My kid used to be obsessed with this YouTube show called Good Mythical Morning. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, imagine 2 nerdy comedian dudes, doing ridiculous things, on the old set of Wayne’s World. They have an ongoing bit called “Will It?” where they take foods and see if they can make them work as other foods. Will it waffle? Then they put things like pizza and tacos in a waffle iron. And those guys have been doing this since 2012, and are millionaires.
My kitchen has officially turned into a game of “Will it Cookie?” If I were at all funny or charismatic, I’d turn it into a show and make some of that sweet sweet YouTube money.
I’ve been slightly preoccupied with turning desserts or drinks I like into cookie flavors. Pina colada was a massive failure, but these banana bread cookies are a big winner.
I learned from my pumpkin pie cookie saga, and knew right off the bat that I wouldn’t be able to use fresh banana puree in this recipe without them turning into pinterest-fail blobs. So I went straight for the freeze-dried bananas. Make sure to use freeze-dried bananas, and not banana chips or dehydrated bananas. Grind dehydrated bananas in a food processor before adding to your dough.
I make my banana bread with lots of toasted nuts, and I wanted that same flavor profile, so I added toasted pecans to this recipe. These would also be awesome with walnuts, or a combination of walnuts and pecans, or even candied nuts. Feel free to omit the nuts if you don’t like them.
Add-ins
Always chop by hand or grind add-ins (chocolate chips, candy, nuts, cookies, or dried fruit) in a food processor to the consistency of coarse sand. Large add-ins will leave you with jagged edges when you cut out your cookies.
To round out the banana bread flavor, I also added banana emulsion (you can also use extract), vanilla extract, cinnamon, and brown sugar.
Are these technically shortbread or sugar cookies?
They’re kind of both. It’s fine to call these either “decorated sugar cookies” or “decorated shortbread cookies.” But I’m going to refer to any of my cookie recipes that can used as a base for cookie decorating as “shortbread sugar cookies.”
Shortbread Cookies
- 2 parts flour to 1 part fat
- No eggs
- No leavening agent
- Dense and crispy
Sugar Cookies
- 3 parts flour to 2 parts fat
- Contains eggs
- Contains a leavening agent
- Light and Chewy
All of my shortbread sugar cookie recipes don’t rise or spread, can be used for cookie decorating, have egg, but no leavening agent, and have a 2 ¼ parts flour to 1 part fat. Which makes them fall somewhere between a shortbread and a sugar cookie. They’re both shortbread and sugar cookies, and neither shortbread or sugar cookies, at the same time. They’re Shrodinger’s cookies!
All of my shortbread sugar cookie recipes can be used for slice-and-bake cookies as well!
If you would like more info on my preferred ingredient brands, tips and tricks, FAQs, and a little cookie science, I cover all of that in my No-Spread Lemon Shortbread Sugar Cookie Recipe.
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Banana Bread Shortbread Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- measuring cups and spoons
- mixing bowls
- whisk
- spatula
- cling wrap
- large knife
- cookie cutters (if using)
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar light or dark
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons banana emulsion or extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅓ cup freeze dried bananas finely ground
- ⅓ cup pecans (or walnuts) finely ground
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Grind nuts and freeze dried banana, separately, in food processor until the texture of coarse sand.
- Whisk dry ingredients (flour, cornstarch, banana, cinnamon, and nuts) together and set aside.
- Cream butter and sugars with paddle attachment, on medium-low speed, until fluffy and pale in color (about 5 minutes).
- Add egg, extract, and emulsion, and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Scrape down the paddle with a spatula, and then continue to mix on low speed for another 30 seconds to ensure everything is fully incorporated.
- Add dry ingredients, all at once, and mix on low speed just until dough starts to come together and no dry bits remain. Do not overmix.
- Turn dough out onto cling wrap, tightly wrap, and refrigerate overnight (or for at least 4 hours).
- Knead, roll, cut out cookies, and return to fridge or freezer until firm. Leave a couple inches between cookies.
- Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, rotate pan, and bake for another 1-5 minutes until edges are starting to turn golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to fully cool on cookie sheet before handling.
Notes
- The reason for adding 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch to your dough is to prevent your cookies from shrinking or spreading during baking.
- You want to grind all add-ins (nuts and freeze dried banana) as fine as possible, comparable to the texture of almond meal or coarse sand. Larger pieces will leave you with jagged cookie edges.
- If making slice-and-bake cookies, split dough in half, roll into logs, wrap tightly in cling wrap or parchment paper, and refrigerate before slicing and baking.
