Don’t you hate when your bananas get too ripe to eat? So what can you do? Find an easy recipe to use them up. I found this recipe online and tweaked it to use nuts that my hubby would eat.
This is the first time I’ve used browned butter and it does give the icing a different flavor. There’s quite a bit of sugar in the icing, so it’s sweet. Depending on the ratio of icing to cake recipe you like, you can choose the larger pan for a thinner bar or the smaller pan for a more cake-like result. The pan I used was a non-stick jelly roll pan and I didn’t compensate for that so the resulting bars were darker and a little more cooked than I normally like but tasty none-the-less. These bars are great for snacks and any dessert.
Enjoy!
Chunky Monkey Almond Banana Bars
Yield: 35 bars Cook Time: 30 minutes
Batter:
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened (I microwaved it for 15 seconds on full power)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 4 ripe bananas (about 2 cups), peeled
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped, blanched almonds (the original recipe used pecans)
- Additional whole or sliced almonds for decoration (optional)
Browned Butter Frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 tablespoons water
Directions:
Step 1: For the batter: Mix together flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. In a mixing bowl, mix together sugar, sour cream, cream cheese and eggs. Once the mixture is smooth, mix in the bananas and vanilla. Add flour mixture and manually mix until completely incorporated.
Step 2: Using a parchment lined (or greased) jelly roll pan (15 by 10 inches) or 13 by 9 pan, transfer batter to the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in a preheated 375 degree oven. It’s done when a toothpick that’s inserted in the center, comes out clean. If using a coated or non-stick pan reduce the oven temperature and begin checking the cake at the earliest time.
Step 3: For the frosting: As the bars bake, melt butter in a large sauce pan on medium heat. Stir constantly until the butter begins to have light brown specks at the bottom. For detailed how to instructions, see Elise’s How to Brown Butter on Simply Recipes.
Step 4: Remove the pan with the butter to a cool surface. Stir in the vanilla, powdered sugar and the least amount of milk until completely combined. Stir in additional milk in small increments until desired consistency is achieved. Spread frosting on the bars with an offset spatula while still warm for easier spreading. Note that the glaze will thicken quickly as it cools. The frosting is sweet, so use less if using the 13 by 9 pan.
Storing: Store in a sealed plastic container for a few days.
Enjoy!!!
The recipe is slightly adapted from Noreen McCormick Danek on Just a Pinch.
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Oh my, you had me at chunky monkey! These sound so delicious! Pinned!
AnnMarie,
I’d love to hear how yours turn out.
WOW does this look good! visiting you from What did you do this Weekend
SO beautiful! My banana bread loving kids would love these 🙂
Lizzy,
They would love them. I thought the icing put them over the top.
With a name like “Chunky Monkey Almond Banana Bars” what’s not to like:) Thanks for sharing at Tasty Tuesday~ Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines
I love the name too. Thanks for stopping by.
Hey there! Just wanted to say thanks for stopping by and linking up to The PINcentive Blog Hop! Hope you’re having a fantastic week so far :o)
croppedstories@gmail.com
http://www.croppedstories.blogspot.com
Looks tasty! Love it!
Morgaine,
Thanks. Glad you like it.
I bet my husband would love these bars! Thanks for linking up with us at the Four Seasons Blog Hop.
First of all I love the name, Second Great Recipe! Thank you for sharing it on our Four Seasons Blog Hop
Shawna,
The name is adorable isn’t it? Thanks so much for hosting.
Isn’t browned butter wonderful! I love the sound of this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful Chunky Monkey Almond Bars with us at the Hearth and Soul hop.
April,
Thanks for stopping by. I really liked the browned butter frosting.
Yum! I hide bananas in my house sometimes just to get them ripe enough to bake with. I don’t think I’ve ever tried a banana baked good that I didn’t like, so these sound delicious!
Nikki,
Thanks. They are really tasty.
Yum! I can hardly wait to try these. I’m willing my bananas to overripe themselves! And thanks for linking up at Throwback Thursday!
Alli,
Sometimes they just get so ripe overnight. Thanks.
OK…I just started the ATKINS…no sugar at all…DIET. And then I saw THIS! LOL. Not fair. I am going to put it in my “make it someday” link file. Then, when I do, I will invite a lot of people over so I only eat one…the rest will be GONE! Sound like a plan?
Gotta admit, I have not checked my blog hop to see if this is what you shared. If you didn’t, sometime will you stop by my Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop and share it with us?
Blessings,
Sinea
Ducks ‘n a Row
Sinea,
The icing is where most of the sweetness is. It still has too much sugar for Atkins though. So glad you liked them. I did share them on Wonderful Wednesdays.
My small people would love this! Thanks for sharing at Food on Friday!
TaMara,
Thanks. Glad you liked them.
Looks yummy.
Kelly,
Thanks.
These sound yummy! I’d love if you would stop by and link up over at Feed Me Friday
Sara,
Sure thing. Thanks for inviting me.
I could always use new ways to use up those ripe bananas! Thanks so much for sharing at #allmybloggyfriends this week! Enjoy your weekend!
I always just make banana bread but this is much more interesting. Thanks for sharing your bars with us on foodie friday.
I could eat my weight in these things. And that’s saying something. Gorgeous bars.
Your Chunky Monkey Almond Banana Bars look delicious. I just love the Chunky Monkey, name. Hope you are having a fantastic weekend and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday!
Miz Helen
sounds delicious! I love browned butter. Thank you for sharing on Foodie Friday
Mmmm, these sound so yummy! Thank you for sharing on Inspire Me Wednesday!
Mel,
Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for sharing this with the Totally Tuesday Link Party! It was featured! Come check it out and get your Featured button. 😉
http://madcapfrenzy.blogspot.com/2013/10/september-totally-tuesday-wrap-up.html
Morgaine,
Thanks for featuring my post. It made my day.
That’s great that you gave the storage tip too! These sound good. Thank you for linking to Super Sunday Sync.