Banana Bars with Vanilla Glaze — Fudgy is the only word that describes these banana bars! They’re the banana equivalent of moist, fudgy brownies with zero trace of cakiness.
Fudgy Banana Bar Recipe
These banana bars are rich, soft, supremely moist, and tooth-sinkingly dense and satisfying. If you’re looking for a fluffy slice of banana cake or banana bread, they’re not that.
This banana bar recipe is adapted from my Lemon Lemonies, the lemon equivalent of fudgy brownies. The dense texture of the Lemonies was so perfect and unlike anything else I had ever made. I kept thinking about them and it dawned on me that maybe I could do the same thing with bananas.
This is an easy, no-mixer recipe and the vanilla glaze makes the banana bars go from really darn good to out-of-this world amazing. It’s a must-make recipe! The secrets are browned butter and glorious specks of vanilla beans. I cannot think of two more powerfully flavorful ingredients than browned butter or vanilla beans seeds, and flavor just explodes from the glaze.
After pouring the glaze over the warm bars, it seeps down and soaks in, and makes the bars even moister and softer. The rippled appearance that’s created as it sets up enhances the homey comfort food factor.
I normally have a piece or two of what I make and give the rest to my family or re-home the leftovers with friends and neighbors, but I hoarded these bars!
What’s in Fudgy Banana Bars?
To make these banana blondies, you’ll need:
- White chocolate chips
- Unsalted butter
- Egg
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Mashed banana
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Vanilla bean paste
- Cream or milk
How to Make Banana Bars
In a large, microwave-safe bowl, add the white chocolate and butter, and melt. White chocolate is very prone to scorching and seizing up, so watch it carefully and don’t overheat.
Then, add the egg, sugar, and vanilla, and whisk until combined. Stir in the bananas, followed by the flour and salt. Stir everything until just combined, but do not over mix.
Turn batter out into a greased 8×8-inch pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
Then, make the vanilla glaze. You’ll first need to brown the butter (I’ve listed exact instructions and tips below), then combine it with confectioners’ sugar, vanilla bean paste, and salt. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking until smooth.
Pour the browned butter vanilla glaze over the banana bars while they’re still warm, then let the bars rest, uncovered for two to three hours before slicing and serving.
How to Brown Butter
Cook butter over medium-high heat in a small saucepan until it’s amber to brown in color. The whole process will take about 5 minutes (depending on pan size), but watch it closely so you don’t burn it.
I swirl the pan in the last minute or so to make sure I can really see the color changes. While browning the butter, it will go through stages of hissing, sputtering, and making noise until the water cooks off, at which point the browning occurs.
Besides changing color, you’ll know the butter is fully browned once it starts smelling nutty and fragrant. Trust me, you’ll know when it’s done!
Can I Freeze Banana Bars?
Yes, these banana bars with vanilla glaze freeze very well. If stored properly, they’ll last up to 6 months in the freezer.
Tips for the Best Banana Bars
I used vanilla bean paste in the vanilla glaze, but scraping the seeds of a vanilla bean works too. Vanilla extract is okay, but it won’t be as intense as vanilla paste or seeds would be. Use what you have on hand — these fudgy banana bars will be delicious no matter what!
When you’re transferring the browned butter from the saucepan to the mixing bowl, make sure to get all of the brown bits from the bottom of the pan into the bowl. Those little browned bits are full of flavor, so definitely include them in the vanilla glaze!
As you whisk together the vanilla glaze, you may need to add additional powdered sugar or milk to reach your desired consistency. When adding extra milk or sugar, add just a little at a time to be safe!
Pin This Recipe
Banana Bars with Browned Butter Vanilla Glaze
These Banana Bars with Browned Butter Vanilla Glaze are the banana equivalent of moist, fudgy brownies with zero trace of cakiness!
