Banana bread is a favorite, but, oh my goodness, these soft, fudgy banana bars with caramel icing are impossible to resist.
Lately, I have been on a campaign to apply some much-needed discipline to the underutilized, overbought contents of my freezer and cupboards. Last week, when I found too many cans of crushed pineapple on the shelf, it led to this yummy discovery: pineapple dump cake!
This delightful recipe for banana bars popped up when I needed to use some frozen bananas I had stashed away. As good as bananas look, especially when they're on sale, it seems we never eat them fast enough, and all too soon, they're freckled.
This recipe is a keeper! We absolutely love these fudgy, brownie-like bars, especially the amazing caramel icing on top!
One of my best investments last year was a compact vacuum sealer for food. It is small enough to fit in a kitchen drawer with my foil, parchment paper, and plastic wrap.
It's perfect for the two of us to freeze fruit or vegetables, for example, for freezing asparagus, or it allows us to divide large packages of meat on sale into smaller portions. It's also great for sealing nuts, raisins, and other dried fruit.
Not long ago, I found a bag filled with perfectly ripe, "pre-freckled" bananas in my favorite small local grocery store. They were so cheap that I couldn't pass them up.
In this case, I used my vacuum sealer to freeze three bananas in one-loaf portions, which is ideal for making banana bread later!
It's a perfect way to use up three ripe bananas! This recipe will transform them into fifteen generous banana bars in a 13" x 9" pan. They make a perfect little dessert or snack. Add cinnamon and nutmeg if you like a more traditional banana bread flavor.
You can customize them by adding chocolate, butterscotch, caramel, white chips, nuts, or yummy brickle bits. Coconut might taste great in them, too!
The banana bars are easy to stir up in one bowl, and the caramel frosting is well worth the few minutes of cooking on the stove. The buttery icing could stand alone as fudge. It is amazing!
We have found they keep well and taste even better the second or third day when the flavors mingle, and the buttery icing adds moisture and enhances the flavor of the banana bars. They also freeze well. We only discovered that when we found ourselves overindulging! 😉
Cream the softened butter with the brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
Add the mashed bananas, then add the flour and salt, mixing until there are no visible streaks of flour. Don't overbeat.
Stir in any add-ins you like and spread the mixture in a greased 13" by 9" pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for twenty-five to thirty minutes until golden brown and a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean when you poke them near the center.
Let the banana bars cool while you make the yummy caramel frosting!
To make the frosting for your banana bars (the best part!), put the butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and cream or milk in a small saucepan.
Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Then turn off the heat and add the powdered sugar while you continue to whisk constantly until the mixture is completely smooth.
Add a splash of milk or cream if the icing seems too thick. If it seems too thin, add a little powdered sugar. It should be pourable.
Pour the icing on the bars and work fast to spread it evenly to the edges of the pan because this yummy icing sets up quickly! Be sure to scrape the pot and lick the spoon because it is your solemn right and duty as the baker!
Enjoy your wonderful banana bars with a cold glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee; they're perfect either way! I love bar cookies even more than cookie cookies, they seem like more of a dessert to me!
Here are some of my favorite bar cookie recipes: Lemon Pie Bars, Fudgy Brownies, Sour Cream Raisin Bars, and if you want more recipes for great bar cookies, type "bars" in the search bar.
These rich, fudgy banana bars have amazing caramel icing. You can add chips, nuts, or brickle bits of your choice. They're so yummy!
If you cut the recipe in half, it makes a 9" x 9" pan.
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Love, GB (Betty Streff)
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