Cinnamon Crumble Banana Bread Cookies

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The latest addition to my banana cookie lineup, these Cinnamon Crumble Banana Bread Cookies are perfectly sweet and full of banana and cinnamon sugar.

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Well, here I go again. Yet another banana cookie recipe for you. Nothing will replace my love for banana bread, but I have to say, it’s so fun (and easy!) to make different banana bread variations as cookies. And, honestly, they’re just even more delicious and fun to eat in cookie form. Don’t worry, I still have a ton of banana cookie recipes in my ideas list to get through, so this series is far from complete. I really hope you all like banana.

We all know that I love chocolate and that the majority of my recipes include it. However, I wanted to make a banana bread cookie that mirrored a traditional banana bread. One that was warm and cozy and had pockets of cinnamon sugar throughout. Of course, to bring it all together, it needed to be topped with a sweet vanilla glaze. And, that’s essentially what I’ve accomplished with this recipe. The cookie dough base is made with brown butter which adds a touch of nutty flavor and pairs so beautifully with the banana and cinnamon sugar. The melted brown butter also helps ensure an incredibly soft and chewy texture for this cookie. I’m actually obsessed.

Similar to my other banana cookie recipes, you only need two ripe bananas to make these. I know you all have some extra bananas in your kitchen, so let’s bake something absolutely delicious with them!

Read on for the full recipe for these cozy Cinnamon Crumble Banana Bread Cookies.

The decision to use brown butter in this recipe was a no-brainer. I mean, I just had to! The banana, combined with the cinnamon sugar crumble, was just calling for it. I knew that it was such an easy way to bring all of the flavors together and take this recipe to the next level.

If you’re new here — hi! My name is Kim and I’m going to walk you through how to brown butter. For every recipe that includes brown butter, I always include detailed instructions on the process. I am totally of the mindset that once you start browning your butter, you just never go back. It is the easiest way to add some subtle, extra flavor to your bakes.

While your butter doesn’t need to be at room temperature when you brown it, I do recommend setting your butter out in advance as it helps melt and brown more smoothly. If you use super cold or frozen butter, it will bubble and splash more which doesn’t allow it to melt as evenly and can lead to burning.

To get started, set a medium-size saucepan or pot on the stove over medium heat. Add your butter to the pot/pan and let it melt completely. I like to stir my butter pretty frequently to ensure that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. Once your butter has fully melted, stop stirring for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. The butter will begin to bubble and make popping noises. Stir the butter and be sure to stir it pretty frequently to avoid any sticking or burning. Within a few minutes, the butter will begin to change from its original yellow color to a golden, amber color. You will also notice dark flecks at the bottom of the pot/pan. These dark flecks are toasted milk solids and they’re what give brown butter its delicious, nutty flavor. The dark flecks (aka the milk solids) should be a golden brown color — not black. If they’re black, they’re burnt and will impact the taste.

Once your butter has reached that golden, amber color, remove it from the heat immediately. Transfer the butter from the pot/pan to a glass measuring cup or bowl and let it cool for 10 minutes before you combine it with the sugars and begin assembling the dough. It’s crucial that you let your butter slightly cool — you do not want to use hot butter to make cookies as it will impact their texture and how they rise when baked.

And, that’s a wrap on how to brown butter. It takes less than 10 minutes and really is super easy. I’ve included some additional Tips for Success and FAQs below, so be sure to scroll down and read through those. If you still have questions, feel free to send me a DM on Instagram and I can try to answer them and help walk you through the recipe.

Other recipes you may like:

• Brown Butter Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Cookies
• The Best Brown Butter Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Brown Butter Biscoff Banana Bread Cookies
• Brown Butter Cookie Butter Lava Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients you’ll need:

• Unsalted butter
• Brown sugar
• Granulated sugar
• Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• Bananas
• Egg yolks
• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Cornstarch
• Cinnamon
• Powdered sugar
• Milk

Kitchen tools you’ll need:

• Mixing bowls
• Dry ingredient measuring cups
• Adjustable measuring cup – perfect for measuring the mashed banana!
• Spatula
• Whisk
• Cookie scoop – I used the large cookie scoop which holds 3 tbsp of cookie dough
• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Cookie turner
• Cooling rack

How to make these delicious Cinnamon Crumble Banana Bread Cookies

Cookie Dough

On low to medium heat, brown 1 cup unsalted butter. Remove the butter from heat when the top is foamy and the butter is amber/golden brown in color. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

While the butter is cooling, whisk together 3½ cups all-purpose flour, 1½ tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp cornstarch, and 1 tsp cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add 1½ cups brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar, and the brown butter. Whisk together until it is smooth and combined.

Add 2 egg yolks, ½ cup mashed banana, and 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and lighter/paler in color.

Gently fold the dry ingredients in with a rubber spatula.

Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 60 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cinnamon Crumble

While the dough is chilling, make the cinnamon crumble. Whisk together 6 tbsp brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, and ½ cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour. Pour in 6 tbsp of melted unsalted butter. Mix everything together until little clumps form. The mixture will need time to set and harden.

Cover the bowl and set it in the refrigerator while the cookie dough continues to chill. Once chilled, break any larger crumble pieces with your hands.

