Making banana bread holds a special place in my heart. I used to eat it as a kid, it was one of the first from scratch baked goods I made for Matthew many, many, years ago, and it also happens to be my very first blog post ever!
Aside from being simple, easy to prepare and absolutely delicious banana bread also lends itself really well to all sorts of flavor combinations and mix ins. I came across a tasty looking recipe with hold on… browned butter frosting! You may already be aware from some of my other posts of how much I love using browned butter in recipes. This recipe is from the-girl-who-ate-everything.com. These bars turned out wonderfully and the sweet nutty flavor of the browned butter frosting really melds well with the moist banana bread still warm from the oven.
Ingredients:(yields 2 dozen bars)
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 cup of sour cream or greek yogurt
1/2 cup of unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs, room temperature
1 3/4 cups (3-4) ripe bananas, mashed
2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, plus more for topping
Browned Butter Frosting:
1/2 cup of unsalted butter
3 -4 cups of powdered sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 tablespoons of milk
Instructions:
Heat the oven to 375 degrees and grease and flour a 10 x 15 jelly roll pan. ( I used a 9 x 13 pan for thicker bars).
Beat together 1 1/2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of sour cream or yogurt, 1/2 of a cup of unsalted butter, and 2 eggs until creamy.
Blend in 1 3/4 cup of bananas and 2 teaspoons of vanilla and mix until combined. About 1 minute.
Add in 2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Mix until just combined. Stir in 1/2 of a cup of walnuts, if using.
Evenly spread the batter into the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
(I used a 9 x 13 pan and baked for 30 -35 minutes and until golden brown). Make sure not to over bake.
Cool the bars slightly (about 15 minutes) until warm but not hot and frost with the browned butter frosting.
For the frosting heat the butter in a small sauce pan over medium low heat until it is a golden nut brown and brown specks just start to form on the bottom of the pan. Keep a close eye as the butter can go from brown to burnt quickly.
Carefully remove the browned butter from the heat and add 3-4 cup of powdered sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons of milk. The Frosting should be thicker than a glaze and thinner than frosting.
Using a spatula spread the frosting over the warm bars. The frosting will be easier to spread once it is on the warm bread. Top with additional walnuts.
