Banana Cookies

Banana bread in cookie form, with a trick up its sleeve. The dough bakes into pillowy, cake-y rounds with soft edges and real banana flavor running through the batter, but the real star is the frosting: a quick boiled penuche made with brown sugar, milk, margarine, and powdered sugar that spreads thin and sets into a candy-like glaze on top.

Use bananas that are past-ripe (spotty, almost black) for maximum flavor and easy mashing. Green or firm bananas lack the sugar development and the sweetness these cookies need. Egg whites instead of whole eggs keep the texture light.

The frosting is where most people stumble. Bring it to a true boil, not just a simmer, for the full two minutes before adding the powdered sugar. Under-boiled icing stays runny. Over-boiled seizes and turns grainy. Once it cools slightly it thickens fast, so frost in batches or thin with a splash of milk if it stiffens on you.

Pro Tips

• Let cookies cool completely before frosting, otherwise the icing slides off.
• Drop by rounded teaspoons, not tablespoons. These spread and big mounds bake unevenly.
• Store in a single layer or between sheets of wax paper; the glaze is tacky and will stick.
• For extra banana punch, add ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg to the flour.

Variations

• Swap butter for margarine in both dough and frosting for richer, deeper flavor.
• Stir ½ cup toasted walnuts or pecans into the batter for crunch.
• Use maple syrup in place of milk in the frosting for a maple-banana combo.