My youngest son Cole goes bananas over the Trader Joe’s Gone Banana bites. Who am I kidding? So do his mom and I. They always sounded like such a “kid” treat to me, so I never gave them much thought after buying them and sticking them in the freezer. And then I tried one. Then two. Then three. Then, an entire box. They are crazy good. Obviously, by the looks of them, they seem very easy to make, so I decided to make them myself, taken up a notch of course.
As I rummaged through the pantry, I realized that this could get messy. A fun messy though. Making these gives me an open canvas where I could go 101 ways with them. How cool is that?! So I grabbed some Ghirardelli dark chocolate, peanut butter, Nutella, caramel, marshmallows, coconut and Rice Krispies and went to work. And I came up with three delicious snackables that kids love and are parent approved – peanut butter and marshmallow, coconut and caramel, and Nutella and Rice Krispies.
All of that work and within minutes of taking them out of the freezer, poof, they were gone. Cole woofed them down as if he hadn’t eaten in days. I threw several down myself and justified it by telling myself that there is fruit in them, so why not? And the pregnant momma here? Well, let’s just say, she requested another batch. Done. Easy enough. Now I just have to convince my other boy, Blake how good these are. He is definitely the pickiest in the family. Outside of that, there’s nothing better than making the family happy and feeling like a hero for a few minutes. And besides, it saves me from another trip to Trader Joe’s for a while.
The next time I make these, if there are any left over, they are getting tossed into the BlendTec for a Summer smoothie of some kind. I think we would all go bananas over one of those.
Banana Bites
By Published: May 12, 2014
- Yield: 6-8 Servings
My youngest son Cole goes bananas over the Trader Joe's Gone Banana bites. Who am I kidding? So do his mom and I. They always sounded …
Ingredients
- 11 oz. Ghiradelli Chocolate, 65% cacao
- 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- 3 medium bananas, sliced
- 3 tablespoons peanut butter
- 6 large marshmallows
- 3 tablespoons Nutella
- 6 tablespoons Rice Krispies
- 3 tablespoons caramel
- 4 tablespoons sweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Reserve one banana for each flavor. Slice each banana to 1/4 inch thickness. Place peanut butter, Nutella and caramel in separate plastic baggies and snip off one corner; set aside. Place chocolate and shortening in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until melted; set aside.
- To make Peanut Butter & Marshmallow: Pipe peanut butter onto slices of banana. Cut large marshmallow in half and place on top. Dip in chocolate and place on parchment lined bake sheet. Transfer to freezer for approximately 5 minutes or until chocolate sets.
- To make Nutella Crunch Banana Bites: Pipe Nutella onto slices of banana. Dip in Rice Krispies and then place second slice of banana on top. Dip in chocolate and place on parchment lined bake sheet. Transfer to freezer for approximately 5 minutes or until chocolate sets.
- To make Coocnut & Caramel Banana Bites: Pipe caramel onto slices of banana and then place a second slice on top. Dip in chocolate and cover exterior with coconut. Place on parchment lined bake sheet. Transfer to freezer for approximately 5 minutes or until chocolate sets.
