Banana Bars

If you like banana-packed baked goods then you will most certainly like these. I had several left over bananas from when I made the black and white banana loaf and thought these bars would be a perfect way to get rid of them. I got this recipe from allrecipes and the reviews, once again, proved to be dead on.  There's nothing like selecting a recipe based on comments from random people all over the world! I used the left over cream cheese icing from the red velvet cake below to top the bars rather than the suggested frosting recipe. This was a simple delicious recipe definitely worth trying.

INGREDIENTS 

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 very ripe banana, mashed
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 
  
• FROSTING
• *I used the cream cheese recipe shown in the below post*
  
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 ripe banana
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until smooth. Stir in the milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in 1 banana, 1 teaspoon lemon juice and walnuts. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let bars cool in the pan on a wire rack.
4. To make the frosting: In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, confectioners' sugar, 1/2 banana, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice using an electric mixer. Beat until smooth. Spread over cooled bars and then cut into squares.