Ingredients
Bars
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), melted
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup mashed banana (about 2 large or 3 small/medium ripe bananas)
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
Glaze
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, browned
- 1 heaping cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste*
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- about 1/4 cup cream or milk, or as necessary for consistency
Instructions
Make the Bars
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large, microwave-safe bowl add the white chocolate, butter, and heat to melt, about 2 minutes on high power. Stop to check and stir after 1 minute, and then heat in 20-second bursts, stopping to stir after each burst, until mixture can be stirred smooth. White chocolate is very prone to scorching and seizing up, so watch it carefully and don’t overheat.
- Wait momentarily before adding the egg so you don’t scramble it. Add the egg, sugar, vanilla, and whisk until combined.
- Stir in the bananas until well-combined.
- Add the flour, optional salt, and stir until just combined; don’t overmix.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
- Bake for about 32 to 33 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. In the last 15 minutes of baking, make the glaze.
Make the Glaze
- Brown the butter (click for tutorial). Cook butter over medium-high heat in a small saucepan until it’s amber to brown in color, about 5 minutes depending on pan size, but watch it closely so you don’t burn it. I swirl the pan in the last minute or so to make sure I can really see the color changes. Butter will go through stages of hissing, sputtering, and making noise until the water cooks off at which point the browning occurs. Butter will smell nutty and aromatic.
- Transfer butter, including brown bits at the bottom of the pan (they’re flavor powerhouses, keep them) from pan to large mixing bowl which stops any carryover cooking.
- Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla bean paste, optional salt, and slowly add the milk, whisking until smooth or beat with a handheld electric mixer. As necessary, add additional cream (or confectioners’ sugar) to reach desired glaze consistency. Glaze should be of medium thickness and easily pourable.
Assemble the Bars
- Evenly pour glaze over bars (they don’t have to be cooled first), smoothing it lightly with a spatula if necessary, but glaze will likely just slide into place.
- Allow bars to cool in pan uncovered for at least 2 to 3 hours, (or overnight and cover with a sheet of foil) before slicing and serving so glaze can set up.
- Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Notes
*Seeds from 1 large vanilla bean or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract may be substituted.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 345Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 52mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 1gSugar: 26gProtein: 4g
More Easy Banana Desserts:
Old-Fashioned Banana Pudding Recipe — This 100% scratch old-fashioned banana pudding recipe is made with homemade vanilla pudding, ripe bananas, and Nilla Wafers. It’s EASY to assemble and SO GOOD!!
Six-Banana Banana Bread — Not sure what to do with overripe bananas you have on hand? Make this Six-Banana Banana Bread! This is the best banana bread recipe EVER — it’s so moist and flavorful!
Upside-Down Banana Bread Cake — Don’t settle for making another loaf of plain banana bread when you can have caramelized banana slices on top of soft banana cake!! A decadent spin on banana bread!
Brown Sugar Blueberry Banana Bread — Super moist blueberry banana bread made with Greek yogurt and dark brown sugar. Smear some homemade blueberry butter onto a slice of this blueberry brown sugar banana bread and prepare to fall in love!
Banana Cream Pie Bars – Faster and easier than making a banana cream pie and taste AMAZING!! A crunchy crust, tender banana slices, luscious banana pudding, and creamy whipped topping make these layered pie bars WINNERS!!
Pineapple Banana Bread — This bread is incredibly moist and is ever so slightly coconut flavored thanks to the coconut oil in the batter. You’ll definitely want seconds of this easy banana bread recipe!
Banana Bread Pudding — Bread pudding meets banana bread in this EASY breakfast or brunch recipe that everyone will LOVE!
Six-Banana Banana Chocolate Chip Cake — Yes, 6 bananas in 1 cake means it’s super SOFT, moist, and has robust banana flavor with chocolate chips in EVERY bite!
I’ve made these several times. The flavor and texture is amazing and everyone loves them! The one top I have is definitely do let the bars fully cool before pouring on the glaze, despite what recipe says. I tried it once while bars were still warm and the glaze separated and dribbled off the side. Since you then I’ve always let bars cool first and I’ve had no issues.
