Banana, Coconut, Chocolate Chip Snack Bars

I had this recipe laying around but did not know it was 52. I knew straight away 2c sugar was too much (for me) so I reduced to 1.5 c. brown sugar on my first bake. Delish. but can't imagine even more sugar---still too sweet (for me) Next time I'll reduce overall sugar to just 1 cup. 45 minutes--perfect.

I didn’t read the reviews before I made these and might have lessened the sugar. As is though they are delicious and cut pretty small they’re a tidy treat. I will make them again and might add some walnuts or pecans. Maldon sea salt sprinkled on top.

Tried this for the first time tonight, and these are DANGEROUSLY good! I've already frozen some so I'm not tempted to eat my husband's treats. Made as indicated, and I might try less sugar next time for healthiness, and add some nuts. As it is, they are wonderful.

Tasty. Used 1 C sugar (packed) and threw in a handful of chopped walnuts. Baked in 9x9 square pan (whole recipe, not halved) and they still were on what I sould consider the thinnish side. 45 mins prob a few mins too long.

This is divine. It usually takes me at least a day after making something to like it but not so with this recipe. In my haste to get started, I overlooked the notes about reducing the sugar. And even though I used very ripe bananas, this didn't result in an overly sweet cake. The only substitution I made was using half canola and half coconut oil because I ran out of the latter. Looking forward to experimenting with other substitutions over time as this is surely going into rotation.

This one’s a keeper!
I took heed from the comments and removed 3/4 cup of sugar, they are perfect!! Also used mini chips because that's Just what I had around. Thank you for this perfect recipe!

I also halved the brown sugar, had too little coconut oil left so topped it up with butter - total about 9Tbsp, but I'm not sure because some of it was leftover filling from hardlikearmour's Danish Kringle! There were almonds in the filling so I added more, a third banana, chocolate, and toasted coconut. Sounds kitchen-sink-ish but we liked it! The result was very moist, partly due to the 3rd banana, but certainly not too sweet. In fact I was inspired by Jenny's mention of glaze and poured a bit on top when serving (also leftover from the Kringle)! I'll obviously never repeat my serendipitous version but would make it again!

Like most commenters, I halved the sugar. I also replaced the suggested 10tbs of coconut oil with 4tbs oil and 4tbs yoghurt, as I felt 8tbs total liquid would be plenty (it was). Note these changes were made not because of sugar- or fat-phobia but just because two cups of sugar would be too sweet for my taste, and I like the texture yoghurt gives. Lacking the right-sized pan, I divided the mixture into a regular-sized muffin tray (greased and floured, not lined) and wound up with 12 good-sized mini-cakes. Eating the first one now and it's absurdly good.

Ditto on the sugar - 2 cups totally unnecessary. 1 cup is perfectly fine and is plenty sweet. I added toasted almonds and also put it in a 9x9 pan...thanks to the reviewer who suggested that :-)

Made these with the changes suggested in other comments: 1/2 the brown sugar, 1/2 cup (8TBs) coconut oil. It's lovely. Not too sweet. Deliciously moist. I added chopped dates and dark chocolate chips. I also put all the batter in a 9x9 pan since others were saying that it was rather thin and cooked really quickly. It took ~55 minutes to bake. There isn't any leavening in this, so I didn't expect or get any sort of a rise. Still really scrumptious. I found this easier to make and far more interesting than banana bread.

I want to try making these this weekend. Any suggestions for making them GF?

I just made these and mine came out completely flat! Is that normal?

These are delicious! My coconut oil was liquid in the jar and I used 100ml. Next time I would cut down on sugar as they really were very sweet. I decorated mine a little with a glaze and some toasted & shredded coconut. Yummy recipe, thanks :-)

I absolutely love these. I cut down a bit on the sugar and the oil, as others have suggested. The one thing that confuses is the baking time. Mine are always done after 20-25 minutes...

These are amazing! They've turned out great every time I've made them. Except for the time I dropped the whole pan on the floor. That wasn't great. A couple times, I had to substitute granulated white sugar due to a lack of brown sugar, but they were still delicious.

Made this today. LOVED IT!! I made it w/o changes however I printed this 3-2014 and now I see slight change to brown sugar and coconut oil amounts. I was wondering if anyone else had sub'd part of the AP flour for WW pastry.. I will make again with corrected amounts b4 changing anything else. Kinda hard to comment on a recipe if I change too much of the original. My only issue was I didn't cook it long enough, but I love me a dense slightly soggy cake anyway...:}

I have always melted the coconut oil before measuring, unless the recipe author says not to do so.

