These gluten free banana cookies have been on my list of things to make for a while now. I have casually dabbled in testing them, but all of my attempts were lacklustre. That is, of course, until now. Often times simple is best when it comes to gluten free baking, and these cookies are no exception. They are nut free, egg free, can easily be xanthan gum free and use a single flour. Couldn’t be easier!
Gluten free banana cookies (egg free)
These cookies combine the slightly crispy base of a cookie with the sweet and delicious banana squishy inside of banana bread. They can be made without any mix ins, but choc chips make delightfully adult additions and help the cookies hold together.
As with any good cookie, these start with well browned butter. This gives the cookies complexity of flavour and is an absolute necessity. Of course, mashed banana adds bulk, flavour and binding in the absence of eggs.
Next, we combine both caster/superfine sugar and light brown sugar. Cookie science requires both of these ingredients for the perfect flavour, spread and crispness.
White rice flour alone is the backbone of the cookie. It is mixed with baking soda to create a beautifully browned and spread cookie. The cookies can be made with or without xanthan gum which we will go into below.
That’s it! A simple list of ingredients for a delightfully good banana cookie.
Tips
One of my most important tips regarding these cookies is in relation to the bananas. We all know that ripe bananas are best for imparting flavour in a baked good. However, these cookies necessarily contain a good amount of sugar to begin with. Such is the nature of this style of cookie.
When choosing bananas for these cookies, try to choose ripe bananas, but not ‘so ripe the skin is 100% bruised’ bananas. An overly sweet banana will most likely make these cookies too sweet. Ripe but not offensively so is what we’re going for here.
My other tip, as always, is in relation to the flour. Every single batch of flour will have a different absorbency and it’s impossible for me to test them all. If you have ever tested one of my rice flour recipes and found it too wet or dry, adjust accordingly. I often try my best to use test different brands but it’s not always economically viable.
Cookie science is enormously complex. We’ll go into some troubleshooting below, but I don’t recommend subbing any ingredients in or out. A small tweak often creates large changes in your cookie dough and the end result.
I recommend making this dough the night before. It takes a while to set and is softer than lots of my other gluten free cookie doughs. It’s just a lot easier to make it the night before and allow it the time it needs. A bonus of this is that it also allows the flavours to meld and develop.
A note on xanthan gum
If you read my recipes even semi regularly, you’ll know that I’m not a big xanthan gum user. It doesn’t agree with me and I don’t think it’s necessary in a lot of applications.
I tested these banana cookies to be xanthan gum free – that was my intention for the recipe. Right at the end, I threw in 1/4 teaspoon just to see what happened. I have to say, I was very impressed.
These cookies have the texture of banana bread inside (without being too cakey) and a nice crispy base. Using xanthan gum in the cookies gave them structure and sturdiness. It also helped them keep their shape as they bake and it made it easier to pick them without a bit of crumbliness. I do think that a small amount of xanthan gum makes for a lovely positive difference here.
Making these cookies without xanthan gum
Is it compulsory? No. You can easily make these cookies without. My recommendations for gluten free banana cookies without xanthan gum:
- Place your cookies on a sturdy tray and then place that on another tray. This will help stop the cookie bottoms from becoming too browned before the cookie is baked through.
- Bake your cookies at 180C/356F. The version without xanthan gum spreads quicker than the version with xanthan gum.
- You can use a large glass to neaten up any cookies that spread a little too much straight after they come out of the oven (while the dough is still molten).
- I will say that the xanthan gum free version is more finicky in terms of balancing the baking and spread. You might have to experiment a little with increasing/decreasing oven times and temperatures.
- Because the xanthan gum free cookies spread more, you need to bake less per tray. Annoying, but I find about 3 per tray a good number for medium sized trays and ovens.
- Be gentle! These are egg free gluten free cookies. They do crumble a little as you eat them (chocolate helps, though).
- Allow them to set and cool completely before picking them up. Seriously, it’s not worth bothering beforehand unless you want your cookie to crumble into small bits. The sugar and everything else needs time to cool and set into place.
- If you have an absolute cookie flop, it’s not necessarily the lack of xanthan gum. It’s likely an issue with the flour (too much or too little) so have a read of the troubleshooting section.
Troubleshooting your gluten free banana cookies
The ideal appearance for these cookies is akin to a traditional choc chip cookie (maybe a little bit puffier). The texture should be slightly muffin like on the inside and lightly crispy on the outside.
In my experience of making these cookies, they can either spread a little too much (slightly lacy edges) or be a little too puffy. Another issue that I have had with the non-xanthan gum version is balancing having the centre cooked through without the edges browning too much.
