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Banana Pudding Cookies Recipe
Ash Tyrrell

Banana Pudding Cookies Recipe

I made a batch of these banana pudding cookies on a lazy Sunday afternoon, and I honestly couldn't stop sneaking one off the cooling rack every few minutes. They taste like a scoop of old-fashioned banana pudding baked right into a cookie, with crisp edges, a soft center, and little pockets of vanilla wafer and white chocolate in every bite.
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Total Time 40 minutes
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • unsalted butter 2 sticks (8 ounces), room temperature — softened butter creams smoothly and gives the cookies a tender bite
  • all-purpose flour 2 cups — this builds the structure that holds every mix-in together
  • instant vanilla pudding mix 1 box (3.4 ounces) — this is what gives the cookies that unmistakable banana pudding flavor and keeps them soft for days
  • kosher salt 1 1/4 teaspoons — balances out all the sweetness in the dough
  • baking soda 1/2 teaspoon — helps the cookies spread and turn golden at the edges
  • baking powder 1/4 teaspoon — gives just enough lift so the cookies don't turn out flat
  • Nilla wafers 24, crushed — I break these into small pieces so they add crunch without overpowering the dough
  • light brown sugar 2/3 cup, packed — adds moisture and a deeper, caramel-like sweetness
  • granulated sugar 1/3 cup — helps the edges turn lightly crisp as they bake
  • ripe banana 1 large, mashed — pick one with plenty of brown spots for the strongest banana flavor
  • egg yolk 1 large, room temperature — adds richness without making the dough too wet
  • vanilla extract 1 1/2 teaspoons — rounds out the banana and pudding flavors
  • white chocolate chips 3/4 cup — these melt into little creamy pockets that echo the pudding base

Method
 

  1. I start by whisking the flour, instant vanilla pudding mix, kosher salt, baking soda, and baking powder together in a medium bowl. Getting this step out of the way first means I'm not scrambling to measure things later while my butter mixture is sitting out. I also crush my Nilla wafers at this stage, sealing them in a zip-top bag and lightly rolling over them until I have small, uneven pieces.
  2. Next, I beat the room-temperature butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar until the mixture turns pale and fluffy. This usually takes less than a minute on medium speed. I always scrape down the sides of the bowl at least once so nothing gets left behind unmixed at the bottom.
  3. I mash my banana with a fork until it's completely smooth, then add it to the butter mixture along with the egg yolk and vanilla extract. I beat this on medium speed until everything is combined. Don't panic if the mixture looks a little curdled at this point, that's completely normal here.
  4. Once the wet ingredients look well blended, I add the flour mixture in on the lowest mixer speed. I stop as soon as the flour disappears into the dough, since overbeating at this stage is what leads to tougher, denser cookies. A few dry streaks left in the bowl are fine.
  5. I switch to a flexible spatula for this part and fold in the crushed Nilla wafers and white chocolate chips by hand. I like doing this manually so I can control how evenly everything gets distributed without breaking the wafer pieces down too much.
  6. I scoop rounded portions of dough, about two tablespoons each, onto my parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving a couple of inches between each one. They go into a 350°F oven, and I rotate the pans halfway through baking so everything browns evenly, front to back and top to bottom.
  7. Once the edges turn light golden, I pull the cookies out and let them rest on the baking sheet for about five minutes before moving them to a wire rack. This short rest lets them firm up so they don't fall apart when I transfer them. I repeat the scooping and baking process with the remaining chilled dough, reusing the same parchment once it's cooled.

Notes

  • I always use a banana that's more brown than yellow, since the extra ripeness makes the banana flavor come through much stronger.
  • I chill any dough I'm not baking right away, which keeps the cookies from spreading too thin in a hot kitchen.
  • I weigh my flour instead of scooping it straight from the bag, because too much flour is the fastest way to end up with dry, crumbly cookies.
  • I slightly underbake mine by pulling them the moment the edges turn golden, since they keep cooking on the hot pan after they come out of the oven.
  • I press a few extra white chocolate chips and wafer pieces onto the tops of the dough balls before baking so the finished cookies look bakery-perfect.