This easy recipe for banana drops is a mash-up of bananas and oatmeal raisin cookies, and is the perfect way to use up those ripe bananas that are lounging on your counter. Move over banana bread – the banana drops are in town!
I am forever looking for new and creative ways to use up those last bananas that inevitably turn all kinds of ripe before we manage to eat our way through the bunch. From banana bread to banana jam to banana cake, I have all kinds of ripe banana strategies, but that doesn’t stop me from my ripe banana quest, and so this time I bring you…banana drops! They are like the love child of banana bread and oatmeal raisin cookies, and they go from ripe banana to delicious cookies in no time. Ready to use up those extra bananas? Let’s make them!
I am one of those people who loves bananas when they are bright yellow with the teeniest hint of green…
…but the second they get even a hint of brown anywhere on them, I’m out. This recipe calls for seriously ripe bananas, as in they need to be kind of squishy, and I am not going to show you a picture of what those aged bananas look like, because I know you know. You’re welcome.
One of the things I love about this recipe is that it involves dumping almost all the ingredients into your trusty food processor, which is an appliance that doesn’t usually get to join in the fun of making cookies. This is because you want to pulverize some of the oatmeal into a batter, and the food processor is great at pulverizing. The rest of the oatmeal is going to get stirred into the batter along with some raisins, giving the cookie batter a nice hearty texture.
Line a cookie sheet with some parchment or a silicone baking mat and bake them up for about 20 minutes until they are nice and and firm, and then let them cool off completely. I know, SO HARD, but this is necessary in order for them to hold the super easy glaze that you are going to drizzle all over them.
Give the glaze just a little time to set, and then voila! Scrumptious chewy, delicious banana drops. Got any favorite use-up-the-ripe-bananas recipes that I should know about? Leave them for me in the comments, and let’s go bananas!
PrintBanana Drops
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 12-15 cookies 1x
Category: Dessert
Method: Oven
Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup confectioner’s (powdered) sugar
- 1–2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Put bananas, oil, brown sugar, vanilla and one cup of the oats into a food processor and process until well blended, about 30 seconds.
- Scrape the batter into a bowl and stir in the remaining oats and the raisins.
- Scoop out the batter by tablespoonfuls and place the on the cookie sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes.
- When the cookies are completely cool, make the glaze by combining the milk (start with 1 tablespoon and increase as needed) and confectioners sugar and stirring with a fork until well combined. Drizzle glaze over cookies and let set for about 30 minutes.
Hi, Kate. This recipe looks terrific, but in the directions (step 5) you mention combining milk & conf sugar for the icing, but there are no measurements for these ingredients. Thanks.
Whoops! Thanks for catching that Terry – directions added. Mondays, yikes. :)
Perfect timing! I’ve got a couple of bananas on the counter right now that are JUST at that too ripe to eat stage. I’m going to have to deviate from your recipe a bit, though, and sub in some chocolate chips for the raisins. I’m in the raisins-have-no-business-being-in-cookies club and just can’t do it. But I know chocolate chips and bananas are great friends, so it’s all good. :)
Well, I think chocolate chips are a FINE addition – you need to try my chocolate chip banana snack cake!