- If your cookie is a little too puffy, turn the oven down by 10 degrees. Cookies spread until the bottom of the cookie bakes and sets. The lower the oven, the longer it will take for the cookie to set. This helps give cookies that are too puffy a bit more time to spread out nicely.
- If the bottoms of your cookies are too browned but the cookies are thin and underbaked, you need to add more flour next time. Every single bag of flour you ever use will have a different absorbency and rice flour has no real industry standards. Most packets (glutinous rice and brown flour aside) don’t even specify what variety of rice they are using.
- Similarly, if your cookies barely melt into a cookie shape at all (even on a lower oven temperature) add less flour next time.
- If your cookies are way too sweet, use bananas that are not as ripe. As we discussed, overly ripe bananas will make for overly sweet cookies here.
Substitution notes
There are basically none! I just wanted a place to declare this, sorry.
I have no substitution for the rice flour or the sugars. These ingredients have been purposely chosen for their qualities. Sugar science when it comes to cookies is very specific.
You cannot use baking powder in place of baking soda. In my experience, baking powder tends to make puffier cookies, while baking soda promotes browning and spread. Baking soda has been purposely chosen here.
Because this recipe uses brown butter, I haven’t tested a dairy free butter in its place. If you do try, let me know how it goes. I do intend to try it myself but I have to wait until I have some more ripe bananas.
See the above section on xanthan gum. You can make these cookies with or without it. I personally prefer making them with it, but it’s an optional ingredient.
Needless to say, banana is not optional! I haven’t tested this recipe with frozen and defrosted bananas but I don’t think I would recommend it. There are already enough moving parts when it comes to cookies – you don’t need to make it more complicated. Make banana bread instead 🙂
More gluten free cookie recipes
- Gluten free tahini cookies
- Gluten free choc chip cookies without xanthan gum
- Gluten free vegan choc chip cookies
- Gluten free vegan brownie cookies
- Gluten free flourless brownie cookies
Gluten free banana cookies (egg free)
Ingredients
- 150 g white rice flour (see notes)
- 1 g (¼ scant teaspoon)* baking soda not baking powder
- 1 g (¼ teaspoon)* xanthan gum optional, see notes
- Pinch of fine salt
- 50 g light brown sugar
- 75 g caster/superfine sugar
- 100 g ripe (but not excessively ripe) banana mashed
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste optional
- 125 g butter salted or unsalted
- 100 g dark chocolate chopped
Instructions
The night before:
- Weigh the flour into a medium mixing bowl. Add the baking soda, xanthan gum and salt and whisk to combine.
- Weigh the sugars into a medium heat proof bowl (I use a steel bowl). Whisk to combine.
- Mash your banana and set aside.
- Place the butter in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan over a medium heat. Cook, stirring regularly, until it starts to foam and pieces of brown butter start floating up through the foam. It should smell beautifully nutty and have a nice deep brown colour once the foam subsides.
- Weigh the browned butter into the bowl with the sugar. It should weigh 100g or very close to that number.
- Stir to combine, then stir through the mashed banana and vanilla if you are using it. Stir in the flour thoroughly until everything is combined. Depending on whether you use xanthan gum or not, the dough should initially look quite firm and glossy. After a few minutes, though, it should relax and create an even layer in the bowl.
- Once the dough is cool, cover it and place it in the fridge overnight.
To bake:
- Preheat the oven to 170C and line two large sturdy baking trays.
- Use a spoon to dig up the semi firm dough and stir through the chopped dark chocolate. Form the dough into 9-10 cookies, about 1 – 1 ½ tablespoons* (see notes if you are not from Australia) of dough each.
- Arrange the cookies with room to spread on each tray. I recommend baking the trays one at a time before best results.
- Bake each tray for 12-14 minutes or until the cookies are perfectly spread and cooked through. Repeat with the second tray.
- Allow the cookies to cool before eating as they will be crumbly before they set.
- Leftover cookies keep well in an airtight container in the fridge.
Notes
- Rice flour varies hugely in its absorbency and works perfectly for me might not work for the rice flour you have. See the troubleshooting section and how the dough is described in the recipe. If your dough differs hugely from the description prior to chilling, adjust it. If your dough is very runny when it should be firm, add 10-20g more flour. If your dough is thick and crumbly, add a tablespoon of milk. Gluten free baking is always a moving target.
- Read the notes on xanthan gum if you intend to make these cookies without it. It’s not quite as simple as leaving it out.
- Read the body of the post for substitution notes.
- Australian tablespoons are 20ml, whereas most other tablespoons are 15ml.
- 1 Australian tablespoon = 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon.
- 1 1/2 Australian tablespoons = 2 tablespoons in places like US, UK and Europe.
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