The last Friday of summer…but I have abandoned summer a few weeks ago. Traded my whites and roses for an occasional glass of red. Planned more park dates than pool dates. Broke out my slow cooker for stews instead of tacos. In no way am I rushing summer. This summer with the girls has been the best on record. But I need to remind myself how much I love the fall so that I am not sad when G heads to 4K next week. 

That being said I feel like this weekend with its warm temperatures will be our last hurrah for the summer. I am pulling out all of the stops: homemade salsa, pool days, golfing, rose wines, watermelon, corn on the cob, s’mores, and grilling. And of course, all these frozen treats that we made on a recent rainy day. 

In celebration of summer, I want to share with you some of our favorite (and EASY) frozen treats. Throw these together today and enjoy them all weekend.

 

 

Frozen Banana-cicles: One of my biggest regrets from my second cookbook was not including frozen banana treats. My editor approached me to include a frozen banana ice cream, but I naively scoffed at the idea saying “Frozen bananas are good, but they are NOT ice cream.” I was not entirely wrong, however, my girls are just as excited, if not more, when offered frozen bananas than if I offered ice cream. If I could do it all again, I would have a whole chapter devoted to frozen fruit treats starring the banana.

Frozen Banana-cicles
Not quite ice cream, but just as refreshing and a great way to use overripe bananas.

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Ingredients
Overripe bananas
Popsicles sticks

Toppings
Plain Greek Yogurt swirled with jam
Chocolate Chips melted with coconut oil or canola oil
Chopped nuts
Sprinkles
Mini Chocolate chips
Granola

Instructions
Peel bananas, break them into thirds, and stick them on popsicles sticks.
Place on a cookie sheet or plate covered in parchment paper or wax paper. Freeze for 6 hours or overnight. You can stop right here and have delicious frozen treats especially for kiddos who are teething. Or….
If you want to dip them, dip in greek yogurt and roll in chopped nuts, granola, sprinkles, or mini chocolate chips. Or….
Melt chocolate chips with a dollop or splash of coconut oil or canola oil. I start with 30 seconds, stir, and then do 10-15 seconds, stir, and repeat until chocolate is smooth.
Dip in chocolate and then roll in sprinkles or nuts.
Place dipped bananas back on the parchment paper and freeze 6 hours or overnight and place in freezer bags.

Notes
I add the oil to the chocolate chips to make it more forgiving. When you start reading about melting chocolate, it can get really complicated. In my days of making cake pops, I discovered add fat to the chocolate chips made it easier and less likely to break. I love using coconut oil to give it that rich coconutty tropical taste.
It’s tough to find popsicle sticks. I check out the craft aisles and use craft sticks that are a little smaller than popsicle sticks but work just fine.

Badger Girl Learns to Cook by Kimberly Aime https://learntocookbadgergirl.com/

 

Freezer S’mores: I generally have leftover melted chocolate after making banana-cicles which led me to raid the pantry for something, anything I could cover in chocolate. And since we always have S’mores ingredients, I found this to be a cool way to get that campfire treat.

Freezer S’mores
A cooler way to get this summer campfire favorite.

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Ingredients
Large marshmallows cut in half
Graham cracker squares
Melted chocolate
Chopped nuts or sprinkles, optional

Instructions
Cover a cookie sheet or plate with wax or parchment paper.
Dip half of the graham cracker square in melted chocolate.
Place a half marshmallow on the melted chocolate. Sprinkle with sprinkles or chopped nuts.
Freeze for 6 hours or overnight.

Notes
I melt chocolate by placing chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and adding a dollop of coconut oil or a splash of canola oil. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, stir, then microwave for 10-15 seconds, stir, and repeat til smooth.
I love adding chopped nuts to these because it gives them a little taste of salt. I usually buy the chopped nuts that are displayed with the ice cream sundae fixings.

Badger Girl Learns to Cook by Kimberly Aime https://learntocookbadgergirl.com/

 

Happy summer everyone! I hope you enjoy it through this weekend. And I would love to hear some of your favorite summer treats. 

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