If you are like me, you always have one or two bananas that get left behind in the fruit bowl. At the end of the week, they usually get made into banana omelettes or banana bread, but this week I decided to try something a bit different for the school lunchboxes.
Cocoa Banana Bars
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 2 medium)
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Preheat an oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the egg and the vanilla and beat until well combined. Stir in the mashed banana, set aside.
Stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a separate large bowl, and make a well in the center. Pour the banana mixture into the well and stir just until combined.
Remove half of the batter from the bowl. Mix the cocoa powder into the batter remaining in the bowl and stir well. Spread the cocoa batter in the bottom of the prepared pan. Spoon the remaining batter on top and use a knife to swirl the batter into a marbled design.
Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are golden, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting.
This recipe also makes great bread or muffins! It gets the thumbs up from both my husband and 5 year old, and is a deliciously moist bar that will keep for a week in an airtight container.
How do you use up your leftover bananas? I would love some recipe inspiration!
Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the egg and the vanilla and beat until well combined. Stir in the mashed banana, set aside.
Stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a separate large bowl, and make a well in the center. Pour the banana mixture into the well and stir just until combined.
Remove half of the batter from the bowl. Mix the cocoa powder into the batter remaining in the bowl and stir well. Spread the cocoa batter in the bottom of the prepared pan. Spoon the remaining batter on top and use a knife to swirl the batter into a marbled design.
Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are golden, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting.
This recipe also makes great bread or muffins! It gets the thumbs up from both my husband and 5 year old, and is a deliciously moist bar that will keep for a week in an airtight container.
How do you use up your leftover bananas? I would love some recipe inspiration!
These look moist and delicious! I'm always looking for new recipes using the bananas that my kids always ask for then never eat! Now that it is getting warm, I will start freezing them for smoothies too. Visiting from Diana Rambles link-up.
ReplyDeleteYou probably already know that this was featured at Diana Rambles last week. I'm just getting around to letting you know now. It looks delish!
ReplyDelete