Stovetop Banana Cream Hand Pies & Cookies with a Graham Crust

These creamy custard-filled hand-pies or fluffy and decadent cookies are both made from the same ingredients and measurements. One recipe, two tasty whole food plant-based treats without any added salt, oil or sugars. Yay!

Recipe Overview

no dairy, no eggs, no wheat, no nuts, no tree nuts, no shellfish, no seafood, no soy, no salt added, no oil added, no sugar added, and no coconut.

The Menu

Pie or Cookie? What’s the Deal and the Trick?

The trick with this recipe is really just about where and when you decide to put the first banana slices.

If you put the slices of banana directly on top of, or inside of, the batter then you get the banana cream cookies with a wonderfully fluffy and cakey interior! But, if instead, you put your banana slices directly on the metal of the pan, then pour your batter over the banana slices so they will first caramelize—adding to the depth of flavor—and after that, they will cook and steam the custard from the bottom up and the inside out, creating a luscious and creamy banana cream custard.

Most of the banana custard is tucked away between the caramelized bananas and custard on the one side, and a flakey and crispy golden graham cracker crust on the other.

This recipe also goes great with no-churn ice cream

No Spice Grinder? No Problem – Blenders etc.

Below are separate directions for anyone who doesn’t have a spice or coffee grinder.

Stick/wand blender /immersion blender for additional directions and tips. The only real difference between using the stick blender is that we will be blending the primary batter with both the liquids added to it—this will be the same with all others except for the spice/coffee grinder.

Directions

Simply add your oats, tahini, vinegar, and water to a deep and narrow container or jug. Blend everything moving the wand all around to ensure everything is well blended. The other directions remain the same.

These utilities are all the same as the stick blender directions in that you’ll blend the dry and wet ingredients for the primary batter together. Afterwards, just follow the regular directions. With a countertop blender, or especially a food processor, you will probably need to make a double or quadruple batch or you’ll need to stop often to scrape down the sides with a spatula fairly frequently.

⭐Full Banana Cream Hand Pies & Cookies Recipe⭐

Banana Cream Hand Pies & Cookies

Chef Rob

Creamy custard-filled hand-pies or fluffy and decadent cookies, both made from the same ingredients and measurements.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Comfort Food, Dessert, Junk Food, Snack

Cuisine American, Canadian

Servings 3 people

Calories 120 kcal

Equipment

• 1 Seasoned Steel or Cast Iron Pan (how to season steel cookware)
• 1 Spice / Coffee Grinder (or immersion/bullet blender, food processor, etc.)

Ingredients

  

PRIMARY BATTER

• 1 tbsp tahini
• ½ cup oats
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• ½ cup water

BANANA CUSTARD

• 2 ea banana, ripe + 1 firm banana for slices
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

CRUST

• 2 tbsp flax ground
• ¼ tsp cinnamon

Instructions

 

• Grind up your oats and mix them with your tahini, red wine vinegar, and water.
  
• Take one ripe banana and add it to half of the primary batter along with the vanilla, and mix and mash it all well until no large banana chunks remain.
  
• In the bowl without the banana add the cinnamon and the flax seed and stir well. You will most likely need to add 2+ tablespoons of water.

  For banana cream pie you'll slice up your second, less ripe, banana and place 7 slices on your seasoned pan like shown.

  For banana cream cookies see the next step.
  
• For cookies do not layer the bananas on the bottom of the pan, and instead just pour the batter (image 4A) and for pie poor the batter on of the banana slices you just layered (image 4B).
  
• Once the top becomes less wet and starts to dry off a bit, then add a layer of banana slices to the top of the pie/cookie. Then, pour the crust batter on top of it all.
  
• After about 10-15 minutes it should be time to flip your treats. Flip and cook for about 10-15 more minutes or until the crust is firm and no longer wet/damp.

  Both are great served warm or saved and eaten cold later.
  

Video

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🧂If you absolutely must add salt then try to add it to taste, to the top of the food, and in small amounts and only after tasting it first. The same goes for other “less healthy” additions, but the idea should be to try to limit and eventually remove adding them, over time, when you are ready.

After a few weeks of not eating a SAD diet your tastebuds reset and you’ll notice the natural sodium in foods, check out the great article, and subscribe to, Michael Corthell on Substack.

Protips

Use the right bananas for the hand pies

• For the batter, the best bananas are ripe bananas, spotted brown or darker, so that they are sweet and soft and will break down.
• For the pie bananas for caramelizing on the pan, you will want to try to get bananas whose skin is still yellow, with little to no brown spots. This way they won’t break down too fast like the bananas I used for the pie which makes the top surface peel.

Use a wet offset spatula to flip them all

• If your spatula is damp then it’s less likely to stick to the dough if it’s still wet—partially from the surface tension and part from the steam.

Mash the Banana

• You can mash the banana inside of its skin when it’s very ripe like I did in the video for this recipe. This isn’t necessary, but it is quick and messless—unless you squeeze too hard. After it’s mashed inside you can just cut one end and squeeze the banana our like toothpaste, but make sure you get it all out.

Nutrition Facts Table – Banana Cream Hand Pies & Cookies

The Science – Sources

Please tell me how it turned out! Did you: try it, like it, hate it, change it, or do something else unexpected???

If I’ve made any mistakes, or something doesn’t make sense, or if you want more/less details, please let me know in the comments.

Stay healthy and nourished!

Chef Robert Leigh.

Stovetop Banana Cream Hand Pies & Cookies with a Graham Crust