Before we fully dive into spring with loads of berries and greens, we should bid winter adieu with a little chocolate dipped sumthin. I give you simple yet decadent peanut butter cups filled with ripe banana chunks today. Credit goes to Señor Chompy for this one. He was making chocolate dipped strawberries for v-day when he got a little frisky and dipped some banana slices too. Next came banana and Nutella, an okay combination but for the sad fact that the Nutella kind of gets drowned out. Finally, banana and peanut butter. ZING. Winner.
Most regular peanut butter has a little salt in it that really brings out the sweetness of the banana and chocolate, but if you have unsalted peanut butter (like moi), just scoop some into a small mixing bowl, add a pinch of salt, and mix it up. Alternatively, you can sprinkle a little salt on top of the peanut butter cups while the chocolate is still melty. You should definitely go for it if you have fancy pants sea salt, flaked salt, or Himalayan pink salt. Salted chocolate is PHENOM.
When Chompy made these for me for v-day (bless his soul), he said it took him a long time because he had to dip one side of a banana slice, wait for the chocolate to cool and harden, then spread the peanut butter on the other side and dip that too. Well, I fixed that problem with mini muffin/cupcake liners. They’re the perfect size. All you have to do is dip the banana, place it in the mini muffin liner, drop a dollop of peanut butter on top, and drizzle more melted chocolate over everything. Or just pour like I do.
I kind of like when the chocolate doesn’t get all the way down the sides and there’s peanut butter oozing out when I peel off the liners. Nutty joy.
Happy first day of spring! I’m thinking of making chocolate covered strawberry and cream cheese cups next, maybe for Easter. I love my dark chocolate, but use whatever chocolate you love best, or experiment with all different kinds. What about white chocolate, mascarpone, and mango? Let me know any awesome combinations you think up.
Ingredients
Directions
- Melt 1/2 a cup of chocolate in a double boiler or in a bowl over a pot of simmering water, whisking constantly. When the chocolate is melted, remove the bowl and whisk in the rest of the chocolate.
- Slice your banana into 1/2 inch thick slices. Using a fork or your fingers, dip one side of each slice into the chocolate, then place chocolate-side down in the muffin liners.
- Dollop 1/2 a teaspoon of peanut butter on top of the banana slices.
- Pour or drizzle the remaining chocolate into the cups.
- Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes or until the chocolate hardens.
- Best eaten within 1 or 2 days, since there's fresh fruit involved!
4 comments
Ooh, I just realized we have all the ingredients to make a quick (less pretty) version of these in the microkitchens at Google. New epic snack… 🙂
That’s awesome! You can melt chocolate in the microwave too. Sometimes I don’t even wait for it to cool, just dip and pop it in my mouth.
Cupcake liners, those are key here.
See, all the “food props” I buy come in handy 🙂