Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
The fruit flies were starting to gather around my brown bananas the other day. Do you know how hard it is to get rid of them? The fruit flies, I mean. Seriously, where do they come from? It seems like they spontaneously erupt. Eww. The bananas, on the other hand, were easier to deal with. A little flour, some butter, and a load of cream cheese frosting, along with those bananas, resulted in a little something called "banana bars".
Banana bars are really banana cake in a bar form. They are made in a 15" pan, so, in theory, they can feed a crowd. Or three people. They are a nice diversion from banana bread. The following recipe is adapted from one I found in a Taste of Home magazine.
Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup low fat plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup light sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
- 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3-3/4 to 4 cups confectioners' sugar
Directions:
In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs, yogurt, sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in bananas.
Spread into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool.
For frosting, in a bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Gradually beat in enough confectioners' sugar to achieve desired consistency. Frost bars. Store in the refrigerator.
Amazing what a little banana can do for cake.
Be sure to mix in the baking soda really well--you don't want that to clump together and taste icky.
The batter will be fairly thick....
.....but it spreads out nicely. Don't forget to butter and flour your pan.
Enough to feed a small army. Or three people.
The edges baked up a little crispy. Hmmm...it looks like someone picked a little off of the side.
The cream cheese frosting may be the best part. My husband followed me around until I gave him the bowl and spatula to lick.
Even better than Sara Lee. I know this, because my husband told me...