Banana Caramel Brownies

Banana Caramel Brownies - made July 4, 2012 from 125 Cookies to Bake, Nibble and Savor by Elinor Klivans

I don't know that I would really call these brownies since they don't have chocolate in them; they should technically be called blondies.  But they do have the "fudgy" texture of a good brownie.  The batter was a bit thin which made me suspect the caramel would sink to the bottom and I was right.  The batter wasn't stiff enough to hold the weight of the caramel during baking.  I think that's partly because the salted caramel I used was heavy in the first place, even when warmed up to make it easier to swirl into the batter.  In hindsight, I should've thinned it a little with some heavy cream.  Nevertheless, this was a good banana blondie, a bit more dense ("fudgy") than a banana cake but pretty tasty.  Next time though, I would use a regular caramel instead of the salted caramel; I think that would be more complementary to the taste of the banana.

1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) soft unsalted butter

1 1/3 cups packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups sliced and mashed bananas (about 3)

2 large eggs

¾ cup caramel (I used the Salted Caramel from Trader Joe’s)

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (optional, I left them out)

1.     Position a rack in the middle of the oven.  Preheat oven to 325°F.    Line a 9 x 9” baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2.     Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.

3.     Put the butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer and beat on low speed for 15 seconds.  Add the brown sugar and vanilla until the mixture is creamed thoroughly, about 1 minute.  Mix in the mashed bananas.  Add the eggs, blending until they are incorporated.  Slowly add the flour mixture and mix just until it is incorporated and the batter is smooth.  Stir in ¼ cup of the caramel filling until it is blended with the batter.

4.     Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.  Drizzle the remaining ½ cup caramel filling over the top.  Draw a thin metal spatula gently through the batter to swirl in the caramel, leaving swirls of caramel on top.  Sprinkle the pecans evenly, trying to drop them wherever caramel is showing through.

5.     Bake for about 50 minutes, or just until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool the brownies in the pan on a wire rack.