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“Easy recipe with regular ingredients and so delicious! Served these at a party and several people asked for the recipe. Thanks for sharing!” ~Cathleen
these banana blondies are literally irresistible…
And I have to say it took me a little bit by surprise — these banana blondies look so innocent! But the combination of the very dense banana cake and the very sweet caramel icing is intense. I tested the recipe on 2 consecutive days, and my self control failed miserably. I spent 48 hours in a banana blondie induced coma. Proceed with caution.
I ate these warm out of the oven…I ate them chilled from the fridge the next day…suffice it to say I’ve had them every which way and every way was amazing.
ingredients for banana blondies
If you’ve got a ripe banana or two, the rest of these easy bars come together from the pantry.
- ripe bananas
- brown sugar
- butter
- egg
- all purpose flour
- vanilla
- salt
- milk
- confectioner’s sugar
The frosting is a quick cooked caramel, but don’t let that scare you, that just means you melt some butter, brown sugar, and a touch of cream or milk together in a saucepan and heat it to a boil, then whisk in powdered sugar. It’s not fussy at all, but it does set up quickly, so plan to slather it on the cake right away. You can actually cut these and eat them warm, which is unusual for a frosted dessert.
do yourself a favor and make these 🙂
Self control issues aside, I’m so happy with this recipe, it’s reliable and easy to do. if you’re a banana lover, or just happen to know one, this is a must try. There is a ton of banana flavor packed into these slim bars, which also surprises me because I only used one banana. They are moist and dense, almost like a banana fudge, (if that thought doesn’t blow your mind.) They’re good.
banana blondie FAQs
You can freeze the bars before frosting. Just cool them completely, wrap in plastic then in foil, and freeze for up to 3 months.
They will last a couple of days at room temperature, just cover loosely with foil. You can also store them in the refrigerator for a different but equally lovely effect.
Yes, that will work.
Blondies are meant to have a dense chewy texture. Rising agents create more of a cakey texture and so blondies and brownies usually don’t include them.
You might try mini chocolate chips, chopped walnuts or pecans, or even some shredded coconut. Next time I bake them I may add some chopped toasted pecans to the frosting for a praline effect!
Yes, a high quality 1:1 gluten free baking mix should work.
we’re obsessed with bananas
- Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
- Double Chocolate Banana Bread
- Better than Starbucks Banana Walnut Bread
- One Banana Banana Bread!
- Banana Cake with Spiced Vanilla Buttercream
- Banana Cake with Nutella Buttercream
Banana Blondies
Equipment
- 9×9 inch baking pan
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup well mashed banana, about 1 to 1 1/2 bananas
caramel icing
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 Tbsp cream or milk
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar (possibly a little bit more)
Instructions
- Set the oven to 350F. Lightly spray and line a 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper, if desired, to enable you to lift out the blondies for neater cutting.
- Beat the butter and sugar together for several minutes until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
- Mix in the mashed banana, and then the flour and salt. Mix just until everything is well blended, don’t over mix.
- Spread into your prepared pan.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the center is set. I check with a toothpick.
- Let the cake cool most of the way before you make the frosting.
- To make the caramel frosting put the butter, brown sugar and milk or cream in a small saucepan and melt the butter, whisking all the time. Continue whisking until the mixture comes to a boil, then turn off the heat and add the sifted powdered sugar, whisking until completely smooth. You may need to add a little bit more powdered sugar if it seems very thin.
- Spread it immediately onto the cake, it will set up very quickly.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
I am very disappointed with this recipe. I followed every step but my blondies appear underdone, almost gummy like, although I kept it in the oven for longer than recommended and used a cake tester which came out clean. I used a lot of butter on 2 failed banana blondie desserts. Anyone else have this issue?
Sorry you had trouble with these, it does sound like they maybe didn’t get baked quite long enough. With dense moist baked goods like brownies and blondies the toothpick test is sometimes tricky.
A bit sweet, but my husband loved them! I have a question. I love your site but every single time lately that I have come to your site to search for a recipe, the search icon does nothing. It’s as though I haven’t even touched it. Is there something I need to do that I don’t know about? Often, I’ll look for a dessert on your blog and then want to search for a veggie salad (or something) but I can’t do it. I’m using Pinterest to get to you so might that be the problem?
Hi Nikki ~ the search works for me, I wonder if you can email me (sue@theviewfromgreatisland.com) so we can troubleshoot. I wonder what browser you are using, and whether you’re on your phone, etc. I’d love to get this solved for you!
Absolutely delicious! I cannot stop making these – wanting to make these for a friend who cant have dairy – can I replace the milk/cream in the frosting with something else? Thanks!
I knowwwww, these are so good. As for the frosting you might try a vegan butter and plant based milk like almond milk. I haven’t tried it, but should work.
I love this recipe. Make it all the time. If I double the recipe, it still says a 9×9 pan. Can I use a 9x 13? Thanks Sue.
Yes, use the larger pan. The pan size doesn’t change when you use the automatic servings increaser.
We loved this!!! So delicious.
I really loved the “blondie” portion of this recipe. The flavor and texture was very peasant. The frosting was a bit too sweet for me though. I wonder if a simple chocolate ganache might tone down the sweetness level…
That sounds amazing, I love the combo and banana and chocolate!
I don’t care for “blondies” as a rule, but these are outstanding. They have a soft texture and delicious flavor. In fact, on day 2 they almost developed a slight “crumb” texture, I’m assuming as some of the moisture evaporated, and I thought that made them even better. My daughter tried them and I think she went to heaven for a minute, by the look on her face. As another reviewer suggested, I used browned butter for my caramel frosting and it came out great. Excellent recipe! Thank you Sue!!!
You’re so welcome Lisa, love your description! I remember having the same reaction as your daughter the first time I tried them.
Does the cake and frosting tastes super sweet? I like sweet desserts but not ones that are way too sweet. There seems like there’s so much sugar in both the bar ingredients and the frosting. Can I reduce some of the sugar in both?
Yes, these are extra sweet and yes, you can reduce the sugar in the blondies (by up to 1/3) and maybe do a lighter coating of frosting.
I used gluten-free flour and added mini chocolate chips, I did not ice ~ delicious and yummy treats. I will definitely make again and again!
Thanks Eileen!