Waste Not, Want Not

I hate being wasteful, especially when it comes to food. I even take all of the leftover scraps from fruits, veggies, eggs, etc., and I put them in the blender with water to make compost. I then take that mixture and pour it in my garden. Natural fertilizer :-)

So, in an effort to not waste some over-ripened bananas, I created a recipe. I loosely based it off of two other recipes (one for banana muffins and one for frosting). Let me just say - these are SPECTACULAR! Feel free to try the recipe yourself, and let me know what you think.

Banana Bars with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients
Banana Bar:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2/3 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed
½ c chopped walnuts

Frosting:
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon cinnamon


Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 13” x 9” baking pan with non-stick spray. To make the banana bars, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl to blend.

Beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the banana and walnuts. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Pour mixture into greased pan and bake for 30 minutes.

To make the frosting, beat all frosting ingredients until light and fluffy. When the banana bars are cooled, spread the frosting and enjoy!