I’ve never had bananas foster dessert. I like bananas & banana bread. I even like banana cream pie if it’s been made recently. The longer a banana cream pie sits the more the banana flavor seeps into the crust & cream filling. I don’t like that. I know I’m weird. It tastes different though from the first day you make it and day 3 or 4. My guy actually prefers it after its sat a couple days. He like the banana flavor seepage. Anyhow, this dessert is yummy & super decadent. You really only need a small amount. I didn’t do so well with the brûlée part but it wasn’t terrible for my first time.
Bananas Foster Cookie Bars
Pecan Sugar Cookie
Rum Cream Cheese Frosting
Banana Topping
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Instructions
- Position a rack in the center position of your oven and preheat it to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13″ baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some hanging over the edges as your handles (important for removal of cookie bar – see photos above) and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a mixing bowl with a hand-held mixer), cream together butter and sugar until slightly fluffy, about one minute.
- Add in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract, and beat on medium-high speed for an additional minute. Turn the speed to low and add in the dry mix 1/2 cup at a time, waiting until each addition is fully incorporated before adding in the next – you may want a rubber spatula handy for this to help scrape down the bowl as necessary.
- Once all of the dry mix has been added and is incorporated, turn the dough onto your prepared baking sheet and press it into an even layer in the pan (see photos above for reference).
- Spread the chopped pecans in an even layer on top of the dough and gently press the pecans into the dough using your hands. Place the cookies into the oven and bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until the edges are slightly brown. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 1 hour, until the cookie is room temperature (you don’t want to frost the cookie until it is completely cooled down).
- Prepare your frosting by creaming the cream cheese (in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or with a hand-held mixer) until slightly fluffy, about 1 minute. Scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary, add in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, waiting for each cup to be incorporated before adding in the next addition. Once the frosting begins to appear super thick (around the 4th addition of powdered sugar, most likely) add in the rum and then continue with the remaining two additions of powder sugar. You want the frosting to be sturdy, as in slightly thicker than traditional cake frosting. If it is too thick, add a 1/2 tablespoon of milk at a time, mixing between each addition, until you’ve reached the desired consistency.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag (or a zip-top bag) fitted with a piping tip (we used a #195 tip) or simply skip the piping tip and snip off the edge of your bag to begin piping. Pipe in swirls on top of the cooled cookie, ensuring you cover the entire base of the cookie.
- Combine the coconut oil and rum in a mixing bowl and toss in bananas to coat evenly.
- Place your bananas, cut side up, on top of the frosting in two even rows (see photos above). Sprinkle with a very generous amount of sanding sugar and use your brûlée torch to brûlée each banana individually, taking care not to flame the frosting as it will melt (which is also no big deal, it just looks prettier when the frosting is kept in tact).
- Once the bananas have all been torched, place the entire pan into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to one hour to let firm up. This step can be skipped if you are in a rush, but it makes cutting them way easier and will yield a prettier product.
- Use your parchment “handles” to remove the cookie from the pan and place onto a cutting board. Use a super sharp knife to cut the cookies into desired shapes. We did four rows down and seven across to yield 28 cookies. Serve just as they are or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and enjoy!
