If you like banana bread, you’re going to love these Banana Bars! They’re perfectly cakey and topped with a decadent cream cheese frosting.
Photos updated 2/20/2018
When we lived in Idaho I was able to serve with some ladies in my neighborhood in our church primary organization. Andrea brought a dessert to one of the meetings and it happened to be a plate of Banana Bars. I remember trying those decadent bars for the first time and wondering where in the world they had been all my life. I never did get the recipe, but later on down the road I was given this recipe from my friend Jeanelle, who happens to be an awesome cook and baker. I made her recipe and have loved baking this dessert ever since!
My family love banana bread and this dessert tastes like a sweeter version with cream cheese frosting. I can’t even explain how heavenly these bars are!
If you’ve never used a jelly roll pan before, it’s pretty much a half cookie sheet. I was totally new to jelly roll pans before I made this recipe! A single batch of bars is baked in a jelly roll pan but if you double the recipe, you can just bake it in a standard cookie sheet.
These bars are awesome for just about any occasion! Baby shower, Sunday dinner…they’d even be great for Easter!
Banana Bars
Ingredients
Banana Bars
- 1/2 c butter or margarine softened
- 1 1/2 c sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 8 oz sour cream
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 c. flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 medium ripe bananas mashed
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 c butter softened
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 4 c powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Prepare the bars by creaming together butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla.
- Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture; stir in the bananas.
- Spread into a greased jelly roll pan (15"x10"x1") and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Beat together cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Add powdered sugar a 1/2 cup at a time. Frost the bars and store covered in the fridge. Enjoy!
Kitchen tools and gadgets needed for this recipe:
I absolutely LOVE these bars and hope you do too!
Here are a few other favorite dessert recipes…
Ultimate Turtle Brownies
S’more Bars
Cookies and Cream Cake
This post contains affiliate links. I include these links to help you find the products that I used in the recipe. If you purchase an item from the link, I will receive a small commission helping keep my recipes free for you. Thank you for your support!
Original Photo:
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