Turn your ripe bananas into these incredibly delicious Banana Blondies topped with a drool-worthy Cinnamon Brown Butter Frosting. You’ll never know they’re lightened up thanks to their bold and perfectly sweet flavor!
Got ripe bananas? These Banana Blondies with Cinnamon Brown Butter Frosting are about to become your new favorite way to use them. Each of these blondies are perfectly sweet and spiced and have the most incredible soft, moist, melt-in-your mouth texture!
But the real star of the show here is the cinnamon brown butter frosting! It’s made by browning butter on a saucepan and then mixing it with cream cheese, sweetening it with confectioners sugar, and flavoring it with cinnamon, vanilla and touch of salt. Yes, it’s that easy! Browning the butter helps create a truly INSANE flavor profile and it pairs deliciously with these moist and sweet banana blondies.
And they’re great any month of the year!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THESE BANANA BLONDIES
- So incredibly moist, dense and flavorful! 😍
- They’re lightened up but taste like an indulgent treat.
- Topped with SINFUL cinnamon brown butter frosting!
- Great to make any time of year.
- Less than 200 calories per piece!
- Helps you use up those ripe bananas on your counter!
INGREDIENTS
For the blondies:
- Bananas – The riper, the better!
- Greek yogurt – Adds such a moist texture.
- Canola oil
- Brown sugar – I used Swerve Brown Sugar.
- Milk – I used unsweetened almond milk, but any milk works.
- Baking essentials – We’ll use vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Flour – I used all-purpose flour. Using almond or oat flour will change the flavor/texture, but they would still work. If you wish to make gluten-free blondies, try Bob Red Mill’s 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour.
- Protein powder – I used PEScience Vanilla. Keep in mind that not all protein powders bake the same, so if you use a different kind, use a similar whey + casein blend, not just a whey protein powder. Code LaurenFitFoodie will save you 15% on PEScience products.
For the frosting:
- Cream cheese – I used 1/3 reduced fat. Full fat, fat-free or Neufchatel cream cheese work, too.
- Unsalted butter – We’ll brown this in a pan for incredible flavor!
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Vanilla extract
- Confectioners sugar – I used Swerve Confectioners Sugar.
HOW TO MAKE BANANA BLONDIES
To make the blondies:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium-sized bowl, add the flour, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine.
- In a large bowl, add the bananas and mash them well. Then, add the yogurt, oil, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla. Combine with a hand or stand mixer.
- Pour the batter into the prepared dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. We want it to be slightly gooey for a more moist texture!
- Let blondies cool to room temperature before adding frosting.
For the frosting:
While the blondies are baking, make the cinnamon brown butter frosting:
- Start by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam. Keep stirring occasionally. After 5-8 minutes, the butter will begin browning. You’ll notice lightly browned specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan and it will have a nutty aroma. Once browned, remove from heat and pour into a heat-proof bowl. Refrigerate until solid.
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter together on high speed using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment.
- Add cinnamon, salt, vanilla and confectioners sugar. Beat on low speed for 1 minute or until everything is combined.
- Once blondies have cooled, evenly cover the top with frosting. Cover and store in the fridge until ready to serve. They’ll taste best if you let them sit overnight!
Frequently Asked Questions
Because it creates such incredible flavor! Browning the butter creates a warm, nutty flavor that tastes incredible with these banana blondies. Trust me, you won’t regret it!
Yes, you can. But freeze them without the frosting. Let blondies cool to room temperature and then cut into bars. Wrap the bars individually in parchment paper, wax paper, or aluminum foil. Then, store in a Ziploc bag. To prevent freezer burn, make sure to remove as much air as possible. If stored properly, bars will stay fresh for 6 months. Frost after you defrost and are ready to eat.
Absolutely. Use whatever you like. I think chocolate, vanilla, or plain cream cheese frosting would taste great.
MORE YUMMY BLONDIES TO TRY
- CARROT CAKE BLONDIES WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- APPLE BLONDIES WITH CINNAMON MAPLE GLAZE
- THE BEST PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP BLONDIES
- THE BEST HEALTHY CAKE BATTER OREO PROTEIN BLONDIES
WANT TO MAKE THIS RECIPE?
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Banana Blondies with Cinnamon Brown Butter Frosting
Turn your ripe bananas into these incredibly delicious Banana Blondies topped with a drool-worthy Cinnamon Brown Butter Frosting. You'll never know they're lightened up thanks to their bold and perfectly sweet flavor!
Ingredients
Banana Blondies
- 2 medium bananas (200g), the riper the better!
- 3/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt (170g)
- 2 Tbsp canola oil (30g) - or other oil of choice
- 1/4 cup brown sugar sweetener (48g) - I used Swerve
- 2 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk (30g)
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1.25 cup all-purpose flour (150g)
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (31g) - I used PEScience
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- Pinch of salt
Cinnamon Brown Butter Frosting
- 8 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese (226g)
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter (28g)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup confectioners sweetener (72g) – I used Swerve
Instructions
For the Banana Blondies:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium-sized bowl, add the flour, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; stir to combine.
- In a large bowl, add the bananas and mash them well. Then add the yogurt, oil, brown sugar, milk and vanilla. Using a hand or stand mixer, mix to combine. Add the dry ingredients and mix again until incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean (a toothpick inserted in the center should still be slightly gooey (for a more moist texture!)
Let cool to room temperature before adding frosting.
For the Brown Butter Frosting:
While the blondies are baking, make the brown sugar frosting.
- Start by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam. Keep stirring occasionally. After 5-8 minutes, the butter will begin browning– you’ll notice lightly browned specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan and it will have a nutty aroma. Once browned, remove from heat, and pour into a heat-proof bowl. Refrigerate until solid.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth.
- Add the cinnamon, salt, vanilla and confectioners sugar. Beat on low speed for 1 minute or until everything is combined well.
Once blondies have cooled, evenly cover the top with frosting. Cover and store in the fridge until ready to serve. Best if let sit overnight!
Notes
MFP entry: LFF Banana Blondies with Brown Butter Frosting
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
77gAmount Per Serving: Calories: 159Total Fat: 7.9gSaturated Fat: 3.7gCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 0.9gSugar: 3.9gProtein: 6.9g
Do you know if you could substitute applesauce for the oil? Seems like it would be the perfect fit and reduce the macros even more.
The blondies will be more cakey and won’t be as moist if you sub with applesauce, kind of more like a banana cake, but it will still be good– especially with the brown butter frosting!
I made this for my family this weekend and everyone loved it! The frosting took a little bit of time because I had to wait for the brown butter to cool down. But everything turned out great! Love your recipes. Please post more.
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to comment! I will keep the recipes coming! Hopefully more frequent now that the wedding has passed 😊
Congratulations on your wedding!
This was delish!!!!!!!