Cookie Butter Banana Bread Recipe

Some of the best recipes out there are made with ingredients you likely have on hand.( And when you bake something that makes use of an ingredient that might otherwise have gone to waste, so much the better, so don't toss those extra ripe bananas — instead make this bread!) This sweet and delicious bread is dressed up with cookie butter (which you might not keep in the pantry at all times but maybe you should) but aside from that, chances are you have everything you need to bake up a loaf already. 

Sweet and tempting, this cookie butter banana bread is great after dinner, with morning coffee, or any time you need a treat. "It's a relatively easy recipe as long as you have a stand mixer or good hand mixer," says baker and blogger Mark Beahm, of the Sunday Baker.

American ex-pat Beahm's recipe was inspired by peanut butter banana breads, but with a European twist. He decided to create this spinoff inspired by Dutch Speculoos-flavored cookie butter, Speculoos being the sweet and spiced cookies traditionally baked and served around the holidays in the Netherlands and several other European nations. 

"You want your ingredients to be at room temperature before you start the prep and baking," Beahm told us, so plan ahead and get everything that's refrigerated out of the fridge and on the counter at least a half hour before you start baking your cookie butter banana bread. It's especially important that the butter is room temp or it may not mix properly. 

"This recipe will take a while if you have to mix things by hand, so a stand mixer is really helpful here," says Beahm. You'll also need a couple of mixing bowls, a whisk, a masher, some measuring spoons, and a knife. As you get everything ready, pre-heat your oven to 350º Fahrenheit. Then prepare a nine-inch loaf pan by lightly greasing the sides with butter and then dusting the pan with flour. If you don't have a pan of the exact right size, don't worry, just know that a larger, shallower pan will lead to faster cooking times.

In the smaller of your mixing bowls (or in any decent-sized bowl, of course) sift or whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. This will ideally be done with an actual whisk for proper blending, but you can use a fork if need be. Just make sure everything combines well, which you will know is the case once the mixture takes on a light shade of brown thanks to the cinnamon.

Make sure not to add the sugars at this step even though they may seem to be dry ingredients, they're not — at least when it comes to this cookie butter banana bread! The moisture so common in brown sugar can throw off the balance here, making proper mixing difficult. Set aside your dry ingredients and get ready to do some serious mixing. 

Now is where "you really benefit from using a mixer, or your hands are going to get tired," warns Beahm. Then again, maybe you could just hand-mix a loaf of cookie butter banana bread and skip your next arm day at the gym?

Place the room temperature butter and both types of sugar into the bowl of your stand mixer and make sure it is outfitted with the paddle attachment. You can also use a large mixing bowl and an electric hand mixer or a hand tool if need be. Cream the butter and sugars on the mixer's medium speed until they blend and become light and fluffy, which will take about three to five minutes... maybe longer if you're doing this by hand.

With the mixer still running (or with your hands ready to keep working) add one of the room temperature eggs, then let the paddle do its thing until the egg is thoroughly blended into the sugar and butter blend. Now add the second egg and again wait for it to be fully combined. Adding the eggs in one at a time helps to make sure they're fully mixed in, giving the bread a lighter, more cake-like texture.

If you have not already done so, go ahead and peel and begin mashing your ripe bananas while you are watching for the eggs to be mixed in. You can do this with a masher or simply with a fork; they should mush up quite easily if they're properly ripe. At this point, you're nearly halfway to tasting your delicious cookie butter banana bread.

As soon as the second egg is well blended into the butter and sugar mix, toss in the mashed bananas and scoop in the cookie butter. You surely thought of this, but make sure to turn off the mixer before completing these actions, as spooning in thick cookie butter while dodging a spinning mixer paddle isn't a great way to go about things — you may end up wearing more of the cookie butter banana bread than you bake.

Mix all the ingredients well, and don't lose hope if this step seems to go poorly. "It might look like you messed up when you add the banana and the cookie butter," Beahm told us. "The mixture might break apart into clumps a little, but don't worry, just keep mixing, it will blend together fine."

When you're think you're done with this step, scrape down the side of the bowl and give it another quick mix, just to make sure you've got everything properly blended.

Now it's time to add the dry ingredients from the first step into the bowl with the wet. Mix  everything together with your mixer setting on low, or better yet do this step by hand with a wide spatula. You don't want to blend everything fully here, "just mix until all the ingredients are incorporated." This will ensure the bread bakes properly and will create perfect texture for the final loaf. Blending too much causes the gluten to develop more than you want it to with a quick bread — resulting in a loaf of cookie butter banana bread that's dense and rubbery.

That oven is hot and ready by now, right? Then on to the last steps.

Transfer the finished batter into your butter-greased and lightly floured baking pan and gently pat and smooth the mixture until it is level and even. Now pop it into the oven and plan to check the loaf right around the 60 minute mark. "My oven runs hot, so I always check a bit early," says Beahm. You'll know the cookie butter banana bread is done when a toothpick inserted deep into the center comes out clean.

Leave the finished bread in the pan on the counter for 15 minutes after it's done baking, then use a butter knife or spatula to separate it from the pan, gently lift it out, and let the bread cool fully before storing it or slicing and serving it.

You're all done, time to enjoy! This sweet bread will feel right at home on a holiday table, but plan ahead, as Beahm does not recommend serving cookie butter banana bread before it has been able to cool fully and even says "It's better the next day."

He says the bread will keep well for three or four days, provided you wrap it well in plastic.

And this tasty bread is best enjoyed when cut into thick slices and slathered with even more cookie butter, though it's plenty good on its own. You can also experiment with peanut butter, jams or jellies, or even regular butter, which will make a delicious topping — especially when whipped soft.