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Laughing Spatula / Recipe Index / Breakfasts / Banana Bars with Brown Butter Frosting

Banana Bars with Brown Butter Frosting

By Kathi & Rachel

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These Banana Bars are great for a crowd, and everybody raves about the Brown Butter Frosting.  Baked on a sheet pan, you get enough to feed that banana loving crowd of yours!

In an attempt to wean myself off of my current Peanut Butter Crinkle Cookie obsession, I made Banana Bars.  For some reason it made sense to me to make something that I didn’t crave.  It’s like ordering bourbon when you want wine so you don’t drink too much.  But really, all that happens is you end up loving bourbon.  Same concept here.  Now I crave these Banana Bars (and bourbon)…I really am hopeless. Start making these by mixing up your batter.  I recommend a stand mixer for convenience. Once mixed, add the batter to a sheet pan either covered in parchment or sprayed with nonstick.

adding banana bar batter to sheet pan

Besides loving the incredible sugar rush I got from licking the frosting bowl, I also loved that this recipe is baked on a sheet pan.  When I am not obsessing over Peanut Butter Crinkle cookies then I’m obsessing over new things to make on a sheet pan.  It’s a hobby..a sheety one!  Oh come on let me have one sheety joke! While the bars are baking, mix up the frosting. Brown butter in a pan to start. Watch it closely so it doesn’t burn. It should look a little something like the picture below.

browning butter in a pan

Allow the brown butter to cool, then mix with powdered sugar, vanilla, and a smidge of milk. Because the banana bars are a little cakey, the frosting mixture is a a little more runny to allow it to spread better.

mixing frosting in stand mixer

I should note…It is best to make the frosting during the last 10 minutes of the bars baking so you can frost while the bars are warm. It helps spread evenly and once it cools, it makes that delicious semi-crackly frosting coating everybody loves.

picture of banana bar with fork on plate

If you are looking for other delicious dessert bar recipes, check out a few of our favorites!

  • Bananas Foster Upside Down Cake
  • Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Maple Frosting
  • Glazed Orange Bars
  • Easy Apple Cake
  • Lemon Loaf Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
picture of banana bars on dish towel garnished with banana slices

Banana Bars with Brown Butter Frosting

Banana bars that feed a crowd!  These bars are baked on a sheet pan.  The flavor is fabulous and the brown butter frosting is a perfect addition.
4.05 from 22 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
Servings: 24
Author: Kathi & Rachel

Ingredients

For the bars

  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 very ripe bananas
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Brown Butter Frosting

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoon . vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons milk

Instructions

  • Bars
  • Cream together butter and sugar using an electric mixer. Beat in eggs, bananas and vanilla.
  • Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the banana mixture and mix well.
  • Pour into buttered 15 x 10 x 1 in baking pan
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and springs back easily when touched.
  • Brown Butter Frosting
  • About 10 minutes before bars are done. Begin the frosting: Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Continue boiling for about 3-5 minutes until the butter becomes a light brown. Remove from heat.
  • Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Whisk together until smooth. You will want this a bit thinner than frosting so it spread easily on the warm bars. Using a spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the warm bars.

Nutrition

Calories: 254kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 171mg | Potassium: 74mg | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 280IU | Vitamin C: 1.3mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.6mg

 

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Filed Under: Breakfasts, Cake Recipes, Desserts, Sheet Pan Recipes, Vegetarian

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ed says

    February 9, 2021 at 12:28 pm

    Thank you for the recipe. As mentioned earlier the frosting was a bit too thick . Added a splash of milk and voila .

    Reply
  2. Catherine Adams says

    March 25, 2020 at 6:00 pm

    3 stars
    These have a delicious taste. I just ran into an issue with frosting being too thick…..followed receipe to a tee. I just browned mire butter and added to frosting mixture. Not sure what happened. But they are delicious…watch out…very adficting!!

    Reply
    • Kathi & Rachel says

      March 26, 2020 at 8:11 am

      Hi Catherine, sorry the frosting didn’t work for you. It’s very easy to be off powdered sugar measurement as it an be compact or loose depending on how you store it. Adding a tablespoon of milk will usually take care of a dry frosting.

      Reply
  3. Pat says

    May 1, 2015 at 1:53 pm

    Kathi, you are just too funny! :)……I love all your cookie posts and this really looks terrific. You must have an extensive cookie recipe collection. I will check out your sheet board…:)

    Reply
4.05 from 22 votes (21 ratings without comment)

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