Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Banana Bread Fudge Bars

Oh, hey you guys! I have no proper excuse for not giving you all a post on Tuesday. I totally failed, and I’m sorry. Forgive me? I come bearing treats…chocolatey treats!

Is there a single human on Planet Earth that doesn’t LOVE the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, or peanut butter and banana? What about all three? If you know of some poor soul who cannot appreciate flavor combo perfection, please do not tell me because I may have to track him or her down for questioning… It’s probably better for everyone if I just go on living in blissful ignorance.

These bars of awesomeness are pretty hard to describe. They kind of look like brownies, but they’re not. The texture is kind of like banana bread, but it’s not. They are a fudgy mix of the two!

These bars taste ultra-rich, but, surprisingly, most of that faux sense of decadence comes from the bananas. There’s actually only 1/4 cup of butter in the entire recipe (Okay, and a 1/3 cup of peanut butter, but c’mon people! Have you seen the amount of butter in most of my recipes?! You probably shouldn’t check…).

Either way, a nice cold mug of milk is advised while chowing down on these delectable delights.

By the way, the adorable mug you see pictured features artwork from my talented aunt, Deborah Dart. Her style is very whimsical and fun, and I highly suggest checking out her website!

Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Banana Bread Fudge Bars

 recipe adapted from here

ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened, Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 very ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 cup peanut butter (crunchy, all the way, man)
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13″ baking dish, line with parchment paper, and grease the paper; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder.
3. In the bowl on an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, bananas, sugar, vanilla, and peanut butter. Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. Add in the chocolate and peanut butter chips and stir to combine.
4. Spread the mixture out into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 35 minutes. Allow to cool completely before removing from pan and slicing.