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Monkey Bars

November 16, 2012

Have you ever had one of those days where you are cooking or perhaps baking, leisurely following a new recipe, just putzing around from one step to the next when you think shit I don’t have everything I need for this recipe that I’m so conveniently smack in the middle of making? Well that was me. Yesterday. Halfway through my Monkey Bar making.

A few expletives may have slipped out of my mouth prompting a quiet, “Mommy, what’s wrong?” from Lilly.  But once we were finished baking our bars, drizzling our topping, and licking every bowl and spatula in sight, we both decided that there was definitely nothing wrong with this recipe at all. It was fantastic- even with our accidental changes.

White Chocolate Macadamia Banana Bread Bars with Brown Butter Caramel Drizzle {so, yeah… Monkey Bars for short}

Banana Bread Bars:
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • ½ cup butter, softened
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 ¾ cups (3 or 4) ripe bananas, mashed (I only had 2 ripe bananas so I added a little bit of applesauce)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional) 1/2 cup white chocolate chips and 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts
Browned Butter Frosting: Browned Butter Caramel Drizzle

½ cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar  <I only had 1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
about 3 tablespoons milk or half and half

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 Tbsp. milk
Instructions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour 10×15 jelly roll pan a glass baking dish that is roughly 9×13.  Beat first four ingredients until creamy. Blend in bananas, applesauce and vanilla for one minute. Add dry ingredients and blend for one minute. Stir in chocolate and nuts and spread in pan. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. If you tried to make these into cupcakes I would bake them less- maybe 15 minutes and check on them.  If you bake this in a smaller pan thus creating thicker bars- you might need to go longer. Cool slightly and add caramel drizzle.

Browned Butter Caramel Drizzle:

Heat butter in saucepan over medium heat past the melting point until it is boiling and a delicate brown. Remove from the heat and immediately add the remaining ingredients stirring constantly until slightly cooled. Pour into a glass measuring cup and let cool slightly to thicken.  Drizzle of warm Banana Bread. I popped the whole tray into the fridge to let everything set up a little bit.  When Lilly and I tried the bars they were only slightly warm and the caramel was still oh so gooey and delicious.
I’m pretty sure this is my new favorite recipe.  The banana bread base is so damn good I seriously can’t stop eating it.  I think cream cheese frosting would also be awesome on these bars as would a little bit of straight ol’ butter.
Yes, indeed.

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Hey there! I’m Jacquie. Wife to my hockey loving sweetheart, Mama of four humans, seven chickens, and one labradoodle. I am a quilter, artist, photographer and Mom figuring out how to inspire other families to live their most creative life. Come say hi!
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