SANDRA'S HOMEMADE APPLE-BANANA-CRAN BARS with CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Very moist and flavorful homemade bars,
with a distinct hint of banana, apple and cinnamon,
including the pop here and there of delicious craisins... 


Yields (32 bars)
Prep: 10 Mins.
Bake: 20 Mins.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder (or regular)
1/4 teaspoon fine-grain kosher salt
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (1 medium banana)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup craisins, roughly chopped
--Cream cheese frosting (recipe below)

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 10x15" baking sheet with parchment paper, and spray top; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, then stir in sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter. Finally, mix in the mashed banana, applesauce, and chopped craisins.

Pour and spread batter onto prepared baking sheet, then gently shake side-to-side and tap baking sheet to distribute batter evenly. Bake for 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Allow bars to cool completely for 30 minutes in pan place atop a baking rack.  Place baking rack on top and flip over to remove parchment paper.  Place baking sheet atop, then re-flip over to cool completely in baking sheet before frosting, then cut into 32 squares. ~ Enjoy!

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING (Yields 2 Cups)

Prep: 5 Mins.

1 (8 oz. pkg.) of cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups of confectioners’ sugar (sift through a sieve to prevent a lumpy frosting)
1 tablespoon milk (adding more or less, depending on your desired consistency)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, with a hand mixer cream together the cream cheese and butter, and mix in vanilla. Gradually stir in (with a spoon) the milk, and then the confectioner’ sugar; mixing until smooth.


2 comments:

Suddenly Susan said...

I've missed your more frequent blog posts and it makes me so happy when I see a new one pop up on my feed! These look delicious and right up my ally! Thanks for being you!!!

sandra said...

Awe, how sweet of you Susan! Thank you, you made my day, my dear ;)!!

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