01
Bananas
5.01 piece : 1 piece
Use unripe green bananas for savory
5.0
plantain substitute
in cookies.
Pieces of Plantain in Cookies add bursts of fruity sweetness and extra moisture. The stand-in should have similar sugar and acid levels for balance.
top substitutes
02
Breadfruit
5.01 cup : 1 cup
Starchy tropical, fry or bake
5.0
adjustment for this dish
Diced ripe breadfruit at 1:1 cup is starchier and holds its cube shape better than plantain — no extra flour toss needed. Cream the sugar 30 seconds longer to compensate for breadfruit's milder sweetness, and scoop slightly smaller (1.5 tablespoon) balls because breadfruit cookies spread less and larger scoops bake up cakey rather than crisp-edged.
03
Jackfruit
5.01 cup : 1 cup
Young jackfruit for savory dishes
5.0
adjustment for this dish
Diced jackfruit cubes are fibrous and wetter than plantain — pat firmly between paper towels before tossing in 2 teaspoons flour per half cup (double the plantain dusting). Rest the scooped dough 60 minutes at 40°F; jackfruit leaches more sugar syrup and shorter chill leaves spread-flat cookies with golden but limp edges.
show 7 more substitutes
04
Sweet Potato
5.01 cup : 1 cup
Starchy and sweet, fry or bake
5.0
adjustment for this dish
Diced roasted sweet potato at 1:1 cup is drier and holds shape beautifully, but far less sweet. Add 2 tablespoons brown sugar to the creamed stage and 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger. Cut cubes to 5mm (smaller than plantain's 6mm) since sweet potato pieces stay firm and larger chunks read as savory speed-bumps in the chewy cookie.
05
Potatoes
5.01 cup : 1 cup
Use for green plantain dishes, neutral
5.0
06
Yam
5.01 cup : 1 cup
Dense and starchy, similar when fried
5.0
07
Taro
5.01 cup : 1 cup
Starchy tropical root, boil or fry like plantain
5.0
08
Parsnips
5.01 cup : 1 cup
Slice and fry, sweet when caramelized
5.0
09
Rutabaga
5.01 cup : 1 cup
Boil and mash as starchy side dish
5.0
10
Cassava
3.31 cup : 1 cup
Use green plantain for neutral starch
3.3
technique for cookies
technique
Diced ripe plantain in cookies produces sticky dough that spreads 20-30% more than plain, because each piece leaks sugar syrup as it bakes. Cut plantain into 6mm cubes, toss with 1 teaspoon flour per half cup to dry the surface, and fold into already-creamed butter-and-sugar at the very end so the chunks stay whole.
Chill the scooped dough balls at least 45 minutes at 40°F; warm dough will flatten to pancake edges before the centers set. Drop 2 tablespoon portions on parchment with 3 inches between — plantain cookies don't climb, they sprawl.
Bake at 375°F for 11-13 minutes until edges are deep golden but centers still look underdone; residual heat finishes them on the rack. Unlike plantain in cake where the puree is homogeneous and invisible, in cookies the diced chunks are visible fruity bursts with chewy interiors.
Rest on the sheet 3 minutes before moving or they'll collapse — the caramelized sugar from the plantain chunks is still liquid at 200°F.
pitfalls to avoid
watch out
Chill scooped dough 45 minutes at 40°F before baking — warm plantain dough spreads to paper-thin edges and the centers never set to a chewy texture.
watch out
Don't cream plantain with the butter and sugar; fold diced chunks in at the very end or they liquefy under the mixer and bleed sugar through the dough.
watch out
Toss plantain cubes in 1 teaspoon flour per half cup to dry the surface — without this dusting, scooped mounds slump before they reach the parchment sheet.
watch out
Avoid crowding: drop 2-tablespoon portions at least 3 inches apart because plantain cookies sprawl 20-30% more than plain and neighbors will fuse at the edges.
watch out
Rest baked cookies on the sheet 3 minutes before moving; caramelized sugar in the plantain chunks stays liquid at 200°F and the cookie collapses if lifted too soon.