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Banana Blondies are gooey, fudgy, and delicious blondie bars packed with all that rich buttery banana flavor.
OMG, so let’s talk about the S.N.O.W!
Yesterday we got slammed with at least 14 inches of snow in the Tri-State. Thank God I didn’t have to shovel, but I feel so bad for those who did.
I managed to get some gorgeous shots with NYC in the backdrop… so pretty.
So for my Banana Blondies, I went straight to the source, none other than Smitten Kitchen. Deb of Smitten Kitchen is a cook who makes a lot of comfort foods from her tiny kitchen in Manhattan. Living in an apartment myself I can attest to the challenges of cooking in a relatively small kitchen with a lack of storage space and a passion for food. At the end I guess it’s a choice we have to make, do you pay for location or do you pay for lots of space?
Well, enough digressing! Enjoy!
TELL ME: If you have a small kitchen, how do you handle the challenges?
NUTRITION: Bananas are a very good source of Vitamin B6. They are also a good source of Vitamin C and Fiber. Pecans contain natural antioxidants and are heart-healthy nuts known to lower cholesterol. Whole Wheat Flour adds fiber and protein to this cake.
MODIFICATIONS I MADE:
- Instead of using 8 tbsp (1 stick) of butter, I reduced the amount to 5 tbsp. I believe I can further reduce the amount to 4 tbsp – next time.
- Instead of All Purpose White Flour, I used 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat flour. This adds some fiber and protein.
- I went ahead and added 2 bananas resulting in 2/3 cup of mashed bananas. This also helped replace some of the missing butter.
- I also added 1/2 cup of chopped pecans. You can certainly use walnuts instead.
APPROXIMATE NUTRITION PER SERVING (yields 16 bars)
- Calories: 139 cals
- Fat: 6.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.5 g
- Carbs: 30 g
- Protein: 1.7 g
- Fiber: 1.1 g
BANANA BLONDIES (REDUCED FAT) (inspired by Smitten Kitchen)
~ yields 16 bars @ 350 degrees using a 8″ x 8″ baking tray
~ fat reduced by 24%; saturated fat reduced by 34%; calories reduced by 11%. I based these values by comparing Smitten Kitchen’s recipe with the additions of banana and pecans to my reduced fat version with banana and pecans.
INGREDIENTS:
- Unsalted Butter – 5 tbsp (melted); reduce to 4 tbsp next time.
- Brown Sugar – 1 cup
- Egg – 1
- Vanilla Extract – 1 tsp
- Bananas – 2 medium = 2/3 cup (mashed)
- Salt – 1/8 tsp
- All Purpose White Flour – 1/2 cup
- Whole Wheat Flour – 1/2 cup
- Pecans – 1/2 cup (roughly chopped); you can use walnuts instead.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease your baking tray with butter or cooking spray.
3. In a small pot, melt the butter over a stove top on medium heat.
4. Once melted…
5. Add brown sugar to a mixing bowl.
6. Pour the melted butter.
7. Blend until well combined.
8. Add egg and vanilla extract. Blend until well combined and smooth.
9. Add mashed bananas, about 2/3 cup. Blend until well combined.
10. Add salt, white, and whole wheat flours. Combine, but DO NOT OVERMIX.
11. Roughly chop pecans. Dust with 2 tsp of flour. This will prevent the pecans from sinking to the bottom.
12. Add pecans to the batter.
13. Combine, but DO NOT OVERMIX.
14. Pour batter into the greased tray.
15. Bake for 20-25 minutes. I baked mine for 25 minutes.
16. This is what you should have. Cut into 16 bars.
17. DELICIOUS!
OVERALL RATING: 5 / 5
I really loved these Banana Blondies. At tea time today, I ended up eating 3 in one sitting – I’m so BAD! It’s a good thing I worked out today. 🙂 The banana flavor is a little dominant in this recipe, but these are Banana Blondies after all. You can skip the bananas and perhaps increase the butter amount to 6 tbsp and end up with regular Blondies. You can also opt to add walnuts instead of pecans. Either way, these are gonna turn out wonderful.
I loved that these blondies are so gooey, dense, and slightly chewy. The key to obtaining this texture is skipping the baking powder and baking soda. The batter tasted like butterscotch fudge to me – so damn good! Despite them being a little fattening, there was no grease left behind on my finger. I honestly think I can reduce the fat by 1 more tablespoon and bring the butter amount down to 4 tbsp. If you try that, let me know how it works out.
Lastly, I would have loved more than anything to add butterscotch chips to these blondies over bananas, however I am unable to find a brand that makes butterscotch chips without hydrogenated oils. Does anyone know of a brand besides Nestle?
TELL ME: If you have a small kitchen, how do you handle the challenges?
I had over ripe bananas and dislike making banana bread. I also have an overabundance of rhubarb and a hubby and daughter that love most anything made with rhubarb. Worked well with only 4 Tbsp margarine. I used 100% whole wheat flour. I par-cooked (microwave 1-2 min) about 2 cups of chopped rhubarb, cooled and folded into the batter with the pecans. The daughter noted that the pecans added a nice texture to the blondies. Needed to bake a little longer with the moisture from the rhubarb. SOOO glad I found this. May have to double the batch to take along to family gatherings.
Anonymous – Thank you so much. Actually your version sounds so much better than mine. When you say rhubarb, I'm assuming you are talking about some kind of berry, right?
I made these with 4 Tbsp. of butter and they turned out fantastic! They were so deliciously chewy and full of banana flavor. My co-workers went crazy for them. I'm going to have to make them again and remember to take pics so I can post them on Sweet as Sugar Cookies.
Lisa – I'm so glad that worked out for you and your co-workers approved. Thanks for your feedback, really appreciate it.