Banana Blondies

Chewy and fudgy Banana Blondies with ripe bananas, chopped walnuts, white chocolate chips, and a touch of vanilla. An easy sweet breakfast or afternoon snack.

This easy recipe makes gooey and moist banana blondies packed with mashed bananas and vanilla flavor, but I added my own twist: hazelnuts and chocolate chips.

I don’t add a frosting which makes them easier to store and transport and I love taking them as a snack on a trip or when I go to the beach.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Fragrant banana flavor, very elegant and rich, naturally sweet and simply yummy.
• One of the easiest banana recipes with minimal prep time – just combine all ingredients and bake. Kids can’t stop eating them.
• A great use for leftover bananas that you won’t eat but are about to be too ripe.
• Easy to customize. I love adding nuts and chocolate chips, but I don’t do frosting and you may as well make a sweet cream cheese or butter frosting or add raisins or different nuts.
• Perfect potluck recipe as the whole sheet makes around 20 banana blondies.

What’s The Difference Between A Blondie And A Brownie?

Blondies are technically light brownies without chocolate.

Regular brownies often use cocoa powder or chocolate cake mix and white or powdered sugar, while blondies use regular flour, brown sugar, and no added cocoa powder, but vanilla extract instead.

So brownies have a rich chocolatey flavor, and blondies have more vanilla flavor.

Ingredients Notes

• Unsalted butter melted. You can melt butter in a saucepan or in a microwave. Another way is to quickly brown the butter in the saucepan. If you only have salted butter, skip the added salt below and taste before baking to make sure the batter isn’t too salty. You should be fine.
• Brown sugar brings a rich caramel flavor and subtle sweetness. Dark brown sugar will have more molasses than light brown sugar, but you can use both.
• Egg and egg yolk. Eggs should always be at room temperature, so take them out of the fridge 1-2 hours before baking.
• Vanilla extract. Pure vanilla extract is better than artificially flavored one. You can use vanilla bean paste too. If you don’t like vanilla you can use any other extract, almond or coconut will pair
• Ripe banana (mashed). You can use the bananas that are about to become overripe bananas and have a few black spots already. Mashed bananas not only add flavor but also a soft texture. The riper they are, the sweeter they are and easier to mash. You only need a few bananas, I used about 3 ripe bananas. It doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth mashed mix, a few chunks can be a nice texture addition.
• All-purpose flour or gluten-free flour for a healthier alternative (same amount). Unbleached flour is best but at least make sure you use fresh flour.
• Baking powder and baking soda to make sure the blondies have great texture and are soft and chewy inside and with a light crisp outside.
• Salt balances out the sweetness of bananas and sugar.
• Chopped nuts (optional), I use walnuts but pecans, macadamia, or shredded coconut will work magically too.
• White chocolate chips (optional) for sweetness and melted chocolate fun in every bite. If you don’t have the chips just chopped white chocolate works too.

Kitchen Equipment

• 9×9 Baking dish or cake pan greased with non-stick cooking spray and lined with parchment paper, including the sides!
• Potato masher or just a fork to mash bananas.
• Large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment.
• Optional, medium saucepan if you want to brown butter to frost the blondies.

How To Make Banana Blondies

1: Combine Wet Ingredients

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line the baking pan with parchment paper. Set the lined pan aside.
2. Whisk the melted butter (or browned butter) and brown sugar in a mixing bowl until well combined.
3. Add the egg yolk, egg, and vanilla extract, and mix until smooth.
4. Whisk in the mashed banana mixture until fully incorporated.

2: Mix Dry Ingredients

Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.

3: Combine Wet And Dry Ingredients

Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing the banana batter until just combined.

4: Add Nuts & Chocolate Chips

Fold in the chopped walnuts and white chocolate chips if using.

5: Bake Banana Blondies

1. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread it evenly.
2. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
3. Allow the blondies to cool in the pan on the wire rack before cutting them into squares and serving.
4. Note, that blondies harden a bit while they cool.

Storage

Storing. Store leftover banana blondies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Freezing. Let the banana blondies cool completely, then freeze in a freezer-safe container or a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Freeze blondies without frosting. Thaw at room temperature.

Reheating. If you like your banana blondie warm, you can reheat it in the microwave for 10-20 seconds.

Making ahead. Banana blondies recipe is super convenient to make ahead without the frosting. Bake the blondies and store them in the fridge portioned for weekly meal prep.

Banana Blondies vs Banana Bread

Banana bread is more cakey than banana blondies as the quick bread recipe uses more flour.

But overall they may use the same ingredients. Both banana bread and blondies use eggs, brown sugar, and flour and can have some add-ons like cinnamon, nuts, or dried fruit.

Substitutions & Variations

• You can skip chocolate chips and nuts in my recipe.
• Try this banana blondie recipe with peanut butter frosting, chocolate ganache, cinnamon cream cheese frosting, or brown sugar frosting.
• The frosting is optional, it can be anything from simply icing sugar dusting to a thick buttercream layer. One of the most popular choices is brown butter frosting (browned butter frosting). Here is how to make it.

Brown Butter Frosting With Brown Sugar

Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat and continue cooking until it becomes golden brown, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon. It takes no more than 5 minutes.

You can also add some milk for the frosting to be creamier and will have a golden color.

Remove from heat and frost the cooled blondies or use the brown butter in the banana batter. It adds a delicious flavor.

If you add milk let the mix get to just a boil and then remove butter frosting from the heat.

Vegan Banana Blondies Recipe

A vegan recipe should be eggless and dairy-free.

You can use alternative milk like coconut or almond milk, vegan butter, and either a special egg replacement or just a bit of cornstarch. Cornstarch works like a binder and structural element in the batter just like eggs.

Expert Tips To Make This Banana Blondies Recipe

• If your oven has a different temperature setting: 350 degrees F translate to 175°C/160°fan oven, or gas mark 4.
• Do not overmix the batter it will make the blondies too cakey and dry.
• A digital scale is best for the most accurate measurements. Especially with flour.
• Cooled blondies are much easier to slice evenly.

Troubleshooting

Why Is My Blondie Falling Apart?

Adding too much flour, baking soda, and baking powder as well as overbaking the blondies will make them dry out and break. They become very crumbly and fall apart.

Overbaked blondies or using too much baking soda and baking powder will remind the cake’s texture and taste.

Why Do My Blondies Sink In The Middle?

The sinking center of the blondies is usually a sign of undercooked raw blondies. Leave them in the oven until the center is cooked through but still soft and slightly wobbly.

Aim for the cooked middle when the toothpick inserted comes out clean or the internal temperature of the blondies around 205F to make sure they are done.

How Do You Keep Blondies Moist?

Brown sugar and melted butter help to keep blondies moist and chewy without tasting too cakey. Add brown sugar or granulated sugar to the batter to trap the moisture inside the baked blondies.

If you love this easy bar recipe, you’re going to love these other tasty favorites too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

More Banana Recipes

Banana Cream Pie

Banana pudding cheesecake

Cinnamon swirl banana bread

Banana carrot muffins

Banana cream pie frozen yogurt

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