Baking

Scoop out 16 equally sized dough balls. Top each dough ball with a generous amount of the cinnamon crumble topping.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the cookie dough balls on the sheet. Place in the oven and bake for 13-15 minutes or until the edges are golden and the tops of the cookies still look slightly wet.

As soon as they come out of the oven, shape the cookies with a spoon, bowl, or circular cookie cutter. Top with extra cinnamon crumble topping.

Let the cookies rest for about 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Once on the wire rack, let the cookies cool completely before topping them with the vanilla glaze.

Optional: to make the vanilla glaze, whisk together 4 tbsp melted unsalted butter, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 to 2 tbsp of milk (less milk for a thicker glaze, more for a thinner glaze), 2 tsp of vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Thoroughly whisk to ensure that everything is well combined. Drizzle the glaze over the cookies once they’ve cooled completely.

Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Tips for success

• Ensure that you are measuring your dry ingredients correctly. It’s a common mistake that is most likely impacting the taste, texture, and look of your cookies. Before measuring out your flour, run through it with a spoon and loosen up any clumps. Then, take a spoon and spoon the flour into your measuring cup. If you scoop up the flour with a measuring cup, you will most likely end up with too much flour. Please also make sure that you are using the proper measuring cups for dry ingredients. There are different measuring cups for dry and wet ingredients — these are the dry ingredient measuring cups that I use. However, if you prefer to bake using grams and like to weigh out your ingredients with a kitchen scale, you can use an online conversion calculator (like this one from Inch Calculator) to convert the recipe.
• Use room temperature ingredients! Even though we will be browning the butter, I highly recommend setting your butter out in advance so that it has time to soften. Room temperature butter will melt more evenly (than cold butter) which reduces splattering and the risk of burning it. Also, use room temperature eggs to help ensure that your cookies bake up with some height.
• Measure out your mashed banana! You will need two medium-size bananas for this recipe. One mashed, medium-size banana usually equals ¼ cup, but since bananas vary in size, it’s important to measure and make sure. Too much banana can add too much moisture to the cookie dough. This is my favorite adjustable measuring cup which makes measuring wet ingredients like banana, pumpkin, peanut butter, etc. a breeze!
• Roll your cookie dough balls into cylinders so that they’re taller than they are wide. This will help your cookies bake up with some height.
• I say this all the time, but use the baking time listed as simply a guide. Everyone’s oven is different and varies (get yourself an oven thermometer), so the time it may take me to bake my cookies may be totally different from how long it takes you to bake yours. Determine when to remove the cookies from the oven by how they look. When the edges of the cookies are set and lightly golden and the tops of the cookies are slightly wet, remove them from the oven. The cookies will continue to set and bake after they have been removed from the oven. Do not overbake your cookies unless you want cookies that are dry and crumbly.

FAQs

What size cookie scoop did you use?

I used this large cookie scoop which holds 3 tbsp of dough. Using this scoop, a full batch will yield 16 cookies.

Can I make my cookies smaller or larger?

Absolutely! Regardless of the cookie size, baking temperature will remain the same at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. However, baking time will change based on size. If you choose to make smaller cookies, start checking your cookies around the 8-minute mark and add 1 to 2 minutes to the bake time, as needed. For larger cookies, start checking your cookies around the 13-minute mark and add an additional 1 to 2 minutes, as needed. If you choose to make smaller or larger cookies, I highly recommend baking a test cookie. This way, you can determine the ideal baking time without potentially ruining multiple cookies at once.

My cinnamon crumble isn’t crumbly, what should I do?

When assembling your cinnamon crumble, after you’ve combined all of your ingredients, please let it rest and chill. Place it in the refrigerator while your cookie dough continues to chill. Since melted butter is used to create the crumble, the mixture is going to be hot at first. It needs time to set and harden so that you can break it into smaller pieces.

Is chilling the dough required?

Yes! Since we’re using melted brown butter, chilling the dough is necessary. Otherwise, the cookies will bake up flat. If you choose to skip this step, don’t say that I didn’t warn you!

Can I make this dough in advance?

Similar to other cookie recipes, yes you can make this cookie dough in advance and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The cinnamon crumble can also be made in advance and will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. While you can freeze the cookie dough balls, I don’t recommend freezing the cinnamon crumble topping. At that point, it would be best to just make a fresh batch. If freezing the cookie dough balls, you may need to drop the baking temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and increase bake time by 2 to 5 minutes, as needed. I strongly recommend doing a test cookie to determine optimal baking time.

How to store

Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container or bag. If freezing, set the cookies out for about 20 to 30 minutes prior to consuming so that they come to room temperature.

These cookies are truly just like a warm hug. The brown butter base combined with that delicious banana flavor, the cinnamon sugar crumble, and the perfect vanilla glaze — it’s one dreamy flavor profile! They’re so perfect and (almost) just like eating a slice of banana bread. I may be biased, but I kind of like them better than traditional banana bread. I hope you all love this recipe as much as I do!

If you try this recipe, share and tag me on socials using @itsbrunchoklock or #itsbrunchoklock.