I am new to cooking with coconut oil, so I am not sure if I am supposed to melt it first to use in this recipe. Looking forward to your response, I can't wait to make this cake.

has anyone converted this recipe for weight measurement? if yes, I'd love to have it. thanks!!!

So, if you're trying this recipe for the first time, you might want to read the comments. I didn't. I just looked at the recipe and decided to make half in an 8x8. I also generally reduce the oil and sugar in recipes and use a mix of flours plus some ground golden flaxseed to make things healthier. So, just as a reminder, my changes are for half a batch in an 8x8 pan: I reduced the coconut oil (4T rather than 5T). I used 3 oz brown sugar (rather than a full 1/2 C). I used 1 1/4 oz mix of AP and White whole wheat and 1/2T+ of ground flax seed. Because I wanted more of a snack cake, I added 1/4 tsp baking powder. The result was a very thin cake-like cookie. If I were to do this again, and I might, I would go ahead and double the ingredients and use the 8x8 pan. I didn't realize it was going to be so thin. The author does say that these are based from a Blondie recipe and so one should expect them to be more like a cookie. However, I think the addition of the baking powder gave it a cake-like texture. So, that's what I'd recommend to anyone who wants more of a snake cake.

I baked this snack cake for the valentines day party. Everyone loved it. The aroma was too good. Thank You so much for posting this wonderful recipe.

I made these over the weekend. The only change I made was swapping butter for the coconut oil. Great flavor, easy to make. My husband and I love them! Thanks for the great recipe.

These.are.to.die!!! I made them exactly as written. I only wish I'd read the comments again (I'd pinned this recipe to "try later"). I will lower the coconut oil next time. But the flavor... oh my! Thank you for sharing these little slices of heaven!

I made this twice because I was tired of the same old banana bread recipes and I had 5 super ripe ready to throw away bananas in the fridge. I made these prior to reading the comments. I agree with a lot that has been said. While making these as is would be "successful", I recommend adjusting to your tastes based on what has been said. I bake a lot so I have a lot of experience. As I read the ingredients when I made them, I thought to myself this is way too much oil and sugar for the proportion of ingredients so I cut the sugar in half but kept the oil. I planned to make 2 versions, testing out butter v. coconut oil. The first batch I modified by using 3 small super ripe bananas, 8 Tbsp butter + 2 Tbsp coconut oil, 1 c dark brown sugar, loosely packed, reduced salt to 1/4 tsp, omitted the coconut, and plus all the other ingredients it called for. Yes, it came out very oily and still extremely sweet for my tastes (American baked goods are usually way too sweet for me) but still very delicious. The next batch I modified it more just for fun - reduced to 1/2 c tightly packed light brown sugar, reduced to 8 Tbsp coconut oil, increased to 1 + 1/3c flour, reduced salt to 1/2 tsp omitted the vanilla extract and semi-sweet chocolate chips, added cinnamon, nutmeg & ginger. It turned out really really nice, not too sweet, still moist & flavorful. I loved the coconut oil and I'll be using that instead of butter. It's so moist but doesn't feel super rich. I am happy they posted this recipe but surprised at the sugar & oil proportions. I will be modifying this some more but I'm so thankful I came across it.

I made these yesterday - the only modifications were to use 8T of coconut oil (it was hard to measure, so I'm estimating) and to use white sugar + molasses because I didn't realize that I had run out of brown sugar. They turned out fabulous! Great recipe!

I will try this recipe tomorrow, but I do not have coconut oil. I have butter, canola oil, or grape seed oil and want to halve the amount of fat and substitute unsweetened applesauce for the other half. Can you please advice me on the best oil to use and your thoughts on the unsweetened applesauce?

Has anyone found the coconut oil hard to measure? Perhaps that might be an answer as to why some found this so oily. Also have my fellow bakers "packed" the brown sugar, another reason why it might have been too sweet? I have used dark chocolate chips because I was too worried about the sweetness the first time I made them. This recipe is a keeper.

To make these less sugary, I substituted 1 c. coconut palm sugar, then added only 1/2 c. of brown sugar. I also threw in some toasted walnuts, a teaspoon of cinnamon, and used some sweetened coconut and some unsweetened. They only needed 39 minutes, and turned out delicious! Hope you don't mind the recipe tweaking!

My husband and I found these banana, chocolate, coconut bars a little bit of heaven. We started eating them while still quite warm, right out of the oven.
I decreased the coconut oil to 8 Tbs. as some had recommended, added chopped walnuts and 1/2 tsp. each baking powder and baking soda, increased the flour slightly by mounding the cupful, and voila...a chewy, crispy, not too sweet banana brownie! Great way to use up ripe banana. I will definitely make this again and please, disregard those negative comments. My parchment paper hadn't absorbed any oil. These were delicious!!

