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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 want ALL the caramel icing! these look incredible, and not only because of that gloriousness on top. i might age some bananas for this very purpose. 🙂
I also LOVE banana desserts and these are looking fabulous! Now I have a hankering for that pineapple banana bread too. Yowza!
Oh my! These look wonderful! I would not be able to have any self control either. Not with that frosting on top of the bars. I love how moist the cake part is too. Pinning to make soon!
I’m ready for that same coma ;). That caramel icing is everything!
Your Banana Blondies do look addictive! I’m the only banana-treat-lover in my home, so I’m thinking I could get away with keeping the entire batch to myself!
How did you know that I have almost-rotten bananas at my house? It’s a sign – I need to make these this afternoon 🙂 They are beautiful Sue and love that cooked icing. I doubt my self-control will be any better – oh well!
I have a weakness for banana baked goods, so I would have zero will power over these. I will definitely be trying this one 🙂
What is it about banana? There’s no other fruit like it…
Oh my goodness! I want these! Come on bananas…get ripe!
Do they reeeeeaaalllly have to be ripe??
I am not surprised at all that these are addictive, Sue. I love its almost fudgy texture.
That was the addictive part, I think! That and the caramel frosting 😉
I probably wouldn’t eat any of these. But I’ll take one for my husband and one for my sister and one for my brother and one for my uncle….. oops! my nose is growing real long… Seriously, they look totally amazing – I can see my self going back for “one little sliver” over and over and over!
That ‘little sliver’ excuse gets me every time!