Description
Soft, chewy banana blondies baked on a crunchy vanilla-wafer base. Imagine banana pudding turned into a handheld bar — with pockets of melty white chocolate. Ready? Let’s bake.
Ingredients
Scale
- 16 oz vanilla wafers (about 1½ standard boxes)
- 2 cups unsalted butter, melted and divided
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- 2 (3.4 oz) boxes instant banana pudding mix
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan (or line with parchment).
- Place the vanilla wafers into a large resealable plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin until mostly fine. Reserve 1 cup of the crushed wafers for the batter; set aside.
- Put the rest of the crushed wafers into a mixing bowl. Add ¾ cup of the melted butter (measure before melting if you prefer accuracy) and stir until the crumbs hold together when pressed.
- Press this mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan to form the crust. Bake the crust for 5 minutes to set and toast slightly. Remove from oven and keep oven on.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar, and the dry banana pudding mixes until well combined.
- Stir in the remaining melted butter, then add the eggs and vanilla. Mix just until everything comes together — don’t overwork it.
- Fold in the white chocolate chips and the reserved 1 cup of crushed vanilla wafers.
- Spread the blondie batter over the warm crust in an even layer. Smooth the top with a spatula.
- Bake for 15–20 minutes, or until the edges turn golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Let the bars cool fully in the pan (they firm up as they cool), then lift out with the parchment and cut into squares.
Notes
- Ingredient notes & shopping tips
- Unsalted butter lets you control salt level; if you only have salted butter, omit or reduce added salt.
- Baking soda loses power over time — replace every 6–12 months for reliable rise.
- Measure flour by spooning into the cup and leveling with a knife — don’t pack the cup. Too much flour = dry, crumbly bars. Big tip: this matters.
- Use instant (ready-to-eat) pudding mix, not the cook-and-serve type. It affects texture and moisture.
- Pro tips
- Room-temperature eggs and butter blend more smoothly.
- Don’t overmix once the flour goes in — overworking creates dense, tough blondies.
- Avoid overbaking. Pull them when the center still has a few moist crumbs; they finish setting while cooling.
- Cool completely before slicing for neat squares. Want tidy slices? Chill 20–30 minutes after cooling.
- Variations & swaps
- Swap in chopped pecans or walnuts for extra texture.
- Stir in banana chips or banana-flavored chips for an amplified banana punch.
- For a quick twist, stir a box of yellow cake mix into the batter for Cake Mix Banana Blondies.
- To make Banana Pudding Cheesecake Blondies, swirl in a simple cheesecake mixture before baking.
- Storage
- Store airtight at room temperature up to 2 days, or refrigerate up to 5 days.
- Freeze individual squares wrapped tightly for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge or at room temp.
Nutrition
- Calories: 615kcal
- Sugar: 38g
- Sodium: 579mg
- Fat: 36g
- Carbohydrates: 68g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 6g
- Cholesterol: 97mg