Chocolate covered frozen Banana Bon-Bons with Pistachios

It will be your little secret that these hand dipped, chocolate covered frozen banana bon-bons with pistachios are full of potassium and antioxidants! The dark chocolate with a dribble of either butter, coconut, vegetable or canola oil creates a firm chocolate shell outside a creamy frozen banana bite. You almost can’t believe that it’s really just a banana and not ice cream or some yogurt concoction under the shell!

Many times I just want a smallish treat that doesn’t make me feel full or like I’ve over-indulged on the sweet-and-naughty side. Each of these banana bon-bons are about an inch long and the perfect small bite for any time of the day.

When you bite into each bon-bon and break through that egg shell like chocolate coating, the texture is like ice cream or frozen yogurt, you almost can’t believe it’s not…it’s just pure banana goodness. Rolled and covered with sea salted, roasted pistachios, you’ll enjoy a sweet-and-salty pairing.

Double or triple the recipe at a time for parties or get-togethers. At about an inch a bon-bon, one regular-sized market banana will yield about 5-6 pieces.

The best thing is that you can change this up and coat these healthy and decadent treats to whatever your heart desires:

• Granola
• Nuts, roughly chopped (honey roasted, pistachios, almonds, macadamias…)
• Sprinkles (although, I’m not a sprinkles gal)
• Crushed cookie crumbs or graham crackers
• Coconut
• …you’re limited only by your imagination…! 🙂

Serve ’em up on a cold platter or place each in a decorative or plain candy/cupcake paper liner. Use friendly bamboo skewers like these appetizer forks I picked up at Walmart for under $3 for 100. Stay clear of using toothpicks or dangerous long bamboo skewers if you can. The end is sharp and not all that friendly when pulling a frozen banana off a pointed wood end.

I’ve played with the method to these banana bon-bons a couple of ways and found that I liked to both freeze the bananas pieces before dipping them and working with the chocolate causes less frustration if you melt the chocolate over a non-reactive pan of simmering water rather than microwaving it to melt.

When working with the chocolate, you’ll need to work at a good pace because you don’t want to have to rewarm the chocolate to try to get it back to a dippable consistency…it won’t happen (meaning it doesn’t re-warm well).

I’ve tried it with chocolate chunks/chips and baking chocolate and I much prefer using the baking chocolate squares, roughly chopped up than the chips. Purely preference.

Allow freezing time in between processes if you’re planning on serving these to guests. They’re so quick and easy to do, but I’d suggest doing a trial run if you’re going to use these for entertaining just to make sure you’re comfortable with the pace at which to work with the chocolate and the method you prefer (microwaving versus melting over simmering water).

When initially pulling these bite-sized, chocolate covered frozen banana bon-bons from the freezer and about to serve, allow them to slightly thaw (to preference) as they can be a bit too hard for some eaters.

• Use ripe, but firm bananas.
• If using the appetizer forks mentioned, cut the banana pieces just to the top of the fork.
• After adding the fork/ice pop stick, etc. in each banana and placing in the freezer to set, the bananas will hold up in the freezer, uncovered, for several days (I had it in the freezer for 3 days uncovered and they still turned out fantastic with no crystallization, condensation or discoloration).
• Have your coatings/toppings all cut up and set out in a shallow dish, ready to use before working the chocolate.
• You can substitute butter, vegetable or canola oil for the coconut oil.

Also, these Chocolate covered frozen Banana Bon-Bons with Pistachios was featured on Well and Good, check it out!

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Chocolate covered frozen Banana Bon-Bons with Pistachios

Yield will vary

Ingredients

• 2-3 ripe bananas
• 8 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons raw, organic coconut oil
• 3/4 cup – 1 cup pistachios, roasted & shelled, roughly chopped

Method

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cut bananas to desired size and insert wooden skewer, appetizer fork or ice pop stick in the middle of each banana piece. Place pan in the freezer and freeze at least an hour.
3. Melt the chocolate and oil in a heat-proof dish over a pan that’s half-full of simmering water. Stir chocolate until smooth.
4. Roll each frozen banana piece in the chocolate, twirling to coat, and then roll into topping/coatings.
5. Place back on parchment paper and return pan to the freezer, for about 30 minutes to an hour+ until serving.

Allow to slightly thaw (to preference) before serving.

If not serving within the day, store in an airtight container for freezer bag for up to a week. © Images & content: Cristina A-Moore for TeenieCakes.com.

Teenie Notes

• Use ripe, but firm bananas.
• If using the appetizer forks mentioned, cut the banana pieces just to the top of the fork.
• After adding the fork/ice pop stick, etc. in each banana and placing in the freezer to set, the bananas will hold up in the freezer, uncovered, for several days (I had it in the freezer for 3 days uncovered and they still turned out fantastic with no crystallization, condensation or discoloration).
• Have your coatings/toppings all cut up and set out in a shallow dish, ready to use before working the chocolate.
• You can substitute butter, vegetable or canola oil for the coconut oil.

Cristina A-Moore | Teenie Cakes