Make Ahead

Banana Bread Blondies

by:
May 27, 2015
4
19 Ratings
Banana Bread Blondies
Photo by James Ransom
  • Makes 18 blondies
Author Notes

Banana bread and blondies are two of my favorite treats, so I thought combining them would be delicious. As it turns out, it is! Now one of my favorite recipes! —Laura Dembowski

Test Kitchen Notes

WHO: Laura Dembowski is an avid reader with a penchant for baking.
WHAT: (Banana bread) blondies have more fun.
HOW: Make a basic blondie base, then mix in bananas and pecans. Bake, then cut into single servings (Feel free to interpret a "single serving" loosely—we won't tell.).
WHY WE LOVE IT: Somewhere around our fifth blondie—in which the sweet cakiness of banana bread is condensed into fudge-like creations—we asked ourselves: Why didn't we think of this? —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 small ripe bananas, mashed
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup pecans
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter a 9 by 13 inch pan. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, stir together sugars and butter until combined. Mix in the bananas, vanilla, and eggs. Stir in the flour and salt. Fold in the pecans until evenly distributed.
  3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center of the blondies comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely in pan before cutting into bars.
  4. Blondies may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or frozen, individually wrapped in parchment and foil and placed in a zipper bag, for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for about an hour or in the microwave 30 seconds.
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  • TheAnxiousBaker
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  • corinnekate
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51 Reviews

maggieMay
maggieMay April 16, 2023
This is dense and does not taste good at all
 
bakingIZl1fe
bakingIZl1fe April 29, 2023
I wonder what went wrong, did you check to see you you missed anything? I have made these dozens of times and always great. They are one of my most requested recipes from family and friends. I would give it another try because they are really delicious and so easy.
 
bakingIZl1fe
bakingIZl1fe September 24, 2023
Me too, always delicious and loved by all!
 
TheAnxiousBaker
TheAnxiousBaker February 15, 2022
Made half batch with hazelnuts in 9” parchment-lined springform. Incredible aroma while baking; perfect after 25 minutes. Loved texture and flavor, but will try browning butter next time for even more depth. Will also try full batch in 10” spring for more thickaliciousness. 🙏🏼
 
Laura D.
Laura D. March 20, 2022
Hazelnuts are sure to be an awesome addition. Major yum. Thanks for trying my recipe :)
 
ChefMogul
ChefMogul May 11, 2021
A crowd pleaser! Can't believe I'm the first tinkerer to note this, but it doesn't seem like anyone else mentioned: brown butter. Why the heck not, really? You're melting the butter, anyway, so for another minute or two, you can brown it, and get a little extra 'caramel' dimension and heft. Ditto for toasting the nuts, while the oven preheats. These steps don't add much effort or time. If they seem too daunting to home bakers looking to throw something together quickly, you could always list them as options. Also: I doubled the vanilla and cut the sugar, because I'm funny that way. Basically, I mashed this fantastic recipe up with another Food52 gem ...

https://food52.com/recipes/32350-brown-butter-blondies
 
Laura D.
Laura D. May 15, 2021
Sounds like you made some great changes to this recipe. Can't wait to try them out myself!
 
ChefMogul
ChefMogul May 15, 2021
Oh, and I also switched to a 9x9 pan to make them thicker, which was really satisfying. I extended to cooking time, but probably not quite enough. Next time they'll be perfection!
 
chezjenne
chezjenne October 2, 2020
I make these a couple of times a year; they are my new Banana Bread go-to. Thanks so much for this excellent mash-up.
 
Laura D.
Laura D. October 3, 2020
I'm glad they're such a hit!
 
rmk2113
rmk2113 October 2, 2020
These are very good. Easy. You have all the ingredients on hand and don't need to wait for the butter to soften, etc. Ripe bananas are in the freezer, so pop them in the microwave quickly. Done. My neighbors loved them. I used semisweet chocolate chips and they were great. I'm making this again for sure.
 
Laura D.
Laura D. October 3, 2020
I love that they are easy to make too. Thanks for trying my recipe!
 
rmk2113
rmk2113 October 2, 2020
These are very good. Easy. You have all the ingredients on hand and don't need to wait for the butter to soften, etc. Ripe bananas are in the freezer, so pop them in the microwave quickly. Done. My neighbors loved them. I used semisweet chocolate chips and they were great. I'm making this again for sure.
 
Lynne
Lynne August 1, 2020
I went on food52's website looking for a simple banana nut bread without a million ingredients and stumbled across this recipe. It's summer and I am in San Diego, we always have overripe bananas to use this time of the year. Made the exact recipe and then decided to add 1/2 c white chocolate chips. We use bananas all the time for an egg substitute so this recipe is right up our alley. Loved this recipe, my husband thought it had a caramelly taste. The bottom gets a little caramelized. I did have to cook this batch 48 minutes. It's a lovely recipe, I will make this again without the chips and I see a batch coming with a little rum for the holidays. I think this recipe could be used in a variety of ways. It will fall into our keeper rotation. I would not describe it as super moist, more like a bar with a little cake-like texture. It is super moist.
 
