Is this the definitive blondie recipe? Chocolate banana blondies

Annalena has sort of a hate/hate relationship with brownies.  First, she does not like them. That , in and of itself, would not normally stop her from making them; however, every cook has his or her Achilles' heel in the kitchen (Annalena has several), and brownies are one of them.  Let us put it this way ragazzi: she is sure that, if she makes brownies which have a total ingredient content of 4 pounds, her brownies weigh 12.  Yes, it is that simple.  She has played with more formulas, more different types of chocolate, more different leavens than you can shake a stick at.  The result is always the same.  So, Annalena does not make brownies.

Now, blondies are a different story. First, Annalena loves them, especially the classic butterscotch blondie with nuts.  And she makes them well. She finds them a joy to make.  In fact, it is one of the few sweets which Annalena will eat too much of if they are around (cheese, butter, bread, wine, those are different stories.  But sweets?  Normally Annalena leaves them be).

And let us face it:  everyone LOVES brownies and blondies, or one of the two.  And Annalena is always aiming to please. So, when she saw a recipe that not only was on blondies, but also gave her an excuse to use up the three black, shriveled bananas that were in her fridge, she took the chance.

She took liberties, borne out of necessity and judgement, and feels that she may now have the definitive version of the blondie. So, ragazzi, try these and let her know.

First, you make a cookie crust. And to do this, you buy cookies.  Yes, bambini, you BUY cookies. Something not too sweet, and chocolate.  Annalena wonders if you know how difficult it is to find CHOCOLATE  cookies. Not chocolate chip cookies - they are everywhere.  But CHOCOLATE cookies, like the chocolate version of nilla vanilla wafers, are ridiculously difficult to get.  Annalena wound up with some kosher chocolate tea biscuits which were not too sweet.  They were perfect.  She also thinks that this recipe would work with different types of cookies, but suggests you put some cocoa powder in with the cookies, when you go through the next step.

You need a pound of crispy cookies. Break them up into small pieces, and put them in a food processor with a melted stick of unsalted butter, a quarter cup of brown sugar (Annalena used dark), and a pinch of salt.  You will wind up with "sand."  Press this into a very well greased, 9x13 inch pan (you can use metal), and bake this for about 8 minutes.

Let's make the filling.  Put about three bananas that are VERY ripe into that food processor bowl, and puree them.  Then add 2 large eggs, and mix this together.  Now, we get to the sugar.  Annalena's original recipe called for a pound of dark brown sugar - 2.5 cups.  Brown sugar is a lovely thing, but it can be monotonous.  And, Annalena did not have enough. So she mixed brown sugar with cinnamon sugar, to get 2.5 cups (and here's a side recipe for making cinnamon sugar: take a cup of sugar, stir in a teaspoon of good quality cinnamon, and you have cinnamon sugar).    Put this in with the eggs and bananas and whirl it together. Now, add a stick and a half of soft, unsalted butter (and apologies for leaving this out the first time, ragazzi)

Next, we add some flavoring.  If you are making these for adults, or for children who need to be kept quiet, add a quarter cup of dark rum.  If, on the other hand, the alcohol is not what you want, or your children will behave, just add a good PLUNK of vanilla extract.  Annalena suggests a teaspoon and a half.

You have  your liquid ingredients now.   And  you add a cup of flour, and a pinch of salt, and pulse.  You pulse rather than mix, because the flour will get gummy if you work it too hard.

This  is your batter.  by now,  your crust will be ready.  Take it out of the oven and, while hot,  pour this stuff over it.  If you like, sprinkle nuts over the top, and DEFINITELY  sprinkle about a teaspoon of salt over the whole thing.  Bake it for about 45 minutes, or until it's nice and firm.

Ragazzi, this is an EXPLOSION  of flavors. You get waves of chocolate, banana, rum, salt and vanilla, over and over and over again when you eat them.    You will not wonder why Annalena had to go and put them in a place that was hard to get to.

Ostensibly, this makes 24.  If you want big pieces for a dessert, of course it will make less. And if you're in the "smaller is better" camp to cut back calories, cut them smaller. Annalena made 30.

DO try this.  All the caps in the recipe are because it is so darn good.    It's worth buying yucky bananas, or having them around long enough to get yucky.  You will love it. Promesso