Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

I love just about any bar as long as it is moist.  But my absolute favorite cake is banana bars with cream cheese frosting. I have another recipe on my blog for banana cake and it is very good also but I think for now that this is my new favorite banana bar recipe. 

1/2 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream

 Directions:
 1.   In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with bananas and sour cream, beating well after each addition.
2.  Pour into a greased 15x10x1 jelly roll pan. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
3.  Frost with my favorite cream cheese frosting. 
4.  Add nuts on top - they add a special touch
5.  Enjoy

Banana Cake

I like banana bread but I LOVE banana cake.  I hadn't made banana cake in a LONG time, but at the store recently they had bananas on sale.  I picked up a bag of bananas for under $2.00 - score for me.  I had made banana bread with some of them but that really didn't hit the spot so off I went looking for a banana cake recipe.  I knew that my cake recipe had to have buttermilk and it had to be moist.

Cake Ingredients:

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 egg

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 mashed super ripe bananas (about 3/4 cup)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

 

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Cream together sugar, sour cream, egg, and butter.  Add mashed bananas and vanilla extract.  Add flour, salt, and baking soda; mix well.  Pour into greased 8x8 pan.  Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool completely before frosting.

 

Frosting Ingredients:

 

4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. butter

pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients until smooth.

 

If you would like to double the recipe it will work well in a 9 x 13 pan. If making 9 x 13 pan make sure you also double the frosting.   

Banana Bread

WOW time sure does go by fast.  I didn't realize that I hadn't posted in so long.  I have been cooking but really haven't made anything great so I haven't blogged.  But last night I tried a new recipe and boy was it good.  I will post my recipe and also post the link of the original recipe.  Of course I can't just try a recipe and not put my own twist on it.  Here you go.  This recipe makes two loaves so in one loaf I put nuts and the other I put mini chocolate chips.  I will say I didn't measure the chips or the nuts.   I just put in what I thought looked good.  Sometimes I cook like my Grandma Lucy did - just throw in until it looks good or tastes good. Enjoy - with butter or without!!

 
Ingredients:

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/4 cups sugar
• 2 packages (3.4 ounces each) instant banana cream pudding mix
• 1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups mashed ripe bananas (4 to 5 medium)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped nuts or chocolate chips, optional

Directions

•In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. In another large bowl, whisk the eggs, bananas, oil and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Stir in nuts if desired.

•Transfer to two greased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans. Bake at 325° for 80-90 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 loaves (12 slices each).

I changed the pudding flavor, omitted the cinnamon and exchanged 1/2 cup buttermilk instead of all oil.  I believe buttermilk helps add to the moisture.  Other than that I followed the recipe.  I believe mine took around the whole 65 minutes to bake.  Put a toothpick in the middle - when it comes out clean than it is ready. 

Here is the link to the original recipe - try both and let me know what you think. http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Moist-Banana-Bread

Banana Split Brownie Pizza

This is another recipe from Pampered Chef that is so delicious.  I am not a huge pineapple fan on my brownie sundaes but in this dessert you really can't tell and it is just the right amount of pineapple.

1 package (21.5 oz) brownie mix plus ingredients to make brownies
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
2 Tbs sugar
2 bananas sliced
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1/2 cups nuts chopped
1/4 cup chocolate ice cream topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions.  Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit on round baking stone.  (need at least 15 inch round stone) Pour brownie mixture onto parchment paper; spread into approximate 14 inch circle.  (*Do not bake without parchment paper or batter will run off baking stone while baking).  Bake 15-18 minutes or until brownie is set.  Do not over bake.  Cool completely.  In bowl, mix cream cheese, pineapple and sugar until well blended.  Spread cream cheese mixture over brownie.  Slice bananas and strawberries.  Chop nuts.  Arrange fruit over cream cheese mixture; sprinkle with nuts.  Drizzle chocolate topping over pizza.  Refrigerate.  Cut into wedges.

Do not substitute wax paper for the parchment paper in this recipe or batter will run off baking stone.  To use Parchment paper, place baking stone on the parchment and draw around it. Cut out the shape and place it on the surface of the stoneware.  Unlike wax paper, parchment paper will not scorch or melt during baking. 

Banana Cream Supreme

This is one of my daughters favorite desserts. I used to be a Pampered Chef demonstrator and loved to make this dessert as it is so easy but oh so delicious.  Enjoy De Anna :0)

16 (2 1/2) graham cracker squares (approximately 1 1/4 cups crushed)
1/4 cup melted butter
3 Tbs spoon sugar
1 (12 oz) container cool whip
1 cup sour cream
1 package (3.4 oz) banana cream or vanilla instant pudding and pie filling
3 medium bananas (sliced)

Finely crush graham crackers in resealable plastic bag; place in bowl and add butter and sugar.  Mix well.  Press crumb mixture onto flat bottom of spring form pan.  In another bowl whisk together the cool whip and sour cream. Add pudding flavor and whisk until mixture is well blended and smooth.  Spread half of the filing over crust.  Slice bananas and arrange over filling.  Spread remaining filling over bananas.

If you don't want to make a graham cracker crust - you can make it even easier on yourself and just go buy a premade graham cracker crust.  Not as good but just about!!

Monkey Squares

This recipe came from "The Girl Who Ate Everything" who borrowed from TheWelcomeMat.  I haven't tried this recipe but am going to try it and take them to my mom who is in a nursing home.  She loves banana bread so I think this will be a nice change. 

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup sour cream
½ cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 ¾ cups (3 or 4) ripe bananas, mashed
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour 10x15 jelly roll pan. Beat first four ingredients until creamy. Blend in bananas and vanilla one minute. Add dry ingredients and blend one minute. Stir in nuts and spread in pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Cool and frost with Browned Butter Frosting (recipe below).

Banana bread option: instead of spreading into jelly roll pan, this recipe will make about two regular loaves of banana bread, or about four small loaves. Regular loaves bake about 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Small loaves will bake about 25 minutes on 350.

Browned Butter Frosting

½ cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
about 3 tablespoons milk or half and half

Heat butter in saucepan over medium heat past the melting point until it boiling, and a delicate brown. Remove from the heat and immediately add the remaining ingredients. This should be thicker than a glaze and thinner than frosting. Using a spatula smooth over the top of the Monkey Squares immediately. The frosting will be easier to spread once it's on the warm bread.