On The Healthier Side… Kinda

Banana Chocolate Chip Blondies

I wanted to try a little something different this week than what I would typically call a “go to” for a relaxing night of baking. I was originally drawn to this recipe because it was healthy and low in calorie… I then took that recipe and made them delicious. That 87 calorie high energy “dessert” became a dense and fabulous banana chocolate chip blondie.

I’m all for healthy (I am getting married in a month!), but when it comes to my desserts/breakfast/baking/just about all meals, I try not to concentrate too much on the calorie count. My thought process: there’s bananas and oats in it, it’s TOTALLY healthy! Then you add the sugar, but in all honesty, this recipe has some great substitutes for the standard baking ingredients.

My fiance, Rob, is a huge fan of bananas so i wanted to incorporate some in my next recipe along with experimenting with some unique ingredients. These blondies come out thick, dense and full of flavor. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did! They are simple to make and definitely on my list to make again.

Blondies

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Total Time: 30 Minutes
Yields: 16 Bars

 What You’ll Need

• 2 Ripe Bananas
• 1 3/4 Cups of Oats (or ground up granola)
• 2 Tablespoons (30 grams) of Peanut Butter (I’m a Jiff creamy fan, Rob is a Skippy Crunchy fan – it’s a daily battle)
• 1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
• 2 Tablespoons (30 grams) of Honey
• 4 Tablespoons of Granulated Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1/2 Cup of Low Fat Vanilla Greek Yogurt
• 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• 1 Cup of semi sweet Chocolate Chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 390 degrees F and grease an 8 x 8 inch baking dish. Set aside.
2. Throw ALL ingredients, except for the chocolate chips (I told you this recipe is easy!) into a food processor and blend until smooth
3. Transfer to a medium bowl and fold in half of the chocolate chips into the batter
4. Pour into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the remainder of the chocolate chips over the top of the bars
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. These bars are VERY moist when they are taken out of the oven, but will set and firm a bit as they cool. Be careful not to over cook as they will dry out quickly.
   
6. Once cooled, cut into 16 bars. I cut into 9 and realized just how dense these bars really are! Learn from my mistake, cut into 16 bars!
   

I hope you all enjoy these as much as Rob and I did! They’re perfect for a casual Saturday afternoon with a cup of coffee and a good book!

Enjoy!
Kristin

Tags: bananas, blondies, Chocolate Chips, delicious, fiance, full of flavor, Girl on the Train, Greek Yogurt, healthy, Honey, Kristin's Cravings, Love to Bake, NYTimes, Simple Recipe