This Banana Shortbread recipe is super easy to make. It has a brown butter shortbread base, and the dough is made with roasted banana. It is finished with a simple brown butter icing glaze
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Easy Banana Shortbread Recipe
Our holiday has nearly finished! Tomorrow we fly back to New York. I'm a little bummed its over, but I can't wait to get back! I've missed making food, and I have so many exciting collabs coming up that I can't wait to share!
This is a recipe that I came up with a couple of months ago. It took a whole load of tweaking until I was finally happy with it, but I can happily say that it tastes awesome (well, I think so anyway!).
Brown Butter would have to be one of my favourite things. I love how applicable it is to so many dishes, and how it adds an extra level of complexity to the flavour profile. I add it to almost everything I can, and this was no exception. The nuttiness in the brown butter pairs beautifully with the caramelised banana, and the whole thing is topped off with a brown butter based glaze.
How to make Banana Shortbread
I adapted my Great Grandmothers shortbread recipe to accommodate the banana and brown butter. It still loosely follows the 3:2:1 butter:sugar:flour ratio of traditional shortbread, but because of the banana it is slightly softer and less dry. Ideally it should be left in the oven to dry out for an hour or two to help it go a little more crunchy.
I like to use an oblong tart tin with a removable bottom that is approx 13 ¾" 4 ¼". This makes removing the shortbread before you glaze it really easy. If you don't have one of these, you can use a cake tin, just make sure that you line it well so that you are able to use the paper to remove the shortbread from the tin.
Feel free to decorate this any way you please! My absolute favourite way is with dried edible flowers, but it would look great plain, or with some simple sprinkles or dusted with icing sugar. Go nuts! (Or Bananas. Really I mean, go bananas)
For more related recipes, check out:
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A note on salt and oven temperature
It is important to note the type of salt that is called for in a recipe. I use Diamond Crystal salt throughout my recipes - if you use a different sort of kosher salt or regular table salt you will need to adjust accordingly as some salt is 'saltier' than others. Morton's salt is twice as salty, so you will need half the quantity. Same goes for a regular table salt. I am working to get gram measurements throughout my recipes for salt but still getting there.
All oven temperatures are conventional unless otherwise stated. If you are baking on fan / convection, you will need to adjust the temperature. An oven thermometer is a great investment to ensure that your oven is the correct temperature.
Using the double / triple function in the recipe card
You will notice that there is a '1X' '2X' '3X' button in my recipe card. This can be used for doubling or tripling a recipe. However, please note that this only doubles the ingredient quantities in the ingredients list and NOT in the method. If there are quantities or pan sizes in the method of the recipe (for example weigh out 150g brown butter), you will need to scale this number manually. It will also not change the baking time in the recipe so you will need to adjust this yourself too. It is always a good idea to read through a recipe fully before doubling it just to check this. If you would like to scale this recipe or convert for another pan size, use my calculator!
Tools and equipment
For a list of my go-to tools and equipment, I have a post you can refer to here.
Why is this recipe in grams?
I post my recipes in grams as it is the most accurate way to bake. Cups are not only inaccurate but they vary in volume worldwide. There is no way for me to provide one cup measure that works for everyone. However, posting in weight fixes this issue. If you would like the recipe in cups you are welcome to convert it yourself via google, but please do not ask me to do it for you as I am not comfortable providing a recipe using a method that I have not tested. Baking with a scale is easy, accurate, and also makes cleanup super simple. Here is the scale that I use if you would like a recommendation! Here's to accurate baking!
Recipe For Banana Shortbread
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Roast banana brown butter shortbread
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Shortbread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: New Zealand
Description
This Banana Shortbread recipe is super easy to make. It has a brown butter shortbread base, and the dough is made with roasted banana. It is finished with a simple brown butter icing glaze
Ingredients
Shortbread
- 130g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 135g light or dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large bananas
- ½ tsp salt
- 235g all-purpose flour
- 15g corn starch
Glaze
- 55g unsalted butter
- 125g powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla (preferably paste, otherwise extract is fine)
- approc 30g whole milk
Instructions
SHORTBREAD
- Preheat oven to 375f/190c. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Halve the bananas lengthways, and place onto the lined tray. Divide the 1 Tbsp of butter between the bananas, and sprinkle with the 2 Tbsp brown sugar. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the skins are black. Remove from oven, and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350f/180c.
- While the bananas are roasting, in a small saucepan, melt the remaining stick of butter on medium heat. Cook for approximately 5 minutes, or until it turns a golden brown. Keep a close eye on the butter, as it can turn quite quickly from deliciously brown, to slightly burnt. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Scoop the flesh from the bananas into a medium bowl. Mash well with a fork, until fairly smooth. Add brown sugar and mix well. Add brown butter, vanilla extract and salt, and mix again to combine. Sift in flour and cornflour, and mix until incorporated. The mixture will look much wetter than standard shortbread dough.
- Grease a 13" x 4" oblong tart tin with a removable bottom, or alternatively line an 8"x8" cake tin with baking paper, leaving some overhang over the edges to allow easy removal. Spread the mixture into the prepared tin. Wet the back of a spoon if necessary to help you smooth down the mixture.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly golden brown around the edges. Turn off the oven, and prop the door open with a wooden spoon. Leave the shortbread in the oven for 30 minutes to an hour. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
BROWN BUTTER GLAZE
- Brown butter using the above method. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, and add sifted icing sugar and vanilla. Mix well until smooth, adding milk as necessary until a spreadable consistency has been reached. Spread over the cooled shortbread, and decorate as desired. Allow the glaze to set (putting it in the fridge speeds this up) before slicing into equal sized pieces. Keeps best in an airtight container, in the fridge.
Keywords: shortbread, banana shortbread, brown butter shortbread, banana, roast banana
Comments
oh my, oh my this sounds decadent to me, I love any baked good with banana's, I'm anxious to make your recipe and I know if I don't share I'd eat the whole thing myself! thank you for sharing
I promise you, its really, really good! Please let me know how it goes when you do make it! xx
Do you have a gram count for the bananas?
Hi! Wowwww welcome to the VERY OLD part of my blog hahaha before I gave up providing cup measures and only made things by weight! This recipe is from 2016 (it's one of the very first recipes I posted online!) so I don't, I'm so sorry! To be totally honest I'm not even sure how good it is! hahaha. I need to make it again to try!
Hi Erin! I just made this before I saw this comment saying it was a super old recipe and yeah, I've triple checked I got the ingredients right but mine came out super gluggy (can't think of the word) actually a bit more cakey than shortbready (checked i didn't use SR flour on accident) still totally edible and the flavors are great especially the glaze but I wonder if something isn't quite right 😅😅
Hi! Welcome to one of the oldest recipes on my whole site! haha. Because of the banana it's not super crisp like a shortbread and a bit more cakey but the recipe was from 5 years ago so I can't remember super clearly sorry!
Hi Erin!
I just made these (I didn't realize that this recipe was such an early one for you). Like Sally said, they're a bit less shortbready -- more like a bar. Regardless of what we're calling them, the flavor is terrific and the glaze is delicious. These are a nice break from banana bread.
Cheers,
Dan