Banana Bars Topped with Chocolate
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Looking for a new way to use up those ripe bananas? Sweet banana bars have flavors of caramel and cardamom and are topped off with chocolate and chopped walnuts.
A few weeks ago I got a copy of Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook Dorie’s Cookies. If you haven’t heard me speak of Dorie before she is the baking guru. Many of my cakes, cookies, and sweet bread are based off of her recipes.
My absolute favorite cake, a vanilla party cake, is from her cookbook. I’ve never made a recipe of hers that didn’t turn out well so whenever I’m in doubt and need a dessert recipe I head to her books first.
One of my favorite recipes is Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Dulce de Leche filling. I also love her delicate and buttery Lemon Poppyseed Shortbread Cookies. I also used her Red Velvet Cake in my Bloody Glass Shard Cake for Halloween. Plus my favorite Pizzelle recipe is from her cookbook as well. She just has some really great recipes!
So when I had a big bunch of overripe bananas I went to her cookbook to see if I could find a recipe that uses bananas and wasn’t for muffins or bread. I found a recipe for Caramel Banana Bars that looked wonderful and decided to give it a try.
How do I ripen Bananas quickly?
Since you need over ripened bananas for this recipe sometimes you need to speed up the process if yours are not already ripe and ready to go. Place the bananas in a paper bag with either an already ripened banana or an apple and fold down the opening of the bag. Your bananas will ripen in a day or two. You can also place unpeeled bananas on a foil lined baking sheet Bake at 300 degrees for 15-20 minutes and your bananas will be ripe.
I love caramel and bananas together so I figured this would be a great recipe. Then there is a chocolate glaze on top of these. While Dorie uses salted peanuts in both the bars and on top, I am not a peanut fan so I used chopped walnuts instead. I’m sure peanuts would be good but for a holiday cookie I think walnuts are a little fancier as well.
So let’s talk about these bars. The base is made like a traditional cookie but there is the addition of sour cream and bananas which make them a cross between a cookie and a cake. The caramel flavor comes from the butter and brown sugar being melted before mixing them in with the other ingredients in the base.
How do I mash bananas?
If your bananas are ripe enough you can put them in your hands and squeeze them until they are good and mashed. You can also use a fork and place the bananas in a bowl and mash them with the fork. Another way to mash them is to use your hand mixer. Cut the bananas into pieces and starting the mixer on low and increasing until the bananas are mixed.
Ingredients:
- salted butter (you can use unsalted if you prefer)
- light brown sugar (while you can use dark, light is preferred for the caramel flavor)
- all purpose flour
- salt
- baking powder
- baking soda
- ground cardamom (if you don’t have cardamom you can use cinnamon)
- ripe bananas (see above for tips on ripening them faster)
- sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
- granulated sugar
- egg
- vanilla extract
- walnuts (or you can use peanuts or pecans)
To make these bars preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 x 8 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Heat the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar has melted and dissolved completely. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cardamom. In a medium bowl combine the butter and brown sugar mixture with the granulated sugar, egg, and vanilla. Mix well. Add in the mashed banana, sour cream, and walnuts and mix well.
Add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and mix until just combined. Pour into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until the bars are completely baked.
I baked up a batch in the oven and they smelled wonderful. The scent was reminiscent of banana bread but smelled sweeter. When they came out of the oven they were fluffier then cookies but more dense then a cake.
These Caramel Banana Bars fall somewhere in the middle of cake and cookie. After they cooled I topped them with the chocolate glazed and more chopped walnuts.
Can I use a different topping?
You can! A cream cheese frosting would be great on top of these bars. You can also use a chocolate buttercream instead of a chocolate glaze. Chocolate ganache would be yummy as well.
I cut the bars into squares and my husband and I each enjoyed one. I like that it had a subtle banana flavor and was not overbearing. I also liked the addition of the nuts which gave the bars some texture.
The chocolate on top wasn’t overwhelming either. It just added the perfect accompaniment to the banana bars. This is the perfect “not too sweet” dessert bar and it goes well with coffee. I can’t wait to bake up another batch for my holiday dessert table!
How do you store Banana Bars?
Store the bars in an air tight container for up to 4 days. If stacking the bars place sheets of parchment in between the layers so the chocolate doesn’t melt.
If you’ve tried my Caramel Banana Bars or any other recipe on Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you! You can FOLLOW ME on:
Caramel Banana Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Banana Bars:
- 6 Tablespoons butter
- 1/3 c. packed light brown sugar
- 1 c. flour
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 2 small very ripe bananas
- 2 Tablespoons sour cream
- 1/3 c. sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 c. chopped walnuts
For the topping:
- 1/2 c. milk chocolate finely chopped
- 1/4 c. chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 x 8 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Place the butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar and butter are completely melted. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cardamom.
- In a medium bowl mash together the banana and sour cream.
- In a large bowl combine the butter mixture with the granulated sugar and mix until combined. Add the egg and beat until incorporated.
- Stir in the vanilla and walnuts and mix well.
- Add the banana and sour cream mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and mix well.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until just combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- To make the topping simply place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds in the microwave. Stir well. Continue heating in 15 second intervals, stirring in between each one, until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Pour the chocolate over top of the bars and smooth. Sprinkle with the chopped walnuts.
- Allow the chocolate 30 minutes to harden. Cut into 16 bars and serve.
Notes
