This cookie butter banana bread is based on my all-time favorite, perfect banana bread, swirled with creamy Biscoff, and topped with crunchy Demerara sugar. Not only is this recipe super simple to throw together, but it’s perfect with coffee for a lovely weekend brunch or snack.

An overhead image of a slice of banana bread on a white plate with an antique fork on a grey table next to cups of coffee and a beige linen.
A side image of a loaf of banana bread on a circular cooling rack with a grey and dark green background and ingredients in the back.

Are we still making banana bread? Like getting into Emily in Paris and amassing a scrunchie collection, I’m extremely late to the game here. But, if we’re still going to be stuck at home after a year, then I’m just going to keep making banana bread! (And not wearing real pants, because I just don’t think I’ll ever go back). Plus, we really can’t miss out on this one because it’s filled with cookie butter, which is a tad too sweet for me out of the jar, but I absolutely dig stuffed into bready things.

About cookie butter banana bread

For this recipe, I went ahead and used my go-to banana bread recipe, because it’s perfect and super easy. Then, I just swirled some cookie butter in the batter with absolute abandon because I have no boundaries anymore. The result is similar to Nutella banana bread that I’ve had but like, ten times better. I’m honestly not a huge fan of chocolate in banana bread because I think it overpowers the banana flavor. But, cookie butter has lots of cinnamon-y, brown sugary goodness which absolutely complements banana flavor. Honestly, this bread is so good that I don’t think I can make it anymore because we just eat it in place of actual meals. 🙄

A bird's eye view image of banana bread ingredients in grey and white bowls on a grey counter.

Some ingredients you’ll need

  • Baking basics – flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, eggs, and vanilla to make up the base of the recipe.
  • Very ripe bananas – the riper the bananas are the more flavor they will add to the bread. I like using bananas with large dark spots.
  • Unsalted butter – I use melted butter instead of oil in this recipe because it adds a lovely buttery flavor. Plus, I find that the bread is almost *too* moist with oil.
  • Brown sugar – I like dark brown sugar to complement the flavor of the cookie butter. You can replace with light brown sugar or regular sugar if desired!
  • Sour cream – adds a little moisture without making the batter too runny. Also, the acidity is necessary to activate the baking soda!
  • Cookie butter – our star ingredient. The most well-known brand is Biscoff, but a lot of stores have generic brands these days. You can find it in the peanut butter aisle! If you can’t find cookie butter, Nutella or peanut butter are good replacements.
  • Demerara sugar – I like to add a sprinkle to the top for a little crunch. However, this step is totally optional!
Two over head images of a white bowl on a grey table surrounded by a beige linen and ingredients. On the left, the bowl is filled with wet baking ingredients and on the right, the ingredients are stirred together.
Two overhead images; on the left, a white bowl on a grey background with batter surrounded by ingredients. On the right, a grey loaf pan filled with batter.

Let’s bake!

Cookie butter banana bread is super easy and requires just a few basic tools. Here’s how to make it:

  1. First, preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a standard loaf pan. Then, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  2. Place the bananas on a plate or in a shallow dish and mash until smooth with a fork or potato masher.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream. Add the mashed bananas until smooth.
  4. Next, stir the dry ingredients into the batter just until combined.
  5. Pour half of the batter into the prepared loaf pan, and then drizzle half of the cookie butter over the top. Swirl with a toothpick, chopstick, or skewer. Repeat with remaining batter and cookie butter. Sprinkle with demerara sugar.
  6. Lastly, bake for about an hour, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Serve warm with butter or more cookie butter!

To make muffins

You can also turn this cookie butter banana bread into muffins! Here’s how:

  1. Line a muffin or cupcake tin with liners (I personally use bakery-style muffins).
  2. Scoop the batter into the liners until they’re halfway full. Add about 1-1 1/2 teaspoons of cookie butter to each cavity and swirl.
  3. Then, scoop the batter all the way to the top (fill it all the way to get that pretty, domed top). Add another 1-1 1/2 teaspoons of batter and gently swirl. Sprinkle the tops with Demerara sugar.
  4. Lastly, bake at 350°F for 20-22 minutes, just until an inserted toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.

*Note: I use bakery-style liners which are pretty tall. If you use regular cupcake liners, your muffins will be smaller and will bake quicker. Start checking for doneness at about 16-18 minutes.

Two images of bananas on a grey background; in the left photo the bananas are yellow, in the right the bananas are dark brown and placed on a gold sheet pan.

How to quickly brown bananas for baking

I swear, when I buy bananas to eat, they brown in 2 seconds, but when I buy them to bake (even a week in advance, like for this recipe!) they never want to ripen. Here’s how I browned the bananas quickly in the oven!

  1. Start by heating your oven to 250°F. Place your bananas flat on a baking sheet.
  2. Next, bake for 15-30 minutes, or until the bananas are dark brown and fragrant. Since my bananas were almost ripe, I only needed to bake mine for 20 minutes, but just keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t overcook!
  3. Let them cool to room-temperature before adding them to the recipe.

