Banana Bars with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

I love banana bread. But what could be better than a warm, freshly made loaf of banana bread? Behold, I give you frosted banana bars. Moist, tender banana bars topped with thick, cream cheese frosting. Wow, these were so good. I had never had banana bars until a few weeks ago after a friend brought some over. I searched the internet for a recipe and realized there are variations of these beauties everywhere. Now that I've had these yummy treats, I admit I will be hard-pressed to use those icky, brown bananas for anything other than these bars. Delicious! By the way, my mom gave me this cream cheese frosting recipe a long time ago and I had yet to use it until now. I've never swapped out the butter in cream cheese frosting with whipped cream, but oh my, it was heavenly (remember I said heavenly not healthy). Just like the banana bars, I don't think I'll ever make cream cheese frosting another way!

Frosted Banana Bars
from allrecipes.com

½ cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (I used three ripe bananas)
Frosting (use store-bought cream cheese frosting or make your own from the version below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10 x 15 inch jellyroll pan or one 9X13 pan and an additional 8X8 pan. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; stir into the batter. Finally, mix in the mashed banana. Spread evenly into the prepared pan(s). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting.

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 cup white sugar (you can use either granulated sugar or confectioners' sugar - the confectioners' sugar tends to dissolve better and not be as grainy but either one works fine)
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Set aside. In another medium bowl, beat whipped cream until stiff peaks form (it helps to use a chilled bowl and chilled beaters). Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture. Frost to your heart's delight!