Roasted Banana Bars with Browned Butter-Pecan Frosting

Roasted bananas? Yes. It was something new to me too. Ripe bananas (the more brown speckles the better) are sliced and tossed with brown sugar and butter and roasted to perfection. When I took the caramelized bananas out of the oven (before folding them into the batter), I wanted to stop right there and pour them over a big bowl of vanilla ice cream and dig in. It would have been so good. But every bit of roasted banana managed to make its way into these bars. Which I didn't regret, because they turned out terrific! I could have eaten the whole pan of naked bars. But before I got that far, I topped them with a thin layer of browned-butter frosting and a sprinkling of toasted pecans. Delicious.

INGREDIENTS
Bars:
2 cups ripe banana, sliced (about 3 medium)
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp. cold butter, diced
9 oz. (about 2 1/4 cups) cake flour (I used all-purpose, but recommend cake flour for a lighter texture)
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
pinch salt
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs

Frosting:
1/4 cup butter
pinch salt
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup (3 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

2. To prepare bars, combine banana, brown sugar, and diced butter in an 8-in. square baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, stirring after 17 minutes. Cool slightly.

3. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 F.

4. Weigh or lightly spoon cake flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine banana mixture, buttermilk, and vanilla in another medium bowl. Place butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs to granulated sugar mixture; mix well. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternating with banana mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

5. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

6. To prepare the frosting, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly. Combine browned butter, powdered sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer until smooth. Spread frosting over cooled bars. Sprinkle with pecans.

Makes a 9x13 pan of bars.

(Adapted from Cooking Light)