Laura D.
Laura D. October 3, 2020
White chocolate chips sound like a great addition. Glad you like them, Lynne!
 
corinnekate
corinnekate June 24, 2020
I made these last week with some lovely ripe bananas, I only had candied pecans and they turned out excellent!
 
Laura D.
Laura D. October 3, 2020
Candied pecans sound like a fabulous addition. I totally need to try that in my next batch.
 
Emanuela
Emanuela May 10, 2020
Hi Laura, haven't tried it yet, intending to...it sounds delish...
Can you, please, convert the bananas portion into cups or weight.
Size is somewhat in the eyes of the beholder...:)
thanks!
 
Laura D.
Laura D. May 11, 2020
Hi Emanuela! I'd go with about a heaping cup, and when in doubt err on the side of more than less. Extra banana will only serve to add more flavor and make them even denser.
 
Emanuela
Emanuela May 11, 2020
great, thanks a lot Laura
 
erinrae
erinrae May 1, 2020
Made these lovely banana blondies last night, I followed the recipe in the essentials and they came out very nice, like a dense cake (in a good way). I didn't have nuts, and I put some bittersweet chocolate chips on top which really added, and a tiny bit of Penzey's curry in the dry ingredients after finding this subtly enhanced the flavor from another food52 recipe (Lil's Banana Bites). I left some on our neighbors' porch, they loved them too!
 
Laura D.
Laura D. May 4, 2020
Adding curry is a genius idea! Can't wait to try that myself.
 
Craig_Buchanan
Craig_Buchanan March 17, 2020
Absolutely fantastic, my daughter and I just made this. Followed the recipe word for word and it turned out perfect.
Took a little longer in the oven, but was in a glass dish.
I can see switching the nuts or adding choc chips would work, otherwise this is magnificent.
Thank you for the recipe.
 
Laura D.
Laura D. March 20, 2020
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Yes, please feel free to make it your own with mix ins.
 
Jan
Jan October 21, 2019
For me, these came out cakey and not chewy. Also, they did not have the luscious rich caramely flavor that I was hoping for in a Blondie, but were rather bland. Overall, I am disappointed. I'm not sure what I did differently, except that I didn't melt the butter (it was partially melted) and I chopped the pecans into smaller pieces rather than leaving them whole. I live in Hawaii and make banana bread often, so I was hoping for something new. Maybe I will give this another shot.
 
Jan
Jan October 21, 2019
I might have overmixed the batter. Would that cause the cakey texture?
 
Laura D.
Laura D. October 26, 2019
Hi Jan! Definitely make sure the butter is fully melted next time. That could be making a difference. Try to mix the batter less, and you could also had another banana for added density. I hope this helps!
 
FrugalCat
FrugalCat October 4, 2019
Perfect! I used walnuts instead of pecans.
 
Faded E.
Faded E. August 30, 2019
Alas, not for me. These tasted like not very interesting banana bread and nor at all like chewy, butterscotchy blondies.
 
Cynthia
Cynthia September 14, 2018
Hello, Laura! The first time I made these, I didn't melt the butter (oops!), and I used your recommended 1 cup of pecans, which I broke into large pieces. I used a glass pan, so it took closer to 60 minutes in the oven. It was AMAZING! This time I melted the butter, and and the blondies seem somewhat denser? Also, I added 1.5 cups of pecans — too much! I'm sticking with your 1 cup recommendation for the nuts. Both batches were delicious and 'disappeared' from the kitchen within 24 hours. Next time I may use a combo of light and dark brown sugar? I am having SO MUCH FUN with your recipe — thank you!
 
Laura D.
Laura D. September 17, 2018
Cynthia, thank you so much for your nice comment. I am so glad you enjoy the blondies. It makes total sense that melted butter made them denser - but density is one of my favorite things about blondies. Feel free to switch up the sugars, even the nuts, or try some chocolate chips. Make it your own! :)
 
Hannah R.
Hannah R. August 24, 2018
Are these cake-like or chewy? I want to make them, but only if they have the chewy texture of a blondie, and some of the reviews have said its cake-like
 
Laura D.
Laura D. August 25, 2018
I would definitely say they are on the chewier side. Be sure not to over mix the batter, and I think you'll really enjoy them.
 
Loreal
Loreal March 5, 2018
Great recipe! I replaced 1/2 cup of flour with unsweetened cocoa powder and they were super dooper delightful
 
Nicole L.
Nicole L. November 5, 2017
A truly great find. I love this recipe. My teenager doesn't like bananas, but he loves These blondes. Thank you so much! I have made these 3 times already. Definitely a keeper!
 
Änneken
Änneken January 1, 2017
These were absolutely outstanding....what a fantastic idea to combine the flavor of banana bread with blondie texture. Loved it and will definitely make these again!
 
Knit1Curl2
Knit1Curl2 November 20, 2016
Great recipe as it is. But I also found it easy to adapt to ingredients on hand. I was out of nuts but had chocolate chips. I had extract but after doing a little math, I figured booze was cheaper. I ended up using dark rum, yum, yum.
 
Laura D.
Laura D. November 21, 2016
I'm so glad you enjoyed them! Rum sounds like a great addition.