Thanks for the 5 star review! I do agree with you that if the bars are SUPER hot, the glaze could potentially separate, although that’s never personally happened to me. But good advice.
I love these. The second time I made them I just browned the butter for the blue bars and skipped the frosting. They were delicious but I love the glaze and won’t skip it again.
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad these were a winner for you! I agree that the glaze is amazing and I can’t skip it it’s just the perfect combination with the bars I think!
This recipe gets a perfect 10. I used soy milk instead of cream for the glaze and it came out great. Was plenty sweet for us. Delicious! I hope it tastes as good (better?) tomorrow as it did tonight. May have to freeze some since we are leaving for vacation soon.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it gets a perfect 10! I am sure they will be just as good in the morning – banana desserts have a way of getting better the next day I find.
I followed the recipe exactly. The texture was nice, much like a dense and fudgy brownie, which I loved. The glaze was delicious! I’d totally use it for other baked goods. The flavor of the bars themselves was not great, however, in my opinion. They did have enough banana flavor but were definitely not sweet enough and tasted too floury. Kind of bland to me personally, although my son loved them. I think with some tweaks like some other added flavors- maybe adding a swirl of salted caramel topping in the batter, a dry banana or vanilla pudding mix, or cinnamon & other fall spices would make it a 5-star recipe for me. My bananas were pretty darn ripe but the bars could’ve used more sugar, I think. I would totally make it again with some added ingredients, I think it could definitely be amazing!
Often people write saying there is too much sugar in recipes but rarely do I hear that you want more. I find the bars sweet enough as written, especially with the glaze, but everyone’s tastes are different.
I definitely have a big sweet tooth! Haha. I’m excited to make these again with just a couple additions for myself. That nutty brown butter glaze is too irresistible!
It’s super irresistible! Enjoy!
This recipe looks so good I think I’m drooling! Any suggestions on how to make it gluten free but just as fudgy??
I don’t…maybe try GF flour that you normally use for baking and see how it goes.
I made them today with GF flour and some xanthan gum! They turned out awesome :)
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad they worked out great using GF flour and XG!
Can I use coconut milk in place of the cream?
I think that would be fine but haven’t personally tried it.
Made this today with a couple mods:
1. Added dark and milk choc chips into the mix
2. Made a quick salted caramel sauce in the microwave and drizzled over while still warm.
It was a huge hit with the fam and I’ll definitely be making it again soon! Yum!
You cannot go wrong with chocolate or salted caramel! I bet they were delicious additions and glad you will make it again soon!
The taste is fabulous, and we loved the glaze, but the actual bars were a bit heavy. Do you think I could add a little bit less flour and it would still be ok? I stir much after flour, just enough to combine.
Glad you enjoyed the taste! These are a very dense and heavy bar. That’s just the nature of them – a fudgy, thick texture that’s almost fudge-like. I can’t speak about experimenting with the flour and the results.
If you would like a lighyer banana bread bar, try these https://www.averiecooks.com/banana-bread-bars-with-vanilla-bean-browned-butter-glaze/
These bars…there are not enough superlatives for these bars! I will never waste bananas on banana bread again, that’s for sure. This was also my first experience with brown butter glaze, and I’m telling you that the glaze alone is worth the price of admission! These bars are so good, they should be a part of the food pyramid! EXCELLENT recipe and the directions were perfect! Thank you!
I agree that they should be part of the food pyramid! I love them so much too! Glad you’re a huge fan as well!
My new favorite way to use up overripe bananas! In fact, I’ll probably start buying more bananas than we can eat, just so some are available. Thanks for sharing this!
I’m so glad this is a favorite of yours! I haven’t made this in awhile but I love banana anything and this one is one of my personal faves! The density of it, and the glaze, I need to make it soon myself!
These were very good! My glaze never set up so it has more of a browned butter sauce. Any ideas? Still fantastic and I’d definitely make it again.
