Chocolate Chip Banana Brownies
For a banana-loving/eating family, I am always baffled when I see a brown banana in the fruit bowl. Where do they come from??? And don’t you love how no one will eat them once they show a few signs of age? It drives me craz-zy! On a bright note, it means there is always a good stash of brown bananas in the freezer whenever I feel like a loaf of banana bread or a nice banana cake with lashings of cream cheese frosting.
This Chocolate chip banana brownies recipe came about because of a bit of a glut in the brown banana department in the fruit bowl, plus I hate throwing food away. I much rather try to use things up with my everyday cooking. And so when the weekend rolled around and there were two, rather sad-looking bananas on the bench, I set out to create a fudgy chocolate brownie with a good hint of banana for the school week ahead.
What you need to get started
Butter – I use Lurpak unsalted butter
Pantry staples – plain flour, brown sugar.
Dutch cocoa – I always use good quality dutch cocoa and pretty much only use dutch cocoa in my baking. I love the richness and intensity of the flavour compared with regular cocoa that is created by the “dutching process” of the cacao beans. This one here is my favourite.
Eggs – always free-range, at room temperature when there is baking involved!
Vanilla Extract
Overripe bananas – I used two average-sized bananas and crushed them with a fork into a rough paste-like consistency. It measured roughly 3/4 cup of mashed banana.
Chocolate Chips – I am a 70% darl chocolate kinda girl, so I threw in 1/3 cup Callebaut dark chocolate chips for a little added gooey-ness.
The details
- Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celcius.
- Grease and line with baking paper a 30cm x 15cm biscotti pan.
- In a saucepan melt butter on low heat. When melted, add brown sugar and stir to combine. Set aside and leave to cool for a couple of minutes.
- In a mixing bowl, add the flour and dutch cocoa. Give a gentle whisk to get out any lumps and bumps.
- Add butter mixture to the flour bowl. Gently stir in. Add eggs and again, stir to combine.
- Add vanilla and mashed banana. Give the mixture a good stir, being careful not to overbeat.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Smooth over the top with the back of a spoon to even out the top.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven. Leave to cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan – the longer the brownie is left in the pan, it continues cooking. Because we want a fudgy center, I like to remove the brownie from the pan as soon as possible!
Essential equipment
Anyone can make brownies. All you need is a mixing bowl, measuring spoons, spatula, baking paper, biscotti pan, and an oven. That’s it! Which makes it a great one for kids who are learning to cook.
Now let’s take this up a notch
Personally, I do like a good slice of brownie for my afternoon tea, BUT, I LOVE serving my brownies up for dessert in a fudgy brownie and ice cream sundae. Just add a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream to a bowl with a brownie square. Go nuts with some toppings. You could add some homemade chocolate ganache or a spoon of dulce de leche, chopped nuts, or sliced banana.
How to store chocolate chip banana brownies
This brownie will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
A few more sweets for my sweet…
PrintChocolate Chip Banana Brownies
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 18 brownie squares 1x
- Category: Sweets
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
A fudgy chocolate brownie with a good hint of banana and some chocolate chips thrown in for good measure!
Ingredients
- 250g butter
- 1 1/2c brown sugar
- 1 1/4c plain flour
- 1c dutch cocoa
- 3 eggs, beaten with a fork
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 overripe bananas, peeled and mashed
- 1/3c 70% dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160 degrees celcius.
- Grease and line with baking paper a 30cm x 15cm biscotti pan.
- In a saucepan melt butter on low heat. When melted, add bown sugar and stir to combine. Set aside and leave to cool for a couple of minutes.
- In a mixing bowl, add the flour and dutch cocoa. Give a gintle whisk to get out any lumps and bumps.
- Add butter mixture to flour bowl. Gently stir in. Add eggs and again, stir to combine.
- Add vanilla and mashed banana. Give the mixture a good stir, being carful not to overbeat.
- Pour mixture into the prepared tin. Smooth over the top with the back of a spoon to even out the top.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven. Leave to cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan – the longer the brownie is left in the pan, it continues cooking. Because we want a fudgy center, I like to remove the brownie from the pan as soon as possible!
Notes
I used two average-sized bananas and crushed them with a fork into a rough paste-like consistency. It measured roughly 3/4 cup of mashed banana.
Keywords: Brownies, After-school treat, Banana, Chocolate