Peanut Butter Banana Bread Bars

So this is interesting.

I’m very into peanut butter, as you know.

Taking this into account, along with my unabashed adoration for Elvis’s favorite flavor combo, you have to understand that giving me an afternoon to work on a peanut butter banana related anything is inherently a very dangerous idea.

So here’s what I came up with.

I got the old band back together in terms of recipe referencing. I wanted to make an homage to my oldie but goodie banana bread, which I love dearly but do not make anymore because it’s a bit too high carb for my current diet.

I’ve been really into bar cookies since I made my carmelitas, but I’m also (not at all subtly) obsessed with the texture of fudge, so I wanted to incorporate all of this into the final recipe. Whatever that ends up being.

Easy enough?

So I had some options. I could have taken the fudge route yet again, but I ultimately decided, with great maturity might I add, to cut down on the sheer number of hours I spend making fudge. Which is saying something, because a batch of that fudge is ready in ten minutes max.

Spare me and don’t do the math.

So bar cookies it was! I wanted to keep the texture of fudge, but make it into a bar cookie instead.

See, these are fudge bars. They’re baked, so it’s different.

I’m really branching out here. Be proud of me.

Now that I was on the path to my peanut butter banana bar masterpiece, it was time to make some creative decisions. Peanut butter fiend as I am, my first revelation is that using boring old flour would be a waste of space/calorie/carbs.

What if I just replaced the flour with powdered peanut butter? Maybe a little ridiculous sounding, but it makes more sense than it seems.

Powdered peanut butter basically serves the same purpose as flour here, except it’s packed with protein and, of course, peanut buttery goodness. Which is obviously the priority.

Also it gives the bars a much richer texture and peanut butter flavor, all while drastically cutting the carbs and increasing the protein.

Sounds like a win to me!

The other good news is that these bars are an absolute cinch to make. The batter comes together in about three minutes and only requires one bowl.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350 then let cool. For as long as your patience lets you, anyway. (Which isn’t very long in my case.)

If you don’t like cooking with powdered peanut butter or protein powder, fret not! Allow me to direct you to my grain free cookie formula.

These two recipes actually aren’t that different, but the cookies use regular nut butter instead of powdered and almond meal instead of protein powder. Just use peanut butter as your nut butter and mashed banana as your binder (there are more directions in the post) and your final product will have a very similar flavor profile to this recipe!

I haven’t tried making those cookies into bars, so you’re welcome to either leave them as cookies or try baking them in a 9×13 inch pan.

If you give this a try, please let me know how it goes!

Nutritional Breakdown

Calories

3 cups dry powdered peanut butter (1080) + 1 cup almond milk (30) + 2/3 cup vanilla protein powder (200) + 2/3 cup erythritol (0) + 2 bananas (200) + 2 egg whites (50) + 1/3 cup coconut flour (107) / 32 = 51 calories per bar

Net Carbs

3 cups dry powdered peanut butter (72g) + 1 cup almond milk (1g) + 2/3 cup vanilla protein powder (6g) + 2/3 cup erythritol (0g) + 2 bananas (48g) + 2 egg whites (0g) + 1/3 cup coconut flour (8g) / 32 = 4g net carbs per bar

Protein

3 cups dry powdered peanut butter (120g) + 1 cup almond milk (1g) + 2/3 cup vanilla protein powder (44g) + 2/3 cup erythritol (0g) + 2 bananas (2g) + 2 egg whites (12g) + 1/3 cup coconut flour (5g) / 32 = 6g protein per bar

Flourless Peanut Butter Banana Bread Bars

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Author: Kelly Morrison

Yield: 32 bars

Ingredients

• 3 cups dry powdered peanut butter* (Peanut flour should also work fine)
• ⅔ cup vanilla protein powder*
• ⅓ cup coconut flour
• ⅔ cup erythritol or sugar
• 2 egg whites**
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 bananas, mashed
• about 1 cup almond milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper or grease well and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the powdered peanut butter, protein powder, coconut flour, and erythritol. Add in the egg whites or egg replacer, vanilla extract, and mashed banana, and stir until completely combined. Because protein powders vary so much in texture and ability to hold liquid, add in the almond milk a few tablespoons at a time until a thick cake batter texture is achieved, then stop adding almond milk.
3. Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake in the oven at 350°F for about 20 minutes, or until a a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for an hour before slicing. Stored in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator, these bars should last at least a week. Devour.

Notes

*If you don't like cooking with powdered peanut butter or protein powder, fret not! Allow me to direct you to my grain free cookie formula.These two recipes actually aren't that different, but the cookies use regular nut butter and almond meal instead of protein powder like in this recipe. Just use peanut butter as your nut butter and mashed banana as your binder (there are more directions in the post) and your final product will have a very similar flavor profile to this recipe! I haven't tried making those cookies into bars, so you're welcome to either leave them as cookies or try baking them in a 9x13 inch pan.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 bar Calories: 51 Net Carbs: 4 grams Protein: 6 grams

3.5.3208

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