Low-FODMAP Brown Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies; Gluten-free

These low-FODMAP Brown Butter Banana Cookies taste like hand-held banana cake.

Who doesn’t love a soft, rich, and chewy texture with the amazing flavor of brown butter, baked banana, and chocolate chips?

You are going to want to make these cookies for every occasion.

Rachel’s Note: Please don’t be intimidated by the ‘brown butter’ in the title.  I was also concerned the first time I made this ingredient.  But it is EASY!  The trick is using a saucepan or pot with a white lining (like enamel), and watching closely so the butter doesn’t burn. The cooking process ‘browns’ the butter, and reduces the water content.  This results in a nutty aroma and richer flavor.

Once you have tried browned butter you will soon become addicted. It adds a whole different element to your baking and cooking.

FODMAP fact: Although bananas are often labeled as a high-FODMAP food, this is not necessarily the case.  Pay attention to ripeness and portion size.  The riper the banana, the higher the sugar content (hence they taste sweeter) and a higher FODMAP content.  Only enjoy about 1/3 ripe banana per serving.  However, if you select unripe bananas, you can enjoy a whole medium sized fruit.  For this recipe, you will want to weigh your banana- see the ingredient list for full information!

You may also love:

• Low-FODMAP Banana Bread Breakfast Cookies
• Low-FODMAP Banana Layer Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
• Low-FODMAP Peanut Butter and Banana Baked Oatmeal Bars
• Low-FODMAP Banana Bread (or muffins) with Chocolate and Nuts
• Low-FODMAP Banana Bars with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
• Low-FODMAP Blueberry Lemon Zucchini Snack Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Or check out over 500 more low-FODMAP recipes on the blog.  IBS-friendly!

Be healthy and happy,

Rachel Pauls, MD

Although this recipe has not been lab tested, a single serving should be low-FODMAP based on the ingredients (using available FODMAP data at time of testing)

Serves: 14

Yield: 28 cookies, 2 cookies per serving

Prep time: 15 mins, plus cooling

Bake time: 11-13 mins

Total time: 26-28 minutes, plus cooling

Bake: 350 F

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (113g) brown unsalted butter, softened
  • You can also substitute regular unsalted butter if short on time
  • You will need to brown more than 1/2 cup butter due to water loss during browning.  I suggest starting with 3/4 cup for the browning (see below)
• 1 cup / 8 ounces (about 225 grams) mashed ripe banana, room temperature
  • This is 2-3 bananas, depending on size
  • 35g of ripe banana is one low-FODMAP serving
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 & 3/4 cups low-FODMAP, gluten-free flour (I use Authentic Foods GF Classical Blend for consistent results every time…see my low-FODMAP bake-off blog for the reason why)
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (if not added to your flour choice)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • If you like more cinnamon flavor, increase to 1 teaspoon or more!
• 1 cup (160g) semisweet chocolate chips, or substitute toasted chopped walnuts, or pecans
• Optional frosting: low-FODMAP Cream Cheese frosting, low-FODMAP Vegan Vanilla Buttercream, low-FODMAP Brown Butter Maple Glaze

Directions

• If not already done so, brown your butter:
  • Start with about 3/4 cup unsalted butter and place in a white bottomed saucepan
  • Melt over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until it turns golden and smells toasty.  Little brown flecks will begin to form on the bottom and sides of the pan
  • Depending on the size of your pan, this may take 2-5 minutes
  • Remove from heat and transfer to a cup or bowl to stop it from burning
  • Cool butter until it is room temperature, softened but not runny (about 2 hours)
    • You can do this step far in advance! Refrigerate the butter until ready to use, then soften to room temperature
• Preheat oven to 350° and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the LF, GF flour, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt and cinnamon. Set aside for now
• In a large bowl, or your stand mixer with the flat paddle, beat browned butter with sugars until well combined
• Add in the egg and vanilla on low speed, then mashed banana
• Gently add the dry ingredients, but do not overmix
• Add chocolate chips (or other stir-ins) by hand at this point, folding gently into the low-FODMAP banana cookie batter
• Use a small cookie scoop to place mounds of the dough onto the baking sheets
  • Flatten out the mounds by smoothing the top with the back of a spoon or your fingers
    • The dough will be somewhat sticky, that is normal
  • These cookies have minimal spread
• Bake for 11-13 minutes
  • They may seem slightly underdone, but will continue to bake out of the oven.  The tops should be set to touch
• Remove from the oven, let rest on the sheet for about 2 minutes until bottoms are set, then transfer cookies to a cooling rack and let cool completely
• Store in airtight container at room temperature or refrigerator for 5-7 days