Why hello there. Yes, you…the banana bar with frosting as thick as you are. Where have you been hiding?

Would you care to join me for a quick bite?

No?

Well, you are just too delicious to let slip through my fingers…NOM NOM NOM!

Creepiness aside, these are serious bars. I made these after a request, nay, a challenge, from a coworker to make a banana dish with cream cheese frosting – his favorite.

Luckily for him, I had 4 bananas quickly blackening and an oddly large amount of cream cheese in my fridge.

These are definitely bars – thick and chewy – rather than a bread – cakey and fluffy. It took me a moment to register the different texture because I’m so used to banana cake or bread, but two bites was all it took to hook me on these!

This recipe was adapted from the adorable blog How Sweet It Is. You should all go check out what they’ve got cooking over there, it’s absolutely delectable!

Banana Bar Ingredients (recipe adapted from How Sweet It Is):

• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup loosely packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 – 2 cups)
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:

• 1 – 8oz. package of cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 cup of powdered sugar (more if you like a sweeter frosting)
• 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray an 8×8 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

3. Whisk egg and brown sugar in a separate bowl until smooth. Add in vanilla extract and mashed bananas, then add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing until combined.

4.Add in the melted butter and mix until evenly distributed.

5. Pour batter in the baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes, or until center is no longer jiggly and edges are golden.

6. While the bars cool, beat the cream cheese and butter together in a bowl with an electric mixer. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time (to avoid sugary explosions) and mix thoroughly. Frost the bars once they’re cooled and enjoy!