Banana Bread Bars With Brown Butter Frosting

You know how most banana bread recipes end up falling a little short? They smell amazing while baking and taste delicious hot out of the oven, right? But once the bread is cool it starts to taste like ... well... disappointment. 

Not this batch.

This is, hands down, the best banana bread (more like cake but not quite) that I've ever made/had. I know I've done well when the entire family goes back for seconds. Fair warning - make this when you have a full house so you're not tempted to eat it all. 

The recipe is as follows: 

Ingredients:

Banana Bread Bars:

1-1/2 c. sugar

1 c. sour cream

1/2 c. butter, softened

2 eggs

1-3/4 (3 or 4) ripe bananas, mashed

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Brown Butter Frosting:

1/2 c. butter

4 c. powdered sugar

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 tbsp. milk

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 375F.  Grease and flour 15x10-inch jelly roll pan.  For the bars, 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, and blend for 1 minute.  Stir in walnuts.

2.  Spread batter evenly into pan.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

3.  Meanwhile, for frosting, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling.  Let the butter turn a delicate brown and remove from heat immediately.

*The only problem I encountered was having to add extra milk and extra vanilla to the browned butter / sugar mix. I didn't measure, just put enough of both in to bring it to a desirable taste and consistency. Other than that, this recipe is easy and delicious. A new family favorite!

*Recipe courtesy of Life's Simple Measures