I made these last week. I used white sugar and used walnuts instead of coconut flakes and butter instead of coconut oil so it was like a verry rich brownie and was the best! I had to give them to my friends be couse I was binge eating them. It was excellent!

I just made these. I used coconut flour and added extra coconut! So good! Thanks!

I tried the variation Monique posted a couple months ago, but kept the chocolate chips/shredded coconut the same. It turned out pretty well - amount of grease was as expected and I liked that it wasn't overly sweet.

I cut back on the oil like others did, but it still came out super dense and kind of oily. I'm at a loss.

This recipe turned out delicious! I did use a little less coconut oil (8 Tbl instead of 10...and only because it was easier to measure 1/2 cup oil!) and I only had light brown sugar, but it turned out fantastic. Moist, dense and delightfully chewy. The coconut adds a really nice touch and I have been enjoying it daily in my lunch. I will definitely be making it again!

if you have a choice of oils I'd do pure virgin coconut oil. other good substitutes are a organic sunflower seed oil or organic canola

can i substutite fractionated coconut oil for reg. coconut oil in this receipe or what other oil?

Made this today! Here are my adaptations:
Wet ingredients: used 3 bananas, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar combined with 1/2cup white granulated sugar, 4.5 Tbsp of coconut oil.
Dry Ingredients: 1-1/4 cup of unbleached flour combined with 1/2 tsp of baking soda and 1/2 tsp of baking powder. 1 square of unsweetened baking chocolate chopped and 1/2 cup of unsweetened desiccated coconut. This created a great moist enough texture, not dense snack cake.
fyi: there is no right and wrong BUT for the sake of good health (we have high nrs of diabetes, high blood pressure and alarming nrs of obesity amoung our youth) why NOT modify and balance out our recipes??

Uh, got really worried since I didn't read the comments until *after* I put these in the oven. Fortunately, this was just my test batch, rehearsing for company tomorrow night and lots of it. More fortunately (and proving that you never can tell from comments), my husband and I tasted and agree: it's delicious -- not greasy, not overly sweet -- and the surface crispiness is a really nice texture. Can't wait to serve with ice cream - yum!

My cake came out delicious! I did cut back to 1 and a 1/2 cups of sugar, and I used 6 tablespoons of fat-free Greek yogurt and 5 tbsp of coconut oil instead, after reading the comments. I was a little scared cuz when I peeked in the oven the cake was still "bubbling" from the coconut oil, but when it cooled, it wasn't excessively greasy. The coconut is a nice addition.

I should have read the comments before baking. My cake came out incredibly oily and I even tried to soak some of it up with paper towels. I wish I had cut down on the coconut oil because it tastes pretty good!

not very good. I wanted it to be but it wasn't . greasy and flat

TNMeredith
I think this recipe is a definite keeper! I used Splenda brown sugar instead and it turned out perfectly!

I followed this recipe exactly and mine came out very greasy, flat and sweet. I think there should be more flour to absorb the oil and a levener so it rises. I will try the this again but with many changes.

I gave this a try today and only put in 11/4 cup of brown sugar (before even reading the comments I knew it was way too much and I don't like my desserts too sweet!) and reduced the oil to 8 tbsp [used light olive oil instead]. I also and gave it a 3 minute broil in the end to brown the top. Mine baked in 35 minutes and the outcome was cake that was crusty on the outside and moist on the inside. Although it's not the best cake I've had, it definitely is quite an fairly effortless recipe, so I will be doing a repeat:)

My snack bars turned out wonderfully. Took them to a meeting and they quickly disappeared. Very popular!

Well, I should have read these comments before I made this recipe. Mine is in the oven right now and smells absolutely devine. I didn't want to spend over $8 for the coconut oil so used the grape seed oil I already had. I hope it turns out ok and not like some of the posted comments. Time will tell...

I got rid of all the chocolate chips (unnecessary in my mind), added diced dates which are naturally sweet, and used only 1 cup of brown sugar. It turn out very very good and much more healthful than the original recipe. I could really taste the banana and dates. I do not like sugar overpowering the ingredients.

I mostly disagree with these comments. I made these, according to the recipe, and while they are very rich and maybe slightly heavy on the oil - they are not a mess or overly greasy or sweet. They are sweet, but I think this is more a matter of preference. I think it's unfair to be so harsh and say the recipe is "wrong." If you don't care for the taste, that's one thing. I probably would cut back slightly on the oil next time, but the flavor was very good - and the crunchy edges were the best!

