Thick and chewy banana oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips - the best oatmeal cookies!
I am very particular about oatmeal cookies. I only like them if they have a really chewy texture; and I am not too fond of cakey oatmeal cookies. Luckily, I found a great recipe that, with some of my changes, delivered exactly what I was looking for! Not only did I get my thick and chewy banana oatmeal cookies, they also turned out to be low fat. I use only 2 tablespoons of oil for 30 cookies, with banana and yogurt substituting for the rest of the fat. As though that was not good enough, I also added in some chocolate chips!
So, please meet these most wonderful, very thick and chewy banana oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips! They are so thick, they look super tall when I stack them up, one on top of the other:
How to properly measure flour using measuring cups
The proper way to measure flour using measuring cups (as opposed to weighing the flour using the scale) is to aerate it first. This is done using one of the two methods:
- Sift the flour using a strainer. Sifted flour is lighter than unsifted flour.
or
- Aerate the flour by fluffing it up and whisking it well. Then spooning the flour into the measuring cup, carefully removing any excess flour with a knife. If you just stick that measuring cup in the bag of flour and scoop some out, you will get a lot more flour than what the recipe calls for. Do aerate the flour, or you will end up with dry cookie dough!
Recipe notes
- What makes these cookies so chewy and thick? First of all, I am using old-fashioned (or rolled) oats, and NOT quick or instant oats. Using old-fashioned oats will always produce a chewier texture, while if you use quick or instant oats, your oatmeal cookies will be too soft, almost cake-lake, and flat.
- I am also using banana and yogurt to substitute for what otherwise would have to be butter or oil, and that also adds some chewiness and creates this nice sticky texture. The cookies taste like there is a touch of honey in them!
- It's also important to chill the cookie dough for about an hour before you bake the cookies, as that will also help the cookies to remain thick as they bake.
Stuffed with chocolate chips, these banana oatmeal cookies are quickly becoming my new favorite! Overall, this is a very successful cookie recipe, and I am very happy with it! If you like thick and chewy oatmeal cookies - this is the recipe for you!
Other cookie recipes
Banana oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups flour , sifted or aerated (see important note below!)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 banana , ripe
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup plain yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
Important note about properly measuring flour using measuring cups:
- The proper way to measure flour using measuring cups is to aerate it first. This is done either by sifting flour, or aerating it by fluffing it up and whisking it well, then spooning it into the measuring cup, then carefully removing any excess flour with a knife. If you just stick that measuring cup in the bag of flour and scoop some out, you will get a lot more flour than what the recipe calls for. Do aerate the flour, or you will end up with dry dough! 🙂
How to make banana oatmeal chocolate cookies:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, mash the banana. Add the egg, oil, brown and granulated sugars, yogurt, and vanilla and whisk to combine.
- Add the banana-egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in the oats, then fold in the chocolate chips.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Take a tablespoon of dough, form a ball and drop the cookie dough ball on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat, spacing the cookie dough balls about 2 inches apart. At this point, I would refrigerate baking sheets with cookie dough balls for about an hour to chill the dough. This will ensure that cookies, when baked, will not flatten out, and that they will remain tall, so that we end up with thick and chewy cookies!
- Bake for 12 minutes until cookies are slightly golden brown. Let the oatmeal cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Just made these cookies! I made half of the cookies with raisins and the other half with mini chocolate chips. This is a great recipe and I will be using it often. Oatmeal cookies are my husband's favorite and I have been looking through lots of recipes to find a healthier version and I like this one. I used coconut oil. I was eager to try this particular recipe bc of the use of yogurt! Yummy cookies! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Julia, these cookies look amazingly delicious! All I want to know is can you taste the banana?? I adore oatmeal cookies AND anything with banana. I hope to make these today or tomorrow but really want the banana flavor to shine. Thanks in advance. I love reading your blog, great recipes!!
I did this recipe but used butterscotch instead of Chocolate Chips (Had ran out!) and they came out really good! These are my new favorite cookie!
THE true thick and chewy recipe!
I sent my boyfriend to the store to get yogurt or sour cream. He forgot it. So, I used the oil amount in recipe, and added 1/3 cup coconut oil. It's all I had. I also added 3 tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter, and one extra small banana. I also only used 3/4 cup of brown sugar since I added extra banana. Banana chocolate peanut deliciousness!
These look delicious! What is the nutrition information?
Omg these are so fab!!!!! I added dried cranberries as well and ahhhhhhh they are so so good!!!!!
You think I could sub the sugar for honey? Or maybe even agave? And how would I do it. I am new to this baking stuff.
Thank you! So glad you liked the cookies. Good to know that cranberries worked well! To substitute sugar for honey, you just do 1 cup for 1 cup, in this case just use 1 cup of honey to replace all the sugar. You might have to reduce the amount of Greek yogurt by half (use 2 tablespoons instead of 1/4 cup), or add a couple of tablespoons more flour or oats. Here is a good article on this subject: http://www.cooks.com/recipe/4516i4d5/substituting-honey-for-sugar.html
These sound great! Can I use honey Greek yogurt instead of plain? I have a big container of that available right now. And should I change the sugar amounts if I do?
Yes, you can use Greek yogurt instead of the plain one. Sugar amounts will remain the same.
I made these for out 4th of July Barbeque and they were good! I substituted sour cream for yogurt because that was what I had available. I could not fit cookie sheets in my fridge with all the other party foods in there, so I chilled the dough in a bowl in the fridge for one hour and the cookies were thick, moist and chewy as advertised!
Kathy, so glad you liked these cookies! I love how thick and chewy they are - my preferred way to eat oatmeal cookies! And, good to know that sour cream worked well as a substitution for Greek yogurt!
I don't have yogurt 🙁 what can I use instead?
You can use buttermilk (can even make your own really easily with milk and vinegar) or use more very ripe mashed bananas.
I would like to make these cookies what amount (cup) of banana since they come in sizes?
Janet, I used medium size mashed ripe banana, so that would be about 1/3 cup. Enjoy! 🙂
These cookies look mind-blowing amazing! That first photo of the melty chocolate was all it took to convince me. These cookies are so happening here soon. 😀 Pinned!
i made these and used less sugar, i used whole wheat flour and probably only 1/2 c choc chips and coconut oil .. very good!
Micah, thanks for stopping by and great ideas on how to make these cookies even healthier!