Best Banana Bars

These moist, sweet banana bars frosted with rich, toffee brown butter frosting are the best banana bar recipe ever! You will love these frosted banana bars with cream cheese frosting.

There are some recipes that just blow me away and this was one of them! When I was recipe testing these banana bars, I just kept going back for bites all day long. They are sinfully good!

I keep them in the refrigerator because I think they are even more delicious served cold and they stay so moist. Oh and can we talk about the brown butter frosting? It is to die for! There is just something so special about brown butter frosting — it just elevates the banana bars.

The beauty of this recipe is that the bars stay fresh for so long! I either freeze them or keep them in the refrigerator and they stay perfectly moist.

Frosted Banana Bars Ingredients:

Here’s what you need to make easy frosted banana bars with brown butter frosting:

Ripe Bananas: The star of the show, bananas provide natural sweetness and moisture. Ensure your bananas are overripe (brown spots on the peel) for the best flavor.

Butter: Adds richness and moisture.

Granulated Sugar: Provides sweetness.

Brown Sugar: Adds a deeper flavor and moisture due to its molasses content.

Eggs: Bind the ingredients together and add structure.

Vanilla Extract: Adds flavor depth.

Buttermilk: Contributes to the moistness and tenderness of the bars.

All-Purpose Flour: Gives structure to the bars.

Baking Soda and Baking Powder: Helps the bars rise and become fluffy.

Salt: Enhances the overall flavor.

This is a special brown butter cream cheese frosting recipe that pairs the toffee notes from brown butter with the creamy, tangy flavor of cream cheese and the sweetness of powdered sugar.

• Butter: The key is taking the time to brown the butter to create toffee, nutty notes in the butter.
• Cream Cheese: This adds a rich, tangy, creamy texture that cuts the sweetness of the sugar to make it perfectly sweet.
• Powdered Sugar: This adds the sweetness to the frosting. If you desire a thicker frosting, add up to 1/4-1/2 cup more powdered sugar.
• Vanilla Bean Paste or Vanilla Extract: For the best vanilla flavor, I suggest using vanilla bean paste but a high-quality vanilla extract will be delicious as well.

Bananas are ready to use in baking when they are overripe. Look for bananas with a deep yellow peel covered in brown spots. The more spots, the sweeter the banana will be, making it perfect for banana bars or cake.

What can I do with overripe bananas?

Do you have overripe, old bananas and want to know what to do with them? What to do with bananas turning brown? Don’t let them go to waste because there are so many ways to use them!

Banana Bread
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread — We are taking banana bread up a notch by adding chocolate chips. If you love the combination of banana and chocolate, this is the recipe for you!
Frosted Banana Cake — This is such a crowd-pleasing dessert! This banana cake with cream cheese frosting is perfectly moist and delicious.
Banana Sheet Cake — This is the perfect recipe to take to a potluck and it serves so many.
Banana Cake with Nutella Frosting
Strawberry Banana Smoothie — one of my go-to ways to use overripe bananas is to throw them into smoothies. Bananas add a natural sweetness and a creamy texture to smoothies. I love to put ripe bananas in gallon-size freezer bags and store them in the freezer.
Healthy Banana Oatmeal Pancakes — if you are looking for a healthy, quick, easy, filling breakfast, then this healthy pancake recipe is for you! It has hundreds of 5-star reviews.

How to make the Best Banana Bars:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees. This is definitely a low temperature but it is what helps to keep the banana cake extra moist. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar for 5 minutes or until light and fluffly.
• Add eggs one at a time, mixing in between. Stir in vanilla.
• In a small bowl, mash bananas with lemon juice. Add bananas to bowl and mix well. Stir in buttermilk.
• Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan.
• Bake for 70-75 minutes or until baked in the middle.
• Place in freezer for 45 minutes to 1 hour to keep moist (put oven mitts underneath pan).
• While it is cooling, make the brown butter frosting. Start by browning the butter in a saucepan and then removing from the heat. Place the brown butter in a mixing bowl. Once it has cooled for about 20 minutes, add the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla, and beat until light and fluffy.
• Frost the chilled banana bars with the brown butter cream cheese frosting.

How do I know when Banana Bars are Done?

The banana bars are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. This ensures the bars are baked through but still moist. Overbaking can lead to dry bars, so it’s important to start checking a few minutes before the suggested baking time.

FAQ’s:

My favorite baking tools to use when making homemade banana bars are the following:

USA 9 x 13 pan (I own 3 of these pans because I use them so often in my recipe testing).
Kitchenaid Mixer — my favorite appliance to use when making baked goods.

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