Banana Bars with Brown Butter Frosting
If you find yourself with some ripe, brown speckled bananas on your counter, don’t despair- they are perfect for this recipe . The best way to use them are in banana desserts. They are the key to moist banana bars that are sweet and full of banana flavor. Good luck not eating the whole pan because these are addicting.
These bars will almost melt in your mouth. They have the perfect texture and pair beautifully with the brown butter frosting recipe. Trust me when I tell you they are the best thing I have baked in ages.
Ingredients needed for Banana Bars Recipe with Brown Butter Frosting:
- Overripe Bananas
- Sour Cream
- Vanilla Extract
- Sugar
- All Purpose Flour
- Butter (and Browned Butter for the Frosting)
- Powdered Sugar
Supplies needed:
- Large Bowl
- Electric Mixer
- Parchment Paper
- 8×8 square baking dish
- Rubber Spatula
The Process:
In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg, vanilla and sour cream and then combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Fold in the mashed bananas and spread into the prepared baking pan.
Meanwhile melt the butter on the stove top until it’s brown and toasty. Scrape up all the brown bits and transfer to a medium bowl. Mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla. After baking the bars in the preheated oven, spoon on the brown butter frosting and enjoy the bars warm, room temperature or cold!
How to Store these Banana Bars:
In an airtight container or in plastic wrap these bars will last about 3-4 days at room temperature or up to a week in the fridge.
Can I use yellow bananas?
Honestly I wouldn’t. The brown bananas are what make these the best banana bars! The super ripe bananas make the bars extra moist and sweet and I think it’s worth letting them ripen a bit.
Can I sub anything for the butter and sour cream?
This recipe works great with coconut oil instead of butter and I have used yogurt with great success as well. Non dairy yogurt would likely be a good swap.
Can I make these chocolate chip banana bars?
Yes! Next time I plan to fold in 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips or regular semisweet chocolate chips, but you could also add a whole cup and skip the brown butter frosting.
Can I use frozen bananas?
Yes! I love peeling and freezing super ripe bananas so that I have them ready for banana bread or other recipes. (Smoothies etc…) Peel and store in a ziplock and then let them thaw at room temperature before using. They texture of the banana will be different than fresh but the end result will turn out the same.
Other favorite banana recipes:
The Best Banana Bread Ever, Naked Banana Cake, Cinnamon Swirl Banana Crumb Cake, Homemade Banana Pudding
Looking for more bar recipes?
Sea Salt Brownies and Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars are two of my favorites!
Banana Bars with Brown Butter Icing
Ingredients
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 cup (about 2) very ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
brown butter frosting:
- 1/2 cup/1 stick of butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1½ tbsp. milk
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375F. Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper. (I overlap two pieces so the sides hang over the pan. It makes removing the bars easy as can be.)
- In a large bowl, beat together sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs until creamy. Blend in bananas and vanilla extract.
- Add flour, baking soda, salt, stir together until just combined. Spread batter evenly into pan.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool slightly and then remove from pan using the parchment to lift.
For the Frosting:
- Brown Butter in a medium sauce pan by melting it over medium-high heat and then letting it continue to cook until brown bits form. Swirl the pan around but let it get toasty brown.
- Pour the butter into a heat-proof bowl and whisk.
- Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until smooth
- Spread the icing on the bars when they have cooled for about 10-15 minutes. The frosting goes on much easier when the bars are a little warm, it also creates an amazing soft, slightly-melty affect.
Notes
Greek Yogurt works well in place of sour cream.
You seriously rock my world! Love this!
Omgosh, you don’t know how incredibly excited and honored I am to see that you made a recipe from my blog. I absolutely adore your blog and all of your creations, I’ve been following you for a while and you have easily become one of my favorite bakers. Thanks so very much for trying out this recipe and I’m so glad to see you liked the bars! Have a wonderful weekend :)
These bars are SO good. I’m so glad I found the recipe! :)
I happen to have two overly ripe bananas on my kitchen table right now! Definitely going to make these today. I LOVE when I just happen to have all of the ingredients ready to go!!
Yes I love when that happens too! I hope you love them as much as I did! :)
I’m in heaven. Just sayin’
Oh my. I like banana bars plain. . .but this icing would make them irresistible!
Yeah, I would have been pushing these out the door as fast as they came out of the oven because I couldn’t risk eating the whole pan. These look amazing…you can never go wrong with brown butter!
These look out of this world!
they look delicious (long time follower, first time commenter). What are the specks in the icing? do you use vanilla beans??
Hey Betsy! The specks are from the brown butter- it always has little specks throughout :)
I love those specks! They make anything look prettier and more rustic. Another one of the many reasons to love brown butter!
When do you add the milk?
Hi! For the frosting, add milk if needed to thin frosting out at the end.
thanks for the response! I’ll have to make soon! As always, your food looks amazing!!
Oh yes, please!! I’m obsessed with all things brown butter so I know these bars would be a hit here. I’m the same way with the things I bake – the sooner I can get them out of the house, the better :)
made it-amazing!
What do you mean by “a well-fit top” when you are browning the butter?
Hey Kim- sorry for the late reply. I just mean something that fits well. For example if you are using a glass measuring cup- place a saucer that is snug on top so the butter doesn’t splatter out! :)
I’m so glad you liked them! They are a favorite…
Mmm. I just made these banana bars, and I cannot get over how MOIST and SOFT they are! Even though I just made them, your pictures are tempting me to make another batch. I clearly have a problem – a baking addiction, if you will..
Here are the ones I made!
http://thekitchenkook.blogspot.com/2013/01/moist-banana-bars-with-brown-butter.html
Thank you! I’m so glad you liked them! :)
Hmm, tried these with high expectations, but not sure I’ll make them again. Cake was dense and flabby (and baked longer than indicated). Icing was extremely sweet. Even my sweet-loving husband thought so. Might try the banana scones with the next batch of overripe fruit.
You should know HOW MUCH JOY this recipe brings! it is a magical treat :)
Thanks Shawnna- I love these bars so much!
First time commenter, short time lurker and have definitely enjoyed looking through your recipes!! {READ: getting lost for three hours… I do work. HAH! Obviously not.}
Back to my questions… I will be using applesauce in place of sour cream and half bread flour/all purpose mix.. Along with all those substitutions would brown sugar be okay here..? I love the molasses flavour so much!!!!
P.S. This is only going to be for ME!!!!!!!! {: Wee!!
Hi Sophia! I think brown sugar would be Ok in this one- but I haven’t tried it so I can’t promise it won’t change the texture slightly. :)
I made these yesterday, and they were amazing! I expected something quite rich and heavy, but to my surprise they weren’t.
Hi, could I make this recipe in mini muffin tins? Would I need to change anything? Thanks
You could- you would change the bake time significantly- I’d start with 15 minutes.
These are delicious! Love all the flavors!
2 questions:
– My bars came out with more of a “cake” texture than yours looked. Do you think I overmixed?
– My frosting was heavy, not fluffy like yours looked. Not enough powdered sugar and milk?
The bars are definitely moist and cake-like- not a dense brownie-like texture.
The a light frosting- I’d beat it on high and add 1 tsp of milk at a time until it’s your ideal consistency. Thanks for making them!