Chocolate Frozen Banana Pops

Or I like to affectionately call them "Hello Summer - I miss you - Please come back - Chocolate Frozen Banana Pops" ;)   I don't know about you but these frigid days lately have been a little too much.  And today it's 60 degrees?  Saturday, yep, it's gonna be 30.  Weird.

Alas.  Make these SUPER easy fun treats.  And pretend.  Just pretend.  You may have to crank up the heat in the house, but pretend you're on a tropical paradise!  DH and I were looking for some sweet, easy on the wallet and waistline, dessert options.  These fit the bill!  Yum.

Chocolate Frozen Banana Pops - I know I saw this recipe online but can't find the original source for the life of me.  So if this is yours, please let me know! OOps!

3 ripe bananas, cut into thirds
9 popsicle sticks or other "handles"
2 oz dark chocolate (I used Ghirardelli 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate)
Handful of chopped nuts, pistachios, coconut, sprinkles, or other toppings of your choosing (I used honey roasted peanuts)

1) Two hours in advance:  Prepare bananas.  Take 3 ripe bananas, cut into thirds, insert popsicle sticks and place in the freezer for two hours (or overnight if you forget they're in there ;)).

2) Chop the nuts or prepare your other topping (I found that a little finer chop would be better because these pieces ended up being a little big).

 3) Finely shred the chocolate.  I used a knife to cut it into small pieces.  It worked great!  Put it in a microwave safe bowl.

4) Microwave on high in 1 minute increments, stopping to stir every 15 seconds.  Mine ended up taking 1 minute and 45 seconds to fully melt. 

5) Dip the frozen bananas into the melted chocolate.  Next time I'll make more chocolate because it would be DELICIOUS if the whole banana was dipped.  But these are healthier! ;)  Hold banana upside down over the chocolate and quickly let some of the excess drip off.  You have to work quickly because once the excess chocolate is off it hardens quickly on the frozen banana and your toppings won't adhere.  I did this on a few!  Sprinkle the toppings on the chocolate.  Put the finished bananas back in the freezer for 2 hours to make sure everything is set.

6) Once they've been refrozen, wrap each banana in wax or parchment paper and store in a gallon freezer safe bag.

Or you can just sneak one and enjoy for an afternoon snack! Yippee!

The Verdict

Yes!!  I am keeping this recipe.  We always have leftover bananas and we're always looking for a little sweet something after dinner.  These chocolate frozen banana pops fit the bill nicely.  Yes!