Add more sugar next time and/or less milk to thicken it up and it will firm up and not be as loose. Glad you enjoyed them overall and will make again!
Will the recipe work if I just leave out the white chocolate? White chocolate isn’t for me.
Yes you can omit.
Can I sub butterscotch chips?
yes
I made these tonight, and put a crumb base on mine and they are amazing.
Instead of the foil, I used 5 tbsp butter softened, 1/3 cup brown sugar (packed), 1 cup four, whisked it with a fork and sprayed they pan with cooking spray and packed in 3/4 of the mix and baked it for 15 minutes. Then added the batter, and sprinkled the rest on top and baked it. Delish (I also put the glaze on. Wonderful!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you with the tweaks you made! The crumb base sounds excellent and the rest as a topping, bet it was wonderful!
Amazing!!! These got rave reviews from my family-my brother said these were “the best thing you’ve ever made” I halved the sugar because my bananas were really ripe, and they turned out great.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Good call on halving the sugar due to the very ripe bananas!
Any idea if this will work with vanilla chips instead of white chocolate?
I haven’t tried with vanilla chips but I’d be inclined to say, yes probably okay, but haven’t personally tried.
These fudgy banana bars are FABULOUS. My only question is how anyone could possibly know they will last a week at room temperature. There’s no way these gems last more than a few hours in my house!!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you and that they won’t last :)
Second time making these. Made exactly as written and have no problems. While they are good the first day, they are so worth the wait the next day. It seems a lot of baked banana goods are so much better after resting overnight. This recipe is definitely a keeper, thanks!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! I totally agree Day 2 is where it’s at if you can wait!
I made this yesterday and the flavours are great but it’s more chewy biscuit than moist brownie. The slice batter was nowhere near pourable–I had to make an effort to get it into the corners of the tray–and it pretty much held its shape while it baked. I’d really love to get the texture right because yours looks and sounds amazing! Any suggestions? Could I have added some milk to the batter to loosen it? (The glaze was as amazing as I expected, by the way!)
I think that you possible over-floured the dough, or your bananas just weren’t as juicy as mine, or something made your batter much more dry than mine. Therefore, if you remake, I’d add another banana, or as you said maybe a splash of milk, or reduce the flour amount so that it’s thick enough but not so thick it’s just over-the-top thick. Use your judgment on that. There are any number of tweaks that could probably help things although I haven’t tried them and only have made (and remade) this recipe as written exactly but dry batter is an easy fix, overall! Good luck!
I had exactly the same experience!! My brownies were so dense that I wondered if baking powder was omitted from the recipe. I’m going to try again using less flour. Definitely want to perfect this recipe.
They are a very dense bar as I wrote in the recipe. I like that texture a lot. I realize it’s not for everyone though. If you want to lighten them up, yes add some baking powder.
Made these tonight! Added some semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter because I’ve been the biggest chocolate fiend lately! SO GOOD! another great recipe, Averie! <3
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! The chocolate chips sound like the perfect compliment to the bananas! Thanks for trying so many of my recipes :)
I made these yesterday, and they were amazing! I expected something quite rich and heavy, but to my surprise they weren’t.
I don’t like melting chocolate in the microwave, so I used a saucepan, and then mixed everything else in in that pan. I added the sugar and vanilla first, and then the egg, no problems that way.
I just need to say one thing, I poured the glaze over the “cake” part right out of the oven, and next time I will let it cool down a bit first. The glaze slightly separated immediately, leaving areas that taste like taking a bite out of a stick of butter.
Other than that, perfect!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! I have never had any issues with the glaze separating but sounds like you know for your situation you should wait a bit longer next time. Glad they’re perfect for you overall!
I made these tonight and, as anticipated, they were awesome! Even my husband loved them, who usually isn’t a fan of banana-y things. One little thing I did do differently was brown the butter that I added to the batter, in addition to that for the glaze. I poured it hot over the white chocolate chips and it was the perfect amount of heat to melt the chips, no help from the microwave needed, and then was quickly cooled enough to add the eggs – in case anyone else wants to give that a try! Thanks for the recipe, Averie!
