The perfect summertime treat!

My family has an inside joke about frozen bananas. Once at Disneyland we were all picking afternoon treats and my dad saw a cart and said, “Ooh, how good does a frozen banana sound?” He was so excited to see what that meant and completely dismayed when the cast member handed him a literal frozen banana. I’ll never forget the look on his face and my brother exclaiming, “Well what did you think a frozen banana would be!?”

Well, Dad, this one’s for you because this is what a frozen banana should be.

The quality of chocolate here is important. Of course you could use whatever chocolate you want but since it’s the star of the show, it won’t be nearly as good with a low quality chocolate. I am very loyal to Ghirardelli when it comes to baking chocolate. This is semi-sweet and at less than two ounces per banana, this is reasonably healthy for a dessert but tastes absolutely decadent.

These are quite fun to make too and they don’t take very long. You can melt the chocolate in a double boiler (a pot set over simmering water) or carefully melt the chocolate in the microwave. Reduce the power to very low – power level 3 or 4 on my microwave but each is different – and stir every 20 seconds or so until almost melted. Take the chocolate out and stir until completely melted and glossy.

These are really better refrigerated but if you freeze them, allow them to sit out for fifteen minutes so you aren’t trying to bite into a rock hard banana. The vegetable shortening helps the chocolate stay soft so it won’t immediately break away from the banana when you take your first bite.

The possibilities for toppings are endless. You could do mini chocolate chips, sea salt, mini marshmallows, m&ms (how cute would red, white, and blue m&ms be for Independence Day?!) toasted coconut, your favorite kind of nuts, a white chocolate drizzle, any chopped candy bar…the list goes on and on. I chose coconut, chopped pecans, chopped peanut butter cups, and just plain chocolate. I always, always, always have a bunch of Dole bananas at my house and can whip up this sweet treat at a moment’s notice. I hope you love this as much as I do!

This is more chocolate than you need to cover the bananas but it’s SO much easier to dip them if you have a extra chocolate in the glass. Cut a third banana into chunks and make chocolate-covered banana bites with the leftover chocolate. Pop in the fridge to set and store in the freezer.

Which pop would you choose?