You can also place the bananas in a brown paper bag with an apple, close up the bag, and let them sit it in a warm spot for a day or two. This works better if your bananas are already on the verge of being ripe (like the photo above). However, I put mine in a bag for two days and they never quite got dark enough. The oven method was by far the quickest and easiest way!

A close-up image of a white plate with a slice of cookie butter banana bread on a grey table.

A drizzling tip

Cookie butter is the consistency of peanut butter, so it’s not quite the texture you need for drizzling. To make it easy, I spoon the cookie butter into a glass liquid measuring cup and microwave for 20-30 seconds. By this point, it should be liquid-y enough to pour easily over the batter!

How do I know when banana bread is done?

As easy as this cookie butter bread is to make, I know banana bread, in general, can be a little finicky baking-wise. With a good recipe, you shouldn’t have an issue, but things still happen! I like to check my bread around the 50-minute mark. This recipe consistently needs 1 total hour to cook, but ovens can vary. Plus, overbaked dry banana bread is sad! You want to bake just until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Additionally, if the top of your banana bread is getting browned, but the center is still liquid-y, there are a couple ways to fix this. First, ensure that the banana bread is on the center rack of your oven. Placing it too high or two low will cause it to bake un-evenly. Second, tent some tinfoil over the bread so the top stops browning, but the banana bread can continue baking.

A side image of a slice of banana bread on a white plate placed on a white counter surrounded by cups of coffee, plates, a beige linen, and greenery.

Serving & Storing

I highly recommend serving cookie butter banana bread warm, topped with a little butter, and a sprinkle of salt with a side of coffee. Omg, I could eat this combo every single damn day. It’s so good. Sometimes, I’ll spread a thin layer of cookie butter on the bread which is delicious as well. If you’re feeling lazy, it’s also great on its own at room temperature!

For leftovers, I like to just keep the bread in the pan, covered with a reusable stretchy lid or plastic wrap. You can also layer it in an airtight container at room temp for about 3 days.

Tips & Tricks

  • Don’t over swirl the cookie butter into the batter or you’ll just end up mixing it all together. You really don’t have to be too immaculate with the swirling as long as it’s well distributed.
  • Bake on the middle rack of your oven so everything bakes evenly.
  • Make sure the bananas are ripe enough! The bananas should have large, dark spots on them with very little yellow.
  • You can also mix in add-ins. If you want to add a little crunch, some chopped walnuts or pecans would be absolutely delicious!
An overhead image of a slice of cookie butter banana bread topped with butter on a white plate placed on a grey counter and surrounded by coffee, a linen, and ingredients.

Other sweet breads you’ll love

Easy Orange Poppy Seed Muffins with Yogurt
Pumpkin Morning Buns
The Best Cranberry Apple Stollen
Apple Butter Cinnamon Rolls with Brown Butter Frosting
Rose Cardamom Buns
Sweet Poppy Bread

If you make this recipe, I would love it if you left a star rating and review! I read every single comment and love hearing what you think about my recipes. Thank you for supporting Sunday Table!



A bird's eye image of a slice of Biscoff banana bread on a white plate on a white table.
5 from 5 votes

Cookie Butter Banana Bread

Yield: 8 slices
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Simple, perfect banana bread swirled with creamy Biscoff cookie butter and topped with crunchy Demerara sugar. One of my all-time favorite recipes to make for weekend brunch!

Ingredients

  • 2 c all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 large bananas, very ripe
  • 1/2 c unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/3 c sugar
  • 1/3 c dark brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 c sour cream
  • 1/2 c cookie butter, such as Biscoff
  • 2 Tbs Demerara sugar, optional

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan with butter or cooking spray. Set aside.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Then, on a plate or in a shallow bowl, mash the bananas until very smooth with a fork or potato masher. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream until pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Add the mashed bananas and whisk until smooth. Next, stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined.
  • Next, microwave the cookie butter in a glass liquid measuring cup for 20-30 seconds, or until it’s a drizzling consistency. Pour half of the batter into the prepared loaf pan followed by half of the cookie butter. Use a skewer or chopstick to swirl the cookie butter into the batter. Don't mix! Then, repeat with the remaining batter and cookie butter. Sprinkle the Demerara sugar over the top.
  • Bake for 50-60 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for at least 15-20 minutes before serving. Top with butter or cookie butter. Enjoy!

Notes

The most popular brand of cookie butter is Biscoff, although you can usually find generic brands at this point. Look for it in the peanut butter aisle!
Cuisine: American, Belgian
Course: Bread & Dough
Serving: 1slice, Calories: 554kcal, Carbohydrates: 72.7g, Protein: 7.5g, Fat: 26.6g, Saturated Fat: 12.7g, Cholesterol: 75mg, Sodium: 425mg, Potassium: 230mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 43.9g, Calcium: 70mg, Iron: 3mg
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xo Sara Lynn

*Song of the day: Be My Baby by SALES