I love your idea of using browned butter IN the batter itself and that it melted the white chocolate easily and in no time and what amazing flavor it must have added! I totally need to try that! Thanks for the idea and glad your husband even liked these!
DELICIOUS! I made them as written and everyone loved them. Not too sweet, nice consistency and the brown butter glaze is the perfect finish.
By the way – thank you Averie for the recipe! It is nice to have more recipes my family likes for overripe bananas beside banana bread :)
So glad you enjoyed them and they were perfect and found the glaze to be the perfect finish – I just love that glaze too!
And yes, now you have another recipe to put your over-ripe bananas to use! :)
Made these last night. Easy and yummy! I added a “crust” that I made out of ground toasted pecans, shortbread cookies and butter (like a cheesecake crust). I used half the sugar from the bars and only 2 T for the frosting. I chilled the browned butter first so it would be hard and then creamed it with an electric beater, the vanilla bean and the powdered sugar. It was SO GOOD! :) Thank you! Next time I want to add toasted coconut and use more banana (I used two).
Love that you made a crust with pecans and ground shortbread cookies and butter and then chilled the browned butter and creamed it…I bet the frosting was amazing and that the whole ensemble was epic! And working in coconut next time, mmm, awesome!
Are the white chocolate chips crucial to the recipe?
You need the chips in this recipe. I supposed you could use milk, semi-sweet, butterscotch although I haven’t tried those varieties, but yes you need to use chips.
These look amazing! How do you make the cut so smooth looking?
https://www.averiecooks.com/faq Item #30
Thank you for the info!
I want to be best friends with these glorious bars!! :) Nom nom nom!
This is too funny — I posted a recipe for banana bread brownies a few days before you published these! Great minds totally think alike… And probably buy a few too many bananas at TJ’s too. ;) I’ve actually never browned butter, although it’s been on my to do list for a long time. Maybe when I finally get a stove again (I’m staying with my parents for a few weeks, and they’re having their kitchen remodeled, so I have nothing but a microwave and convection toaster oven), I’ll finally get around to it!
Every weekend, I make dessert for a dinner with my in-laws, and two weeks ago, my husband’s grandpa was in the hospital with some health issues. He was salt-restricted, but could eat any sweets, so I decided to bake up this delicious recipe!
Halfway through making it, my mother-in-law texted to say that he LOVES chocolate. So instead of using the vanilla glaze, I made a dutch cocoa frosting, and added a last minute cup of chocolate chips to the batter. It turned out absolutely delicious! Banana-y and fudgy just like I wanted, and chocolatey for our grandpa. What a great versatile recipe!
What a sweet story and so glad your grandpa was able to get his chocolate fix. Chocolate & bananas are always a win! Thanks for sharing!
Oh my goodness! I just made these today and I’m pretty sure it’s the most delicious thing I have ever baked! So delicious and moist! The glaze kind of tastes like those Weathers caramels. I’m not gonna lie I licked the bowl! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
So happy you loved these as much as I did, bowl licking is a-okay :)
Just tried this recipe, and it’s a winner! I used about 1/3 of the sugar in the bars (because there is already quite a bit of sugar in white chocolate and bananas) and made 3/4 of the glaze, and that was perfect for me. Thank you for sharing.
Glad it worked out well for you and you enjoyed them!
Averie, this is the second recipe I’ve made from your website which my family loved. My grandson had a huge piece before he left for school today. I have folders set-up for my recipes (main, apps, desserts). I’ve set-up one specifically for your recipes. Thank you.
Thanks for the high praise and compliments and it’s nice I have my own folder :) Happy your grandson & family loved these!
I don’t have any white chocolate. Will it taste ok if I use butterscotch chips instead?
It will change the flavor and be much more butterscotchy rather than ‘neutral vanilla’ like you’d get with white chocolate.
