I’m going to be honest with you. I’m not the best with kids. Call it the plight of the only child. I made earrings to hock to unsuspecting adults and waitressed instead of babysitting for cash. So when I first started teaching my littlest client, the 10-year-old Izzy, I was a little bit at a loss for what girls do at age 10, and what that translated to in terms of what she could do with a knife.
We started off mainly baking together. But then her parents took issue with the amount of sugar and butter we were cranking out each session. So I tried to transition to easier meals and the occasional sweet treat. On our third day together, we made these frozen chocolate covered bananas. Izzy is a big fan of anything chocolate-y and peanut buttery. So I combined the two to make sure her enthusiasm level was at an all-time high.
Later on, I lead a group of her friends in a cooking class for her birthday. It reaffirmed my belief that chocolate-covered anything is the ideal activity for 11-year-old girls to maximize their excitement levels. I also learned that at some point a sugar high can become a dangerous dangerous thing when the little ladies began giving each other chocolate facials and there were more sprinkles on the floor than on the pretzels they were dipping. You win some, you lose some.
Anyway, I realize after my phobia confessions, that I’ve been giving fruit a lot of air time on this site. I’ve got a great gluten-free blueberry pancake recipe coming your way later this week. Since school is officially out, I wanted to focus on some easy kid-friendly recipes that you can make activity-worthy during the summer months. Just make sure you buy extra counter spray for all the chocolate fingerprints to come.
Happy cooking!
xo
Phoebe
Chocolate-Covered Frozen Banana Pops with Peanuts
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas peeled
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup salted peanuts
- Popsicle sticks
Instructions
- Cut each of the bananas into three equal pieces. Gently slide the popsicle sticks through the center. Place the bananas on a parchment-lined sheet pan and stick them in the freezer until very cold, about 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, Pulse the peanuts in the food processor until finely chopped. Alternatively, you can chop by hand. Place them in a shallow dish.
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second intervals. Add the peanut butter and stir to combine. Transfer the chocolate mixture to a tall glass.
- Remove the bananas from the freezer and one by one dip in the chocolate, allowing the mixture to move up the sides of the glass. Roll the top half of the banana in the peanuts and return the finished bananas to the parchment-lined sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining bananas and return to the freezer for 2 hours or overnight.
If you make this, tag @phoebelapine and #feedmephoebe - I'd love to see it!
I want to know where you got those wicked popsicle sticks!
They are just bamboo cocktail skewers. You can find them most places. I order mine off Amazon. Honestly, they aren’t the best for these pops. Too flimsy. But pretty for the camera!
I would like to know as well.