These brown butter banana bread blondies are so decadent and moist. Let me tell you that these are a Scott family household favorite and are sure to be a hit any time you make them. They are packed with moist banana flavor and the nuttiness of the brown butter glaze adds so much depth to the flavor of these delicious, cakey blondies.
WHY YOU NEED THIS RECIPE
When I tell you that these are some of the best blondies you are ever going to have, I'm not kidding. These banana bread blondies are so incredibly moist and full of flavor. They are a more cakey consistency than a typical blondie but you can easily cut these into bars and eat them with your hands. This recipe utilizes ripe bananas paired with brown sugar to give you the perfect rich texture. No blondie is ever complete without being topped with a brown butter vanilla glaze frosting. It's the chef kiss that really makes these blondies sing. The nuttiness of the brown butter glaze helps balance the sweetness from the bananas allowing for a perfect bite each time.
INGREDIENTS
Gather these perfect ingredients to make the best banana bread blondies.
- Ripe Bananas: To get the sweetest banana flavor you will want to find bananas that are "ripe". This means they are starting to brown and have spots on them. They will also be a bit mushy. Green or bright yellow bananas tend to be a bit sourer and this flavor can carry over to your baked goods. If you need to ripen bananas quickly, get step-by-step instructions on how to quickly ripen bananas.
Using lemon juice will help break down the fibers in the bananas so they incorporate well into your batter. - Golden Brown Sugar: Using golden or light brown sugar will add a nice depth of flavor and richness from the use of molasses in the sugar.
- Unsalted Butter: This is a must for most baking needs. Good quality unsalted butter will allow you to control the amount of salt in your blondies and all the flavor to stand out. I personally love to use cultured butter if I'm serving these to a crowd.
- Brown Butter: Using browned butter in the glaze for this recipe adds so much depth and nuttiness. I'm convinced browned butter needs to be in every recipe!
- Eggs: Eggs are the glue that helps hold your recipe together. Two whole eggs at room temperature are all you need for these blondies.
- Vanilla Extract: Don't skimp on the vanilla! Use pure vanilla extract for the richest flavor.
- Flour: This recipe calls for all-purpose flour to create soft and chewy blondies.
- Salt: Salt adds a wonderful balance to the sweetness of your blondies. Opt for fine sea salt or kosher salt instead of standard table salt.
- Baking Powder: Using baking powder as the leavening agent in this recipe helps the blondies rise and stay fluffy.
TIPS FOR MAKING THIS RECIPE
Let's create the BEST banana bread blondies together using a few tips to get the most out of your ingredients.
- Spoon and level flour: Make sure to use a spoon to scoop the flour into your measuring cup and use a knife to level the flour. If you scoop the measuring cup directly into the flour it will compact the flour too much resulting in too much flour in your recipe. This will make your cookies too thick. Using a kitchen scale to measure ingredients to the gram is the perfect way to get the right amount of flour in the recipe.
- Use ripe bananas: Using ripe bananas that have started to brown will give these blondies a softer and better taste. Don't have brown bananas just sitting on your countertop and can only find bright green bananas at the grocery store? Don't stress! You can find my easy way to quickly ripen bananas in 20 minutes at home, here!
- Using brown butter: Browning butter simply means just that, browning your butter in a skillet. Browning your unsalted butter will take these blondies from great to amazing. There is nothing better than brown butter in a recipe. It only takes 10-15 minutes to brown butter and it's surprisingly easy! You can find my easy way to brown butter, here!
STORAGE TIPS
Store these chewy and moist banana bread blondies on the kitchen countertop in your baking pan or transfer them to an airtight container and leave at room temperature. When stored in an airtight container, these blondies will last 3-5 days!
If you make and loved this recipe, please make sure to leave a REVIEW! Hearing from you is so helpful! If you make this recipe, tag me on Instagram @handfulofsugarco and follow me on Pinterest for my delicious dessert ideas!
📖 Recipe
Banana Bread Blondies with Brown Butter Glaze
Ingredients
Banana Bread Blondie
- 1 ¼ cups mashed bananas, approx. 2-3 bananas
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 2 whole large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Brown Butter Glaze
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room tempature
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3-4 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Banana Bread Blondies
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish with parchment paper and spray with baking spray.
- Mash your bananas using a fork or masher until completely mashed and no large chunks of banana remain. Measure out 1 ¼ cups of mashed banana. Add 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice on top of the banana and lightly mix together with your fork. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, microwave ¾ cup of butter until melted. Let cool.
- In a medium bowl, mix together your melted butter & brown sugar until combined. Whisk in eggs and vanilla extract.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder & salt. Add to your butter and sugar mixture using a spoon and mix until just combined. Do not over mix! Add in your mashed bananas and fold into your mixture with a rubber spatula until fully combined.
- Pour your blondie batter into your prepared baking pan and use your rubber or offset spatula to make sure it is evenly distributed. Put into your oven and bake for approx. 30 minutes until center is set and top is golden brown. Do not overbake. They will continue to bake in the pan. You want these blondies to be soft and moist. Let the blondies cool on a baking rack.
Brown Butter Vanilla Glaze
- While your blondies are baking, start making your brown butter glaze.
- To make the brown butter, use a medium saucepan, on low to medium heat. Add ¾ cup of butter. I like to cut mine into pieces to help melt easier. Using a wooden spoon begin stirring to move the butter while it melts. Let the butter melt completely. Once the butter has melted, it will begin to foam and sizzle.Periodically swirl the pan to stir the butter around. In approx. 10 minutes the butter will start to turn golden brown. You will start to see milk solids form on the bottom of the pan. These will begin to toast into a golden brown color as will your melted butter. Once a deep golden brown color in the butter and milk solids have been achieved and you start to smell a beautiful rich and nutty aroma, remove from heat and transfer to a bowl to cool slightly for 5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, add the warm brown butter. Sift ⅓ of your powdered sugar into the brown butter and whisk together quickly. Add 2 tablespoons of milk. Sift the remaining ⅔ of powdered sugar and whisk together. Add 1-2 more tablespoons of milk and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and whisk together. The glaze should be able to pour easily. If it's too thick, add a bit more milk.
- Add the glaze on top of the warm blondies and using an offset spatula, spread across the top. Let your blondies set for 45 minutes before cutting and eating. Enjoy!
Josh
Love these, I think I could eat them every day!
Katie Scott
Thanks! They are certainly one of my favs too!