I made these as a special treat for my mom, who loves all things banana. Of course, I gave her the whole tray and didn’t even try one myself, and it made me sad. I did stick my finger in the glaze and holy cow, AMAZING! They made my house smell SO good, I look forward to making them again so that I can try one.
Oh gosh, you are DEDICATED. That is some amazing willpower not to try even one and to just do a little finger-dipping :) Well so glad that the glaze was good and that they made your house smell amazing. LMK what your mom thought of them!
Whenever I think I can’t find another way to use banana, you find one :) Whether it be banana bread, brownies, or the works, my jaw is always on the floor! These bars sound absolutely incredible. That glaze = heaven.
Too gorgeous for words!!
These are sooooo wonderful! I always have ripened bananas on hand for smoothies and bread; this is the perfect sweet tooth use for them! I made two batches, second batch added toasted coconut on top– delicious! thank you for another great recipe :)
I love that you made two batches of these – one with coconut and one without! Thanks for trying them and glad you’re pleased!!
I can’t even begin to tell you how happy this recipe makes me! I love EVERYTHING banana, and this is absolutely screaming my name. Thanks so much for sharing, pinned!
Those look so good! I love banana anything. Beautiful photos, too!
wow these bars look so moist, delicious and definitely fudgy! craving a bite of one right now, love anything banana flavoured.
Oh these bars look delicious! Love their fudgey texture!
I’m in awe, Averie, these are brilliant, shared and pinned!
Sue seriously I loved these bars! Saw your FB comment before I got thru my blog comments but as I said there, these are one of my personal faves of ’14 and go down in the personal favorites list of all time. Thanks for pinning & sharing! Knowing you, and your style and taste, I think you’d love these as much as I did!
I have never imagined a FUDGY banana bar….now I am very very intrigued…mmmmmm
We are totally on the same page with our brownie love. I have lemon and brownie recipes on my site too. I am a fudge brownie addict and coming up with new fun flavors has become an obsession ;) Love the glaze on these, great idea!
Ok I need to go find yours! I honestly have no more flavors in mind…but that could change! Give me a couple long runs to ponder and who knows what could happen :)
Carrot cake! Orange Creamsicle! Pumpkin!!Strawberry! Sorry, I’m yelling! I love these! Pinned.
Thanks for pinning all of those and glad you like them :)
This looks amazing!!!! I have got to make these next weekend!
I made these just now… I’m a little bit nervous though, you said I didn’t have to let them cool before putting on the glaze… I let them sit for a while, but they were still warm. Now the butter seems to be separating? I hope that works itself out. The glaze is good enough to eat by the spoonful though! Can’t wait to cut them!
IT DOES work itself out. It seems a little iffy/separating when you first pour it on, I know, but it does just magically come together (hence the rippled appearance) – you’re fine :) Enjoy!
I want to sink my teeth into these bars. They look so different than anything banana I have seen but I really really want one.
Averie, I’m adding these to my list to bake. And how did I miss the Lemon Lemonies? These are right up my alley!
Averie, these look delicious! I can only imagine how addictive they must be. Pinned!
Thanks for pinning!
Oh my goodness, they looks soooo delicious! Wow!
A perfectly curated collection of banana recipes – thank you! Anything that included butter or cream cheese is a favorite of mine.
Oh my goodness, these look just amazing! So dreamy!
Yum these look amazing! There is nothing like the flavor of a true vanilla bean!
P.S. So excited to see you in Taste of Home’s cookbook this month, and the cover recipe no less. Congrats!
Thank you for noticing!! I was pretty excited and flattered about that :)
Absolutely! My family may think I’m crazy because I was all “OMG Averie I “know” her!”. -cue Santa scene from Elf-
When I saw “fudgy” I thought “where’s the chocolate”. I’m glad it’s only white chocolate – I really like banana desserts. Will try soon.
I always try to use banana as a substitute. Sometimes it works, and sometimes not. I can’t wait to try these.
