Fudgy Banana Bars with Vanilla Bean Browned Butter Glaze

Fudgy is the only word that describes the bars.

They’re the banana equivalent of moist, fudgy brownies with zero traces of cakiness.

The bars are rich, soft, supremely moist, and tooth-sinkingly dense and satisfying. If you’re looking for a fluffy slice of banana cake or banana bread, they’re not that.

They’re adapted from my Lemon Lemonies, the lemon equivalent of fudgy brownies. The dense texture of the Lemonies was so perfect and unlike anything else I had ever made. I kept thinking about them and it dawned on me that maybe I could do the same thing with bananas.

It’s an easy, no-mixer recipe and the glaze makes the bars go from really darn good to out-of-this world amazing. It’s a must-make.

The secrets are browned butter and glorious specks of vanilla beans. I cannot think of two more powerfully flavorful ingredients than browned butter or vanilla beans seeds, and flavor just explodes from the glaze.

If you’ve never browned butter, read this tutorial. The 5 minutes it takes to do is the best 5 minutes you’ll spend all month. I used vanilla bean paste but scraping the seeds of a vanilla bean works. Vanilla extract is okay, but won’t be as flavorfully intense as paste or seeds.

After pouring the glaze over the warm bars, it seeps down and soaks in, and makes the bars even moister and softer. The rippled appearance that’s created as it sets up enhances the homey comfort food factor.

I normally have a piece or two of what I make and give the rest to my family or re-home the leftovers with friends and neighbors, but I hoarded these.

Definitely one of my best recipes of 2014 and I’ll happily do all the cardio in the world to keep on hoarding.

Fudgy Banana Bars with Vanilla Bean Browned Butter Glaze

Fudgy is the only word that describes the bars. They’re the banana equivalent of moist, fudgy brownies with zero traces of cakiness. The bars are rich, soft, supremely moist, and tooth-sinkingly dense and satisfying. If you’re looking for a fluffy slice of banana cake or banana bread, they’re not that. It’s an easy, no-mixer recipe and the glaze makes the bars go from really darn good to out-of-this world amazing. It’s a must-make. The secrets are browned butter and glorious specks of vanilla beans. I used vanilla bean paste but scraping the seeds of a vanilla bean works. Vanilla extract is okay but won’t be as flavorfully intense. The glaze seeps into the bars, and makes them even moister and softer.

Yield: one 8x8 pan, 9 to 12 generous squares

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: about 33 minutes

Total Time: about 3 hours, for cooling & glaze setting up

Ingredients:

Bars
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), melted
1 large egg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup mashed banana (about 2 large or 3 small/medium ripe bananas)
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
pinch salt, optional and to taste
Glaze
1/4 cup unsalted butter, browned (how to brown butter tutorial)
1 heaping cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or seeds from 1 large vanilla bean; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract may be substituted)
pinch salt, optional and to taste
about 1/4 cup cream or milk, or as necessary for consistency

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
2. Bars - In a large, microwave-safe bowl add the white chocolate, butter, and heat to melt, about 2 minutes on high power. Stop to check and stir after 1 minute, and then heat in 20-second bursts, stopping to stir after each burst, until mixture can be stirred smooth. White chocolate is very prone to scorching and seizing up, so watch it carefully and don't overheat.
3. Wait momentarily before adding the egg so you don't scramble it. Add the egg, sugar, vanilla, and whisk until combined.
4. Stir in the bananas until well-combined.
5. Add the flour, optional salt, and stir until just combined; don't overmix.
6. Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
7. Bake for about 32 to 33 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. In the last 15 minutes of baking, make the glaze.
8. Glaze - Brown the butter (click for tutorial). Cook butter over medium-high heat in a small saucepan until it's amber to brown in color, about 5 minutes depending on pan size, but watch it closely so you don't burn it. I swirl the pan in the last minute or so to make sure I can really see the color changes. Butter will go through stages of hissing, sputtering, and making noise until the water cooks off at which point the browning occurs. Butter will smell nutty and aromatic.
9. Transfer butter, including brown bits at the bottom of the pan (they're flavor powerhouses, keep them) from pan to large mixing bowl which stops any carryover cooking.
10. Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla bean paste, optional salt, and slowly add the milk, whisking until smooth or beat with a handheld electric mixer. As necessary, add additional cream (or confectioners' sugar) to reach desired glaze consistency. Glaze should be of medium thickness and easily pourable.
11. Evenly pour glaze over bars (they don't have to be cooled first), smoothing it lightly with a spatula if necessary, but glaze will likely just slide into place.
12. Allow bars to cool in pan uncovered for at least 2 to 3 hours, (or overnight and cover with a sheet of foil) before slicing and serving so glaze can set up. Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Adapted from Lemon Lemonies

Recipe from Averie Cooks. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.

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