Banana Bars

I love banana muffins, banana smoothies, banana cookies, bananas, etc…So when I saw this recipe on Foodie Two Shoes, I knew I found another banana love. These were simple to make and the cake part was A-MAZING! Then with the cream cheese frosting, I knew I had found a new go to banana recipe!

ENJOY!

Ingredients:

Cake:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

1 cup plain Greek yogurt (I actually mixed a little plain with a bit of vanilla flavored that I had on hand)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large bananas)

Icing:

2 (8) ounce package cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat)

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 lbs. confectioners? sugar ( adjust sugar for desired thickness and sweetness)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the yogurt and vanilla.

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; stir into the batter. Finally, mix in the mashed banana. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting with the cream cheese icing.

In the bowl of your mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix cream cheese and butter until smooth. Gradually add in the confectioners? sugar and mix until smooth and creamy. Stir in vanilla extract. Spread on cooled cake.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

I followed this tip from Foodie Two Shoes and had plenty with only half the recipe:

*This recipe creates a large amount of icing.  You could probably get away with making half of the recipe to ice this cake.  Although, there is nothing wrong with having leftover cream cheese icing hanging out in your refrigerator!