I absolutely agree with you when you say that browned butter adds so much flavor to recipes… I just browned some this morning for a blondie recipe and the smell alone was intoxicating! These bars, oh my… I pinned them to make as soon as the vanilla bean paste arrives. Can’t wait!
Oh yay! LMK how they turn out! And that’s awesome you have vanilla bean paste on order :)
You’re the second blogger who’s mentioned the paste, so I figured it was time to try it out myself:)
Averie, the vanilla bean paste arrived today and we made these bars. They turned out exactly as you described! They ARE fabulously fudgy and the banana flavor is out of this world. And that glaze… My whole family thanks you!
Oh wow, so, so, so happy that these got a glowing report, both on the texture/flavor as well as the glaze! I am so glad you feel the vanilla bean paste was worth it – now you’ll be hooked on that stuff :) It’s amazing in just regular cookies, cakes, etc rather than using extract if you really want to make a bold, big vanilla impact. Thanks for the field report, Heather! I appreciate it!
It’s my pleasure…
This is such a cool idea Averie! I always think we’re out of banana recipes and then you come up with something else totally unique! Can’t wait to sink my teeth into these ones…pinned.
Thanks for pinning and I always think I’m out, too….til the next one :)
That glaze sounds to-die-for, love these bars!
And I know your a big browned butter fan too :)
These bars look so fudgy, Averie! Love the browned butter glaze! Pinned!
Thanks for pinning!
Gorgeous!! I just pinned these and will patiently wait for my bananas to get overly ripe so I can make these!!
Thanks for pinning and for the FB shout out, too! If you end up trying these, LMK!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like these! Love how your mind works Averie! They look like total buttery banana vanilla bliss!
total buttery banana vanilla bliss <--- well said, and yes :)
Oh my, these look absolutely amazing!!
Give me a straw for that glaze OMG!!! And the bars too. I’m in love.
Dorothy these are so you. And me :) I mean I know you would love these! We’d have to wrestle for a straw to drink the glaze LOL!
These look amazing!! I really have to try this! Thank you!
Browned butter+ bananas+vanilla bean paste+fudginess can’t equal anything but complete awesomeness. These look fantastic!
You had me at “zero traces of cakiness.” And the fact that I’ve been wanting to make browned butter for a very long time. I actually just learned about it maybe within the last year… This might be the push for me to actually get on it! These look and sound wonderful!
Oh you have to try it! It’s a game changer!!
WOW…these look so moist and delicious and I love how clean your cuts are when you make bars…I adore vanilla bean paste and try to put it in almost everything so I know these will be the vanilla bomb…can’t wait to make these.
Thanks for noticing the clean cuts :)
And if you try these, LMK! Not surprised you’re already totally on board with vanilla bean paste, I love it too!
Brown butter and vanilla on top of banana bars?!? Those bars look to good! Moist and banana-y, I have never seen this before, what a great idea!
Butter makes everything better and browned butter makes everything divine!! These bars have a lot of special touches with the white choc and vanilla bean paste….and all that adds up to serious deliciousness. I can see why you wanted to hang on to these. I like the paste because I get flecks in every spoonful–no shaking required!
Paula this is one of those recipes like the French Silk Pie I recently made that was a special one – omg I LOVED these things! You’re so right about the browned butter and the flecks in every spoonful :)
Wow–these are like nothing I’ve seen. I have the feeling I would absolutely love them!
Maryea, I did love them, sooo much! I hope you do too!
Averie, this is so unique!! Love the looks of that fudgy base. Hole delicious!!
Thanks, Katrina!
Oh my gosh, Averie! Perfection doesn’t even scratch the surface for describing these bars!! Banana, vanilla, white chocolate & browned butter all together in something that looks like THIS?! Girl, can you move to NYC & be my neighbor?! Xo
Your weather is not nearly as good as San Diego. You’ll have to come out here :)
Lol, I can’t argue that!!