Bananas with a Coat

We are going bananas over bananas here, and this is the first of a mini-series of recipes using the tropical fruit as a main ingredient for a lot of delicious treats for summer.

The best part for the kids is that bananas are easy to peel, cut, and eat. So when I invited them to spend some time in the kitchen to make this project they were very excited, and their enthusiasm just grew after they were told that melted chocolate would coat the bananas.

The project was very successful: Not only were they "painting"the fruit with chocolate, = they also learned about melting and freezing, fractions, and textures.

We will certainly share this culinary craft project with our friends soon, and are considering making them for a birthday party. Or maybe parents would not be thrilled about their chocolate-painted faces...

Bananas with a Coat

This recipe is adapted from Epicurious and Food. com, but to minimize the unavoidable mess in the kitchen we melted the chocolate in the microwave.

4 bananas, ripe but firm, cut into pieces or whole (boys here preferred to cut the bananas in small bites)
1 cup or 4 ounces semisweet chocolate (we used Belgium chocolate from Trader Joe's)
1 tablespoon canola oil
Your favorite toppings (chopped almonds, dry coconut flakes, chocolate sprinkles were our choices)

Insert wooden sticks into banana bites or whole fruit and freeze on waxed paper for about 2 hours. When they are frozen, melt chocolate in a microwave-safe shallow bowl for 30 seconds on full power and check for the melting point, poking the chocolate with a spoon. Keep repeating the process in the microwave until chocolate is melted. Then stir in oil.

Invite the kids to coat the bananas and roll them on the other ingredients. Freeze for one hour or more and serve frozen. Enjoy!