These Brown Butter Banana Blondies are the perfect sweet treat. The rich nutty flavor of brown butter is baked with naturally sweet bananas to form a cross between a tender banana bread and a classic chewy blondie. Then they are topped with a creamy brown butter cream cheese frosting and some maple glazed walnuts for a little added crunch.
I don’t know about you but in my house we really like bananas. Whether added to a bowl of cereal, baked in a bread or just as an on the go snack. They make the perfectly sweet and satisfying addition to any diet. Needless to say, we buy a lot. But, every now and then there are those bananas that don’t get eaten and get a little over ripe, you know the ones with all the brown spots that everyone seems to avoid. Most of the time, I peel them and place them on a plate in the freezer for future smoothies but when I am in the mood for a sweet treat, they become the perfect addition to a recipe, adding natural sweetness and a ton of moisture.
Having made my fair share of Banana Bread, I wanted to change things up and make something a bit different. Thats when the thought of Banana Bread combined with a Blondie came to mind, and why not top it with a smooth and silky Cream Cheese Frosting to balance all the flavors.
Why You Will Love These Blondies
- Deep Rich Flavor: When you add the brown butter, it adds a warm nutty almost caramel like flavor that gives a gourmet feeling to this dessert.
- Ripe Bananas: This is the perfect use for those ripe bananas. They add the perfect amount of natural sweetness so that you don’t have to add a ton of extra sugar.
- Perfect Texture: A soft and tender center with slightly crisp edges that when combined together create a chewy bite. Then topped with a silky smooth brown butter cream cheese frosting and some walnuts for that added crunch.
- Easy To Make: These Blondies are made with simple ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen.
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What You Will Need To Make These Blondies
Equipment:
- Mixing Bowls: Having mixing bowls in a variety of sizes helps in the preparation of this recipe. I prefer using glass mixing bowls because glass does not have any reaction with acidic ingredients, which could alter the flavors in your recipe. They are also easy to clean.
- Silicone Spatula: This is the perfect way to scrape out every last bit of batter from your mixing bowl.
- Baking Pan: For this recipe, I used a 8” x 8” baking tray ( a brownie tray ) that is non stick and PFAS free.
- Parchment Paper: Will prevent sticking and also allows you to easily remove the Blondies from the pan.
Ingredients:
- Butter: I always opt for unsalted butter so that I can control the salt content in my recipes.
- Sugar: This recipe calls for both Dark Brown Sugar and Powdered Sugar, both for added sweetness and texture.
- Egg: This is the binder in the recipe, adding stability to your Blondies.
- Vanilla Extract:I always opt for Pure Vanilla Extract due to its intense vanilla flavor.
- Bananas: It is best to use very ripe bananas, the ones with all the brown spots are perfect. This is when they are at there sweetest.
- Flour: A good All Purpose Flour works best for this recipe.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: These are the leavening agents in the recipe, allowing them to rise.
- Cinnamon: Ground Cinnamon will add a bit of warmth to this recipe.
- Salt: a pinch of salt will enhance the flavors in the recipe.
- Nuts: Chopped Walnuts are added for a bit of crunch.
- Cream Cheese: Full fat or low fat.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: Used to form a smooth and silky frosting.
- Real Maple Syrup: Perfect for coating the walnuts to give them a sweet maple flavor.
Tips For Making This Recipe
- Room Temperature Ingredients: When your ingredients are at room temperature they will blend into each other smoothly allowing for a more consistent flavor and texture.
- Lining Your Baking Pan: Lining your baking pan with a piece of parchment paper will prevent sticking and allow you to remove the Blondies from the pan easily. It will also aid in clean up.
- Frosting: The frosting for this recipe is a mixture of cream cheese and brown butter. Once the butter is browned, it is poured into a glass container to cool completely until it comes back to a solid but soft state. Then it can be blended with the cream cheese to form a smooth and silky frosting.
Brown Butter Banana Blondies With Cream Cheese Frosting
Course: DessertDifficulty: Easy9
servings20
minutes30
minutesThe rich flavor of brown butter is combined with the natural sweetness of the ripe bananas then topped with a silky smooth cream cheese frosting making every bite of these Brown Butter Banana Blondies the perfect mixture of flavors and textures.
Ingredients
- For The Blondies
1/2 Cup unsalted butter browned
3/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 Egg
2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
2 Large extra ripe bananas mashed
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 Teaspoon baking powder
1/4 Teaspoon baking soda
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts
- For The Frosting
8 oz. Package of cream cheese softened
1/2 Cup unsalted butter browned and cooled completely
3 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon heavy whipping cream
1/3 Cup walnuts
2 to 3 Tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup
Directions
- For The Blondie
- Preheat oven to 350º. Line a 8” x 8” baking pan with parchment paper and set to the side.
- Place 1 stick of butter in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Cook butter, stirring often until liquid turns golden and brown bits start to form at the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder baking soda, cinnamon and salt together until combined. Set to the side.
- Beat the cooled brown butter ( brown bits and alil ) and brown sugar together. Add the egg, vanilla extract and mashed bananas. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Fold in some chopped walnuts.
- Fill the prepared baking tray and place in the preheated oven to bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
- For The Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- Place 1 stick of butter in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Cook butter, stirring often until liquid turns golden and brown bits start to form at the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and pour into a glass bowl, making sure to scrape out all of the browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Allow to cool completely and return to a solid but soft state.
- Beat the cooled butter and cream cheese together until combined. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and heavy cream and beat until silky.
- Place the maple syrup and the 1/3 cup of walnuts into a frying pan set over medium heat and cook stirring often until syrup is absorbed and nuts are completely coated. Pour the nuts onto parchment paper and allow to cool completely.
- Frost the top of the cooled cake with the brown butter cream cheese frosting and top with the cooled maple glazed walnuts then serve.