I agree with most of the comments. These were super sweet and super oily. The flavor combination was nice but next time I would cut the sugar and oil each by 1/3, at least!

I love online recipes and am grateful for anyone who will take the time to share them. That said, I am surprised that Food52, which is usually an inventive resource has touted and continues to PROMOTE this recipe. I, like many others even cut down on the excessive sugar and coconut oil. Like everyone else, I found it very greasy and overly sweet. Essentially a waste of good ingredients. It also makes me now wary of future Food52 recipes.

Agree Chickenfog. Not only was the amount of sugar disturbing but the oil laden results were just gross.

Made this the other day and was pleasantly surprised. I am not a banana chocolate chip fan. I shaved the chocolate with a knife. I used 3/4 cup w. wheat flour and the rest all purpose as that is all I had in the house. Will definitely make it again. Probably soon for my son's return to Vancouver, Canada in the new year.

I'm wary of 52 recipes now b/c this one clearly is wrong. I have never, ever seen that ratio of sugar to flour in anything. I have no idea how this worked for anyone who followed this recipe. Are these typos??

It shouldn't matter whether the coconut oil is measured in solid or liquid form -- a tablespoon is a tablespoon. There seems to be too much liquid (oil & bananas) to be absorbed by only 1 cup of flour. The moistness should be imparted by the bananas but this was "heavy" with oil. Similarly, the ripe bananas are sweet & 2 1/4 or even 2 c. of sugar is overkill. The measurements as given won't allow for a cake-like texture or snack cake.

I used the coconut oil in a solid state, and worried about how it would melt into the batter. I stopped at about 10 tbs. and used canola oil for the rest. It melted beautifully and makes a crisp edge, which I like. I also cut the sugar a bit and it's still plenty sweet. I was pleasantly surprised by the rich flavor and non-greasy quality. It's definitely moist, but I would not describe it as oily or greasy.

Hi folks. Just seeing some of these comments. I'm not sure why the recipe hasn't worked out for some and has for others. The only thing I can think to clarify is that the coconut oil should be measured from a solid state. If you're worried about sweetness, It sounds like knocking the brown sugar down to 2 C works (i already decreased it from the original 21/2, but this is a sweet recipe). Otherwise, it was tested by me, adapted from a NYT recipe, and presumably tested by Food52, since sadly that photo you see is not one I took. Wish I could trouble shoot more, but I'm just not sure why people have had such different results. It has always worked deliciously for me.

I made this last night and it is AMAZING!

It's baking as I type. It smells like an overly sweet coconut candle. Unfortunately, I didn't read the comments prior to making this, otherwise, I wouldn't have wasted the good (costly) ingredients as Wisdm stated. From the start, lining the pan with parchment paper didn't seem right since the pan is higher than a cookie sheet. I don't understand how this horrible recipe is a community pick & entered in a contest. Is it because the ingredients sound good together?! Not based on the actual outcome?! I've thrown away several baking "recipes" by bloggers who create their own recipes. There's always too much of one ingredient & it turns out horrible (ends up in the garbage). Needless to say, I don't trust this site for recipes since they don't seem to be tested before they're posted.

This is so decadent, I love it! The only modification I made was to use 2 cups of brown sugar instead of 2 1/4 cups, and it came out perfectly. I really like the use of coconut oil in this recipe, and I didn't think it was greasy. Thanks for sharing!

ugh, i just made and ate some these and i feel sick to my stomach. i reviewed the comments below before making these, so i only used 2 cups of brown sugar and halved the coconut oil to about 6 tablespoons (because 12 HAS to be a typo, yes?), and they STILL came out super sweet and WAY too greasy. so disappointed in wasting good ingredients on this. i really suggest other would be bakers to find something else to curb their cravings or GREATLY modify this recipe before attempting.

This looks wonderful and fragrant. Does anyone know if subbing the all purpose flour for almond flour would work? I suspect reducing the oil would be key then, but does anyone know by how much?

I followed the recipe to the "T"---but my "cake" came out soaking in oil!What went wrong?

Made this yesterday with mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups instead of chocolate chips (somehow, I was out of them!). Turned out delicious, but I might reduce the brown sugar next time. They came out VERY sweet, and moist to the point of being difficult to transport. The sugar caramelized at the edges, though, which was super yummy!

Nice riff on the original recipe!

Is it possible to substitute the coconut oil for olive oil or any other kind of oil?