Category Archives: Dessert

Banana: The renaissance fruit.

Ok,ok.  I’ll play along.

This little trick has been everyyyywhherrree lately and I finally gave it a try.

I was suspicious at first.  It sounds gross and impossible.

Then…these little guys got me thinking it could work.

It’s chocolate soft serve!

It’s Fro’ Yo’!

Nope….it’s a banana.

(Moo.)

((My brother is the only one who will get that))

(((Hint for the rest of you: Rugrats.)))

That’s right! That glob of creamy chocolate deliciousness is just a banana!

Frozen and blended.

Is there NOTHING a banana can’t do!?

I’m glad I tried it.  I really enjoyed it.  It definitely has the texture of soft serve ice cream and it will be AWESOME this summer!

[[Warning: At least the way I made it, (with no sugar and just the slightest touch of chocolate)…you can tell it’s a banana.  I don’t want you to get too excited thinking it tastes EXACTLY like your favorite Dairy Queen concoction.  It definitely tasted like a banana.  As a banana lover, I kinda liked that.]]

BUT!

I bet if I added some sugar or more chocolate or some other add in…those flavors would overpower the banana flavor.

So…don’t write it off.  It’s completely worth a shot.

I scream, you scream we all scream for…bananas?

Ok, so we’ll have to write another song.

Enjoy!

❤ Ellen

Banana Soft Serve

Not really a recipe, more like an idea. If you have ever been on pinterest I promise you’ve seen this before.

1 banana (for one person)
About a tablespoon of the chocolate sauce from this recipe

1. Peel a banana and wrap it well. I would recommend using two Ziploc bags. Place in the freezer overnight or until completely frozen through

2.  Break into chunks and blend in a blender (or food processor) until it resembles the texture of soft serve ice cream.

3.  Add the chocolate (or peanut butter or cinnamon or whatever flavor you want!) and give it a pulse or two to combine.

If you want mix-ins like chocolate chips,  remove the soft serve from the blender and stir those in with a spoon.

Enjoy immediately or stick it back in the freezer for later!

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Banana Bites

Sometimes, I just want a bite for dessert.

Just one little perfect bite to complete a delicious meal.

So….I made bites!!

I have to warn you though…they’re frozen bites.

Listen, I know it’s really cold outside.  I know ice and snow cover the trees right now.  I know this because I will officially be cold all all all the time until May and I hate hate hate hate it.

(Word repetition for emphasis.  I really mean it).

I know better than most that it is a really bad time to eat frozen things that will just complete your transformation into ice cube by chilling from the inside.

But…this is a banana, peanut butter, chocolate situation.

It’s warmth for your heart.

Sometimes, we make exceptions.

This is a banana. Chunked.

This is a banana and peanut butter.

That’s quite the stylish hairdo you’ve got there, banana.

A peanut butter hat AND a chocolatey plunge into dreamy silky chocolate drippy deliciousness?

Some guys have all the luck.

aaaaand FREEZE!

Now go have a bite.

The banana gets so creamy it might as well be ice cream.  With crunchy peanut butter these remind me of those Snickers ice cream bars!

Enjoy!

❤ Ellen

Banana Bites

Recipe from pictures on pinterest.  I found a recipe AFTER I did this here and it’s pretty much exactly what I did.

A banana or two

Some peanut butter

Some chocolate chips (about 1/2 cup)

some milk (about 1/4 cup)

1. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper…that’s where you’ll put your drippy bites so it’s good to be prepared

2. Slice bananas into little medallions..how thick depends on how much banana you want in each bite.  Mine were about 1/2 inch to and inch

3. Spoon a bit of peanut butter on top of each banana slice.  Again..how much is entirely up to you.  Don’t go too crazy, though.  It should still fit within the area of a banana slice =)

4. Put the chocolate chips and milk in the container you’re going to use for dipping.  Deep-ish is good because you want to get the whole banana bit in there and completely covered.  Microwave in 10-15 second increments until the chips easily combine with the milk.  Mine was ready in 30 seconds

5.  One by one, place each banana/peanut butter slice on a fork (so that the excess chocolate can run off) and somehow cover it with the chocolate/milk mixture.  You can spoon chocolate over the banana, dip the fork in, or just drop the banana in there and fish it out with a fork.  Not gonna lie…that’s what I did.

6. Arrange on the wax-lined cookie sheet and freeze overnight or until they’re little frozen bites of heaven.  Remove from the sheet and store in the freezer in an airtight container.

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Cookie Countdown Day 6: Angela’s Chocolate Coconut Logs

Remember Angela’s Legendary Thumbprint Cookies a few days ago?

Angela did chocolate too.

Obviously, these were my favorites.

They take a little practice and they’re kind of involved, but if you have the time and the patience you will not be disappointed. Honestly, with that filling, they’re the kind of thing you kinda can’t mess up.

And it all begins with a bowl full of sugar and flour etc…as per usual.

Mix it all together and you get cookie dough!

Not the delicious kind, though.

Definitely not the eat with a spoon kind.

The dough is not the main feature here.  It’s pretty much just the thing the delicious sits on top of.  If you taste the dough at this point and think “gross and boring”….well….you’re right.

It’s ok, though, because we’re going to fill it with cocochoconut sugar and then pour some more sugar on top.

Basically, it has to be boring and bland to keep you from going into sugar shock.

Yeah…these are NOT diet food…happy holidays!

That glob would be a little crazy to work with all at once…

Now for the good part!! Filling time

Roll the dough (one section at a time) into a rectangle and spread a line of filling down the middle.  Make sure you get all the way to the edges! Those lame end pieces are the worst

Now fold it in….all sides…

Until you get little chocolate hot pocket things.  Don’t worry about making them cute or anything. They definitely won’t win any beauty competitions…but it doesn’t matter…they’re about to get smothered in icing

Bake-frost-cut (diagonally!)

This makes a lot…even a half batch…so you get to share and spread the holiday spirit!

And still have a bunch for yourself 😉

Enjoy!

❤ Ellen

Angela’s Chocolate Coconut Logs

Recipe from Angela’s magic and my experimentation

For the cookie:

3 cups flour (at least…you WILL need more)
2 ¼  teaspoons baking powder
1 cup brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
2tablespoons Crisco
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg

For the filling:

1  pkg chocolate chips  (12 oz)
1 can condensed milk
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup coconut

For the Frosting:

2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk

Oven: 350 degrees F

1. Sift flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt together

2. Add crisco, egg, vanilla and milk-mix thoroughly, adding flour little by little as you go until it stops being sticky and you have a dense ball of dough that you can easily roll and fold.  I usually end up adding about 1/4 to 1/2 cup more but it’s different every time

3. Separate into 6 balls of dough, cover and chill for at least half an hour to make it easier to work with.

4.  While the dough chills, mix the chocolate chips, condensed milk, chopped nuts (I chose walnuts) and coconut in a small bowl). Set aside

5. Working with one ball at a time, roll the dough into 4″ x 10″ rectangles.  (I recommend rolling them on wax paper…less sticking.  You’ll still need LOTS of flour) Spread roughly 1/6 of the filling down the center of your rectangle, making sure it reaches alll the way to either end.  You want to make sure that when you fold and cut the cookies, you don’t end up with a cookie without any filling

6. Carefully fold down the top, fold up the bottom, then seal each end to create a plump strip.  Transfer to a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes.  Let cool completely

7.  While they cool, combine your powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl.

8. Completely cover each strip with the frosting then cut into diagonal strips

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