BANANA BREAD BARS WITH BROWN BUTTER FROSTING

I prepared these bars for my husband’s company’s 10th Year Anniversary Celebration recently.  They were part of a dessert bar I had set up, and these bars were hands down the favorite.  You won’t believe what an impact browning the butter in the frosting has.  Trust me, these will go fast!  But they’re perfect for a picnic/boat lunch, as they are even better when a bit warm!

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
Heat oven to 375F.  Grease and flour 15×10-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.
 
Spread batter evenly into pan.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
 
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.
Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Whisk together until smooth (it should be thicker than a glaze but thinner than frosting). Using a spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the warm bars (the frosting will be easier to spread while the bars are still warm). You seriously won’t believe how good these bars are!

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