I’ve made these a couple of times now and they are unbelievably good. I love banana bread and I really love frosting (my girlfriend Lisa and I used to buy white frosting and eat it straight from the can when we were roommates. I’m kind of horrified by the thought now, considering that it’s loaded with trans fats, but boy was it delicious.) I haven’t made regular banana bread since I found this recipe. I know I’ll go back to it at some point, but I’ll make these several more times before I do. I just bought a big batch of bananas and they’re getting nice and spotty sitting on my kitchen counter, just waiting to be used in these bars. You should definitely try these.

Banana Bars
Recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Classy

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup mashed overripe bananas (about 2 large bananas)

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

3 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp butter, softened
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9×13 baking dish. Combine all banana bar ingredients in a large mixing bowl, mix with an electric mixer on low speed for 2 minutes. Pour mixture into a buttered baking dish and spread evenly into pan. It’s important that you spread the batter evenly. Bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool completely. Mix all of the frosting ingredients together with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Frost the bars in the pan. Cut the bars and serve.

Yield: 24 bars

One year ago: Alfajores
Two years ago: Pineapple and Meyer Lemon Sorbet
Three years ago: Peanut Butter Cookies
Four years ago: Chicken Piccata