Frosted Banana Bars with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

For anyone who knows my kids, they actually allowed three bananas to turn brown. Shocking I know. I was faced with the dilemma of what to with them. Banana bread was out of the question. Muffins and cookies maybe. I settled on the banana bars because the fact that we have brown bananas calls for a celebration. I cringed at the amount of sugar but bit my lip and went ahead and made them. They were also a great way to use up that container or whipped cream cheese frosting left over from Mason’s birthday. Frosted banana bars would make a nice gift or treat at a party.

I substituted plain low fat yogurt for the sour cream. The next time I will try replacing a little of the all-purpose flour with wheat pastry and maybe a little wheat germ. I do not know how much good it will do but I makes me feel better. This time around the kids opted for no frosting on theirs. To appease the masses I frosted half the pan and sprinkled chopped walnuts on top.

Source Allrecipes.com
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (About 3 ripe bananas)
Cream cheese frosting or make your own

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10 x 15 inch jellyroll pan or one 9X13 pan and an additional 8X8 pan. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; stir into the batter. Finally, mix in the mashed banana. Spread evenly into the prepared pan(s). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting.