banana bar bungle

I've officially lost my kitchen mojo.


After my devastating brownie debacle, it took me awhile to get geared up to bake again. However, when I had several bananas take a turn for the worse, I decided to bite the bullet and get back into the kitchen.

I’d seen these black bottom banana bars on quite a few of my favorite blogs, so I gamely picked them to try. Other than tossing a few chocolate chips into banana bread or diving into a frozen chocolate-covered bananner, I can’t think of a time when I’ve eaten chocolate and banana together.

So what happened this time? Two things--a)I used too much banana, and b)I took the bars out of the oven way too soon. Once again, the middle was sticky and wet, and by the time I realized this, the bars were cooled.


Dang distractions.

I know it’s wrong to pop a cake that has already cooled down back into the oven, but I figured I didn’t have anything to lose. I set the oven to 250F and walked away. When I remembered that I had done this an hour later, I pulled them out. There didn't seem to be much difference.

Knowing that my co-workers will eat just about anything, I persevered and cut out the parts that were cooked through. I refused to waste another batch of ingredients. To my great relief, the bars were inhaled, and more people than usual went out of their way to compliment me. Isn’t that always the way? Toil, labor, and sweat over something and it’s hardly appreciated. Barely exert any effort at all and everyone is beside themselves with appreciation and delight.


Sigh. Maybe these kitchen blunders are Dorie's way of getting back at me for disliking her cake. Are her powers that strong?

Badly-Behaved Black Bottom Banana Bars
(now THAT'S some alliteration for ya)
(based on this recipe)

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9-inch pan.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg, vanilla, and bananas and beat until thoroughly combined. Separately combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add this to creamed mixture and mix well. Divide the batter in half. Add the cocoa to half, blend well, and spread into the prepared pan. Spoon the remaining batter on top and swirl with a knife. Sprinkle with the chocolate chips. Bake for 30 minutes or until the bars test done. Cool completely before cutting.