Banana Bread Bars with Brown Butter Frosting

Move over banana bread...you've got company! I'm a person who doesn't like to eat my bananas once they get brown speckles, which means I have to get creative with using them because I also don't like to waste. These banana bread bars recipe I found over on the blog Life's Simple Measures.combine my favorite fruit with my obsession with brown butter. 

adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything 

Banana Bread Bars 

• 1½ c. sugar 
• 1 c. reduced-fat sour cream 
• ½ c. unsalted butter, softened 
• 2 eggs 
• 1¾ cup (3 or 4) ripe bananas mashed (I only had 3...)
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract 
• 2 c. all purpose flour 
• 1 tsp. baking soda 
• ¾ tsp. salt 

Brown Butter Frosting

• ½  c. unsalted butter 
• 4 c. powdered sugar 
• 1½ tsp. vanilla extract (you know I love Nielsen-Massey)
• 3 tbsp. almond milk (you can use whatever milk you want--> whole milk, 2%, soy...whatever!)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. 
2. Grease and flour 15x10-inch jelly roll pan. (Don't freak if you don't have that pan...you can use a 9 x13. In fact, I plan to experiment with a muffin tin!)
3. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
4. For the bars, in a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter with a hand mixer or stand mixer. Mix in sour cream and eggs until creamy. 
5. Add in bananas and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
6. Add flour mixture in 1/2 cup at a time, mixing only until combined. Once all parts are added, mix for 1 minute.  
7. Spread batter evenly into pan. 
8. Bake 20 to 23 minutes or until golden brown. 
9. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before frosting. (Unlike other cakes, you want to frost this cake when it's still warm.)

While bars are baking...make your frosting!

1. Heat butter in a large saucepan. Let the butter turn a delicate brown and remove from heat immediately. Let cool for about a minute.
   
   Brown butter is as easy as...
   
   

   

   one...

   
   

   

   two...

   
   

   

   three!

    
2. In a separate bowl, combine  powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. 
3. Immediately add brown butter.
4. Whisk together until smooth (it should be pretty thick.)
5. Using an offset spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the warm cake soon-to-be bars (the frosting will be easier to spread while the bars are still warm). 
6. Let cool completely and cut into whatever size bar you want. (I did 2 dozen bars.)