Chocolate Chip Banana Bars

This recipe will make your house smell amazing.

Yes, I am choosing to open this post with that statement because that is what immediately comes to mind as I write this.  It practically wraps your house in a hug.  As cheesy as that sounds, its absolutely true.  Make no mistake that it will totally lift your mood to have this baking in your oven.

Due to the fact that our household goes through a LOT of bananas, it stands to reason that we will occasionally have overripe fruit on our hands. I never count this as a burden… 🙂 All you have to do is type ‘banana’ in the ingredient search option on the right side of this screen to find out how much I like to bake with them. Like, really enjoy baking with bananas. A few months ago, when trying to decide what to throw together with my extras, I decided to just start paging through my cookbooks to find something new.  My kids got into the hunt and they unanimously agreed that these chocolate chip banana bars were the obvious choice.

The flavor of these bars, though similar to a banana bread, have the added bonus of butter (mmmmm…..buttaaaaaaah…)  They are moist and rich and deserve a plate and fork.  I’ve made them several times in the last few months and they are reliable and delightful and wonderful. A fantastic treat to bring to a game night, pot luck, or to just bake on a rainy weekend!  Enjoy friends!

What is YOUR favorite banana baked good??
Chocolate Chip Banana Bars
Recipe adapted from BHG
These bars are so moist, they only last a day or two at room temperature.  Store them in the fridge to get an extra day out of them, or better yet, wrap each bar individually in plastic and freeze for later.  Usually, I make them for a crowd and make them the day of the event for best results. Or I bake them for no reason and just eat them all….

3/4 c (1 1/2 sticks) room temperature butter
1/2 sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
3 small bananas
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray an 11X14 glass pyrex dish.
Cream the butter and sugars together in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth.  Add the bananas, egg, and vanilla, and beat until fruit is mashed and mixture is combined.  Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until just combined, scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary. Fold in chocolate chips by hand.  Spread the thick batter evenly into the prepared pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.  Remove from the oven and let cool.  These are great when they are just slightly warm, but room temp is good too!