As someone who is dairy-free (most of the time), I am always on the lookout for dairy-free ice cream recipes. I always feel a little cheated when I see a recipe that is made up of pureed, frozen bananas. I love bananas. I mean, I love bananas like Manatee loves spinach. It’s a major effort to only eat 1 banana a day. But I still feel cheated when someone tries to tell me that eating frozen bananas is like eating ice cream. And this is why I developed so many real tasting dairy-free ice creams for my cookbook (which I will share in the next few weeks), but I digress. The focus here is how frozen bananas do not equal ice cream. Period.
Because of this, I have refused to try any frozen banana treats.
Now they have even started making frozen banana ice cream makers and I have to admit that curiosity finally got the best of me. Unwilling to put any time, effort, and energy into them without a sample, I bought these at the store, and gave them a try.
I have to say that I was surprised at how good these were. It’s not ice cream, but the frozen banana is sweet and creamy. I could see how in desperation you could will these little treats into being ice cream.
With a little peanut butter on the side, I found these to be a great treat that I didn’t feel too bad about eating.
I began to plot on how to make my own and I’m pretty happy with how they taste and I would love to hear your feedback on streamlining the process. You will notice the pictures diminish as we move into chocolate dipping phase. I think I had more chocolate on me than the bananas. Let’s start with pics and I will share the recipe at the end.
Slice 2 ripe bananas into slices.
Spread peanut butter on top of slices, creamy or chunky, or both.
I’m not going to lie, I’m partial to chunky peanut butter.
Break up a 4-ounce dark chocolate bar into squares. Look for chocolate that is at least 70% or greater cacao.
To melt the chocolate, I prefer using the microwave but you could also use a double boiler. Start at about 30 seconds, then heat it for 10-15 seconds, stirring between each time. Watch closely and melt until the chocolate is smooth.
Here is the tough part: use the spoon to dunk the banana slice into the chocolate and then using a combination of the spoon and your fingers, flip it over and make sure the slice is totally covered. Use the spoon to remove it from the chocolate and set it on the wax paper.
P.S. Using the fork was a complete and utter disaster.
You can set the chocolate-covered slices close together but they shouldn’t be touching.
Place the bites into the freezer for 4-6 hours until frozen. Remove from plate and transfer into a zipper lock bag or an airtight container.
Enjoy!
Recipe Review:
While I admit that these are not ice cream, they are decadent. Creamy banana paired with salty peanut butter encased with rich, dark chocolate.
Yes, I think these will definitely take care of my pregnancy cravings.
I would love to make these a little easier to make and reduce the amount of chocolate. Since the whole dipping bananas in chocolate is new to me, I would love to hear your ideas.
Have you ever made chocolate dipped bananas?
Do you have any ideas for a better way to encase these bananas bites into the ooey gooey chocolate?
This is not to say that i don’t think you should run to your kitchen and make these right now, because I do. Get off the computer, grab those bananas, and start slicing. You won’t be sorry. So you have a little chocolate on your fingers?
There are much worse things that could happen. Trust me.
These banana chocolate bites look delicious! Saw your blog over at Mangoes and Mojitos and thought I’d drop by…enjoyed what I’ve seen so far and sure plan to explore your posts further!
I plan to use pb2 to make these a bit lower in fat and calories. I’ll freeze them after applying the prepared pb2 and then dip in chocolate. I’ll let you know how they turn out!
I love frozen bananas — especially the ones with dark chocolate and almonds.
I must make these immediately.
Yum! These would be great with dark chocolate and chopped almonds. I think I will have to try that too!