If you love banana splits, you’ll go crazy over these Banana Split Bars! They have all of your favorite banana split flavors in these easy to share bars.
Banana splits in another dessert form are always winners! For more favorite, check out these Banana Split Cupcakes or these Banana Split Cake Mix Cookies.
My mom has loved cooking ever since I can remember. For the most part, we were like most families in the 70s/80s – aka pre-internet – where my mom would have a rotation of meals that she would go through. She did have a nice collection of cookbooks, though, and would choose something new every now and again. Through the years, she has gotten rid of many of those cookbooks that I liked to flip through, but one thing has remained.
Her recipe box.
Seriously – I’m guessing this thing is close to my age. It’s worn and falling apart, kept together at the seams with tape, but it is full of love. And recipes, of course, but if I had to choose something to save from my parent’s house, that recipe box would be high on the list.
It’s full of hand written recipes and cut outs from magazines and packages. But these are my mom’s tried and true recipes, and I know that if it makes it into “the box”, I can bet on it that it’s a good one.
I was looking through the box the other day, in search of another recipe, when I came across the recipe for these bars. Not only did I have a bunch of quickly browning bananas, but I had 2 nearly full jars of maraschino cherries in my fridge. (How in the world did I end up with 2 jars of cherries???) I would say that it was destiny that I make these bars.
Now, I know that I’ve been going crazy on the ripe banana recipes lately, but this is another you need to add to your list (or Pinterest board!) for when you have overripe bananas. Sure, they only use up one of those overripe bananas, but they are goo-ood. Totally worth saving aside one of the bananas to purposefully let it go overripe!!
More Favorite Bar Desserts
Marshmallow Butterscotch Blondies
Turtle Cheesecake Cookie Bars
Coconut Pecan Bars
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Banana Split Bars
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 banana mashed
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup chopped peanuts
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup maraschino cherries drained and quartered
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.
- In a bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the egg, banana and vanilla and mix well. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt, then mix into the batter. Fold in the peanuts.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and top with the marshmallows, chocolate chips and cherries. Return to the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, an additional 10-15 minutes. Cool completely then cut into bars.
Joy @ Yesterfood says
Oooo, the banana split bars look great, and you know I love an old recipe! 😉
Thanks for a great party!
Love, Joy @ Yesterfood
natalie@thesweetslife says
these sound fantastic! bookmarking to make soon!
Julie @ Julie's Eats & Treats says
Oh these look fantastic. What a wonderful idea! And yes, old tried and true recipes are the best!
Joanne says
I actually almost always seem to have just ONE banana to use up so this is perfect! Plus…who doesn’t love a banana split, especially in bar form!
Kim of Mo'Betta says
Those bars looks so good! Thanks for hosting!
marcie@flavorthemoments. says
These look so fun and delicious! I’m going to try these ASAP!
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
Mmm what a lovely idea! So colourful and perfect for spring!
Jennifer @ Mother Thyme says
Great story! I remember my mom and her recipe box too. These looks irresitible! I love a classic banana split whipped up in a bar, yum! 🙂
lisa@cookingwithcurls says
Those banana split bars look amazingly good 🙂 Thanks for hosting, and have a wonderful week!!!
Tracey says
Old recipes are the best, this makes me wish I could get my hands on my grandparents’ recipe file. You can never have too many recipes for overripe bananas, these look awesome 🙂
Krista Low says
These banana split bars look wonderful! Sometimes real banana splits are so messy. This is a fabulous idea 🙂 Thanks for hosting a wonderful party darlin’! I love to participate every week! Krista @ A Handful of Everything
Tieghan says
Thanks for linking my pasta!
These bars looks awesome and I love the it is such an old recipe. That makes them even better!! Pinned!
Thanks for party!
kirsten@FarmFreshFeasts says
Deborah,
I love handwritten recipes!
Sadly I lost my folder of them (collected during my young adulthood from the folks I’d known and worked with, not mom) when they didn’t make it into a box, into a crate, when we left Japan. The worst part for me is not knowing all of the recipes that I lost! When I think of something I can try and google it, and that helps. Though in the long run, it is just stuff, and people are more important.
I nearly always have a few bananas in the freezer–I like to eat my bananas just barely ripe, so when they are too far gone (for me) it’s no trouble to let them go a bit longer and then freeze them if I don’t have plans for anything right away.
These bars, though? Will be in my plans. They look marvelous.
Today I am linking up breakfast–Frugal Refrigerator Bran Muffins–the batter keeps in the fridge for up to 6 weeks so I can scoop up and bake a hot muffin whenever I desire.
I’m also linking up lunch–Mu Shu (ish) Chicken Burritos–using leftover cooked chicken. We’re having Burrito folding wars in my family, so how you fold your Mu Shu is up to you.
Finally, I’m linking up a pizza, since I make pizza every. single. week. ! This pizza I didn’t actually eat, I delivered it to a friend, but I hope she liked her Very Veggie Pizza with artichokes, mushrooms, and pesto with feta and mozzarella on a spinach crust.
Thanks for hosting!
Colleen @ What's Baking in the Barbershop?! says
It’s like a transportable banana split! Love ’em!
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
Thanks for linking up to my cookies and these bars sound so good! The fact that it was In The Box means a ton. I love that she has one and is a treasure trove of great gems! How wonderful. Pinned!
Rosa says
Interesting bars! I bet they taste wonderful.
Cheers,
Rosa