April 21, 2011: Butterscotch Banana Coconut Bars Recipe

Sometimes my husband and I eat a banana a day; other times we don’t and the bananas I buy just sit there until they’re brown and mushy. Of course the natural solution to not letting them go to waste is to make banana bread. But honestly, I can only eat so much banana bread.

When I had a nice little bunch of aging bananas on my hands, I decided to make something different for a change. I did a bit of searching online and found a recipe to begin with, then modified it a la Candy to make it more “spring-like”. The result are these yummy bars – perfect for anytime but especially good as a snack for your Easter guests.

These bars are more like brownies with their dense, moist texture.

Butterscotch Banana Coconut Bars

1 cup butter, softened
4 ounces shortening (butter flavored is best)
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3 medium bananas
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
3 t. baking powder (reduce by ¼ teaspoon if baking in high altitude)
3 ¾ cup flour (add ¼ cup more if baking in high altitude)
1 t. salt
1 cup sweetened, flaked coconut
1 11-ounce package butterscotch chips

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

In a stand mixer or bowl, cream butter and shortening until softened; add sugar and beat until well combined. Add the bananas (mash beforehand if mixing by hand). Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients (up to the coconut) and add to the wet mixture. Mix just until combined. Add in the coconut and butterscotch chips.

Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 50 – 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.