flour cookies, yet are perfectly sweet and tender. Give thanks (again) to the bananas.
Add the coconut flour, baking soda and salt, stirring until blended. Let the dough stand for a few minutes, to absorb the liquid. It will soon be quite stiff.
Scoop the dough into small mounds and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I used my small cookie scoop, but a tablespoon works, too. My small scoop produces exactly 14 cookies.
After a short bake (12 to 15 minutes at 350F), you’ll have these scrumptious, banana bread-like cookies.
They are hard to resist. I didn’t.
Keep the cookies at room temperature for several days during cooler months, but refrigerate when the temperature rises, or to preserve them long term (Ha! They rarely last more than a day or two before being devoured at our house :)). They freeze like a charm, too.
Gussy up these humble cookies in any number of ways. For example, with additions such as spices, miniature chocolate chips, chopped toasted nuts, chopped dried fruit, you name it.
If you forget to plan ahead, you can always add some frills post-bake. Melted chocolate is always a winner.
Making this recipe? I would love to see it!
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Banana Coconut Flour Cookies {Vegan, Paleo, Grain-Free}
Soft banana cookies made with coconut flour (no other flours or starches!). So easy, they are naturally grain-free, vegan, Paleo, and gluten-free, plus only 49 calories each.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (130 g) mashed under-ripe banana (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons (13 g) flaxseed meal
- 2 tablespoons (18 g) coconut palm sugar (see notes for options)
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (37.5 g) coconut flour (lightly spoon to measure)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the mashed banana, flaxseed meal, coconut sugar, oil ad vanilla. Add the coconut flour, baking soda and salt, stirring until blended. Let stand for 2 to 3 minutes, allowing the coconut flour to absorb the liquid.
- Using a small cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop 14 mounds of dough onto the prepared cookie sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.
- Bake in the preheated oven 12 to 15 minutes until set at the centers and surface of the cookies appears dry,
- Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then carefully transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack. Cool completely.
Notes
Banana Tip: I used under-ripe bananas here rather than the usual uper-ripe bananas called for in baking recipes. The reason is that under-ripe bananas are starchier (starch has not converted into as much sugar yet). The starch acts in place of added starches such as tapioca or arrowroot.
# of Bananas: It will take about 1 very large or 2 small bananas to produce 1/2 cup mashed banana. Since bananas vary in size, best results will be achieved by using the exact measurement (1/2 cup) as opposed to general size of bananas.
Tip: I used safflower oil to make these, but you can use any oil or fat your prefer. If using melted coconut oil for the oil, combine the banana mixture and flour before adding the melted oil (otherwise, the coconut oil may clump into firm bits).
Sweetener Swap: An equal amount of brown sugar or cane sugar can be used in place of the coconut sugar.
Storage: Store the cookies in an airtight container at (cool) room temperature for 1 day, the refrigerator for 1 week or the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size 1 cookieAmount Per Serving Calories 49Total Fat 2.6gSaturated Fat 0.4gCholesterol 0mgSodium 46.2mgCarbohydrates 6gFiber 2.1gSugar 3.2gProtein 1g
Katrina
Wednesday 8th of March 2023
These were truly satisfying, thank you.
Christyana Rose
Tuesday 8th of March 2022
May I replace flax seed meal ith chia seeds? If yes, can I substitute it exactly for flax seed meal by weight?
Camilla
Thursday 17th of March 2022
Hi Christyana! I have not tried it, but that should work just fine here. Yes, replace with the equivalent weight of flaxseed meal :)
Ann
Friday 9th of July 2021
So yummy!! ? I added pecan meal, and cinnamon! Used half the "sugar" subbed in erythritol Eating them for breakfast with coconut yogurt
Camilla
Monday 12th of July 2021
That sounds so delicious, Ann!!!
Lala
Saturday 13th of March 2021
Delicious! Thank you! I used raisins instead of sugar (which I ground with the coconut flour in a spice grinder). I used melted ghee because I didn't have vegetable oil and added 1/2 tablespoon tapioca because my bananas were ripe and 1 tablespoon vanilla soy milk because my dough was a bit dry from the additional tapioca. I planned to freeze but they're too delicious so I doubt I will. Happy to have found such an easy recipe for my huge bag of coconut flour which I was finding hard to use. Thanks!!!
Lexi
Tuesday 5th of May 2020
I used two ripe bananas and coconut oil. I also added cinnamon and shredded coconut. It was delicious and moist, tastes very much like traditional banana bread!