when i buy bananas, i tend to buy a full bunch of them. you know, like 6 or 8 – whatever’s there. i don’t regularly eat bananas, though, so i’m not sure why i keep doing this. inevitably, they start to get over-ripe { and } i find myself searching the indexes of my cookbooks for banana recipes. sometimes when you have one ingredient on hand, this is a fun way to figure out what to make. that’s how i came across these bar cookies. they’re a great breakfast on-the-go or just a snack. very sweet from the sugars { and } banana, with a nice crunch from the toasted walnuts. challenge yourself. pick an ingredient in your kitchen { and } search your cookbooks for something that matches it. food blog search { and } tastespotting are both awesome ways to search among blogs for recipes, too.
stir dry ingredients together.
toast the walnuts at 350°f for 8-10 minutes on a dry cookie sheet.
the mixture of the sugars along with the banana makes these bars nice { and } sweet.
bake until golden brown.
breakfast bars.
adapted from bon appétit’s banana-oatmeal bars with chocolate chunks.ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup oats, quick-cooking
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 cup { 2 sticks } unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 cup mashed ripe banana { about 3 bananas }
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, chunks, or coarsely chopped from bars { use whatever you have on hand }
- 1 cup walnuts, toasted { and } coarsely chopped
- fleur de sel { french sea salt }, optional
directions:
- pre-heat oven to 350°f. spray a rimmed cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray { and } line with parchment paper.
- stir flour, oats, baking powder { and } salt in a medium bowl, set aside.
- in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter until light { and } fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- scrape bowl, add both sugars { and } beat until well blended.
- scrape bowl, add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. beat in bananas { and } vanilla.
- add dry ingredients, stirring just until combined, stir in chocolate { and } walnuts.
- spread batter into prepared pan. { optional: sprinkle fleur de sel on top before baking } bake until a tester inserted into the middle comes clean, 40-45 minutes. cool completely in pan on rack.
