by: Donna Monday

Your family and friends will absolutely do flips over these Banana Split Brownies. Just like the ice cream version, these delights blend the flavors of chocolate, banana, and strawberries to perfection. In fact, these brownies are so good, you can probably use them to bribe folks into just about anything. "If you do this, I'll make you some Banana Spit Brownies." Yeah, these are as good as gold.

Brownies

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

1 cup mashed ripe banana (3 medium)

2 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. tub cream cheese with strawberries

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

½ cup frozen strawberries, thawed, drained, and cut up

2 ½ to 3 cups powdered sugar

Garnish (optional)

Sliced bananas

Maraschino cherries

Directions for Brownies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in banana and eggs. Beat or stir in flour and cocoa powder.

Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake about 20 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack. Spread with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting.

Cut into bars. Garnish with banana slices and maraschino cherries. Cover and store in refrigerator.

Directions for Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

In mixing bowl, combine ½ of 8-oz tub cream cheese with strawberries, and 1 cup sifted powdered sugar. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Beat in ½ cup frozen strawberries. Beat in 2 ½ to 3 cups powdered sugar or enough to make frosting of spreading consistency (frosting will stiffen with chilling).