Chocolate Monkey Pops
Quick and chilly chocolate monkey pops are a wonderful summer treat.
Frozen pieces of banana dipped in dark chocolate and covered in chopped nuts makes an easy frozen treat everyone can love. They can even be made vegan with the use of vegan chocolate chips.
The preparation time for these is only about 20 minutes in total. The rest of the time these are spend in the freezer leaving time for other tasks.
These monkey pops will last in an airtight container in the freezer for over a week, but honestly, they won't last that long.
I typically use chopped nuts on top of the dark chocolate, but there are many options to choose from like:
unsweetened coconut flakes
crushed cereal
candy sprinkles
chopped cacao nibs
seeds
coarse sea salt
toffee bits
Mix and match favourites for a new treat each time.
Ingredients
(Makes 24 servings)
4 large bananas, cut into 1-inch pieces and frozen
1 cup dark chocolate chips, melted (vegan chocolate if desired)
2 teaspoons coconut oil
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
Directions
Slice bananas into 1-inch pieces (you should get 5 or 6 from each large banana) and spread evenly on a parchment-lined sheet pan so that the pieces don't touch. Insert a toothpick into the end of each piece and transfer the sheet pan to the freezer and allow the banana pieces to freeze (about 1 hour).
Just before it's time to take the bananas out of the freezer, melt the chocolate chips. In a microwave safe bowl, place the chocolate chips and microwave for 30 seconds. If the chocolate is not melted, leave for 10 seconds more. Stir in the coconut oil while the chocolate is warm.
In separate shallow bowls, place the chopped nuts or mix them all in one bowl.
Dip each frozen banana piece into the chocolate and allow the excess to drip off. Slowly turn the chocolate covered banana piece over the chopped nuts and toss the nuts onto the chocolate letting the loose nuts fall back into the bowl.
Place the banana piece back onto the tray and repeat until all are covered in chocolate and nuts. Place back in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before serving or storing in an airtight container in the freezer.
Nutritional Information Per Serving:
total calories = 91 | total fat = 5.45g | saturated fat = 1.83g | cholesterol = 0.5mg | sodium = 1.85mg | net carbohydrates = 8.79g | dietary fibre = 1.26g | sugars = 6.14g | protein = 0.88g
