Generally speaking, I am not a banana fan. I like the flavor fine, but the the texture…not so much. And even though they’re readily available all the time and don’t seem to really have a “season” at the supermarket (unlike most produce), I definitely see bananas as a summer fruit. But, for whatever reason, I found myself in a banana mood a couple weeks ago. As you may know, if you’ve ever read a Highlights post, I am a big fan of the work they do over at The Kitchn. As a result of their content, I made two delicious banana-centric dessert items recently. These frozen recipes make great summer desserts. Bonus: the banana texture gets improved in both these applications.
The first is a recipe I made for the first time last summer: Chocolate Covered Banana Bites. These are so good and have eliminated any desire on my part to purchase the packaged ones at the supermarket. Assembly is simple, thought it takes a bit of time to dip each slice of banana. This time around, I topped them in coconut, sprinkles or chopped peanuts. In our house, a couple of these frozen banana bites make a great dessert to end the evening without overindulging.
The second recipe was a new addition to my collection this summer, but I was immediately intrigued: Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Banana Chunks. The tester’s note really got me:
This ice cream should come with a warning label. Not because it’s difficult to make — no, that part is quite easy and straightforward — but because it has the ability to disappear from your freezer in a flash! It is the ultimate peanut butter-banana mash-up.
I appreciated the recipe because it’s not a custard ice cream (which I can’t seem to get right) and I had all but 2 of the ingredients (half & half and cream cheese) on hand. I ended up chilling the base overnight in the fridge before putting it in my ice cream maker because I wasn’t able to successfully make an ice bath. I did, however, successfully flood my kitchen counter. Nevertheless, the final product was delicious. Even more so when topped with chocolate chips. There’s a note in the recipe about adding more peanut butter to make the flavor more intense, but it seemed plenty peanut butter-y to me. I’m going to make it again, for sure.
