In 1996, Nabisco built up its growing line of SnackWell’s

baked products with the introduction of low-fat snack bars

in several varieties, including fudge brownie, golden cake,

apple raisin, and the chewy banana variety cloned here. The

secret ingredients that help us keep the fat grams under 2

grams per serving is banana puree to help keep the cake moist

while adding real banana flavor, egg whites rather than whole

eggs, some molasses and just a little bit of shortening. Whip

it all up, pour it into a pan and bake. Soon you’ll have 21 tasty

little low-fat snack bars to get you through the week.

2 egg whites

1 cup plus 5 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons molasses

1 1/2 cups banana puree*

3 tablespoons shortening

1/4 cup whole milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla butter nut extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. In a large bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric mixer

until they become thick. Do not use a plastic bowl for this.

3. Add the sugar to the egg whites and continue to beat until

the mixture forms soft peaks.

4. Add the brown sugar, molasses, banana puree, shortening, milk

and vanilla butter nut flavoring to the mixture, beating after

each addition.

5. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.

6. While beating the wet mixture, slowly add the bowl of dry

ingredients.

7. Lightly grease a 9×14-inch pan with a light coating of non-stick

cooking spray. Be sure to coat the sides as well as the bottom of

the pan. Dump about 3 tablespoons of sugar into the pan, then tilt

and shake the pan so that a light layer of sugar coats the entire

bottom of the pan, and about halfway up the sides. Pour out the

excess sugar.

8. Pour the batter into the pan, and spread it evenly around the

inside of the pan. Sprinkle a light coating of sugar — about two

tablespoons — over the entire top surface of the batter. Gently

shake the pan from side-to-side to evenly distribute the sugar over

the batter. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until the cake begins to pull

away from the sides of the pan.

9. Remove the cake from the oven and turn it out onto a cooling rack.

When cake has cooled, place it onto a sheet of wax paper on a cutting

board and slice across the cake 6 times, creating 7 even slices.

Next cut the cake lengthwise twice, into thirds, creating a total

of 21 snack bars. When the bars have completely cooled, store them

in a resealable plastic bag or an airtight container.

*Puree whole bananas (approximately 3) in a food processor or blender

until smooth and creamy.

Nutrition Facts

Serving size – 1 bar

Servings – 21

Total fat (per serving) – 1.8g

Calories (per serving) – 118