Banana Bread Bars with Brown Butter Frosting

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Anywhoo, what do these Banana Bread Bars have to do with anything?  Well, nothing.  I'm having a hard time correlating anything significant from our weekend to these bars.  Dang it.  But one thing is for sure, they are outrageously addicting and will become one of my go-to banana recipes from here on out.  They are that scrumptious.

These bars?  OooOOo, these bars.  So stinkin' good!  The banana bars themselves are, yes, reminiscent of  banana bread, yet a touch more dense.  They actually kind of remind me of the texture of my favorite Pumpkin Bars, ridiculously moist and full.  And the banana flavor is extrememly prominent but absolutely wonderful.

But what takes these bars to the next level and beyond is the brown butter frosting.  I can't really explain it, but this combination just works.  More than works, actually.  It's like peanut butter and jelly, simply made for each other.  Got me?

Please note, my description did, in no way, do these bars justice.  You'll just have to make them to see for yourself.  Waistline, be warned.

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Ingredients

  • Brown Butter Frosting:
  • 1-1/2 c. sugar
  • 1 c. sour cream
  • 1/2 c. butter, softened
  • 2 eggs
  • 1-3/4 (3 or 4) ripe bananas, mashed
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 c. all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)
  • 1/2 c. butter
  • 4 c. powdered sugar
  • 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp. milk

Preparation

Step 1

1.  Heat oven to 375F.  Grease and flour 15x10-inch jelly roll pan.  For the bars, in a large bowl, beat together sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs until creamy.  Blend in bananas and vanilla extract.  Add flour, baking soda, salt, and blend for 1 minute.  Stir in walnuts.

2.  Spread batter evenly into pan.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

3.  Meanwhile, for frosting, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling.  Let the butter turn a delicate brown and remove from heat immediately.

My Notes:
When browning the butter, make sure to pay close attention.  The 'turn' happens quickly and before you know it, you'll have extra burnt butter, which is not good

4.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk.  Whisk together until smooth (it should be thicker than a glaze but thinner than frosting).

Using a spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the warm bars (the frosting will be easier to spread while the bars are still warm). 

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