Banana Chocolate Chip Bars: Righting Wrongs

Wrong #1: How have I never posted this recipe on this blog?!?  Banana Chocolate Chip Bars, found in my favorite cookbook of all time (Better Homes and Garden), are my signature baked goods.  I brought them to almost every potluck event when I was working, and I have made them so many times that the page in my cookbook is covered in tiny splatters of batter.  There's no telling how many people have made this recipe as a result of me e-mailing it, posting it on Facebook, and handing out the recipe at work.  Unless you don't like bananas in baked goods, you're going to love these bars.

Wrong #2: I made these wrong for years-- probably at least 7 or 8 years.  I didn't have the right size pan (a 15x10x1 baking pan, AKA a jelly roll pan, AKA a cookie sheet with sides), so I just made them in a 9x13 brownie pan.  I always wondered why I couldn't get the texture exactly right.  Then, one time when I was sending my sister the recipe, I thought more about the pan size.  I ran to Target, bought the right pan, and the next time I baked the BCCBs, they were HEAVENLY!

Without further ado, here is the recipe:

Banana Chocolate Chip Bars

Prep: 20 minutes
Bake: 25 minutes
Oven 350 degrees

3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2-3 medium)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

1) Grease a 15x10x1-inch baking pan; set aside.

2) In a medium mixing bowl, beat the butter or margarine with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt; beat till combined. Beat in the egg, bananas, and vanilla till combined. Beat in flour till combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

3) Spread in the prepared baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven about 25 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes 36 bars.

Nutrition facts per bar: 117 calories, 5 grams total fat (2 grams saturated fat), 16 mg cholesterol, 92 mg sodium, 17 grams carbohydrates, 0 grams fiber, 1 gram protein.

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I have no picture of the banana chocolate chip bars, but here's a picture of my daughter (who loves to bake!) sampling the fruits of our labor (making brownies):