I was craving some ice cream today, but ice cream doesn’t really like me. I figured out I was lactose intolerant while eating ice cream at my niece’s graduation reception. Not a fun day. I have tried taking Lactaid with the ice cream, but it still doesn’t like me. So, when a craving hits, I like to see what kind of substitutes I can find.
A few posts back, I shared a photo of my new favorite State Fair treat – a frozen banana on a stick, covered in chocolate and rolled in peanuts. It made a good ice cream substitute at the fair, so why not make them at home?
I started by cutting up a couple of bananas into more manageable sizes than the one offered at the fair. This way, if I only wanted half a banana, I wouldn’t have to try cutting it in two after it was on the stick.
We had some some bamboo skewers left over from Laura’s graduation reception, so I used those as my stick. You could probably get by just fine with bigger round toothpicks, depending on the size of banana slices.
I dipped the cut banana pieces in a bath of water and FruitFresh. You could also use lemon or lime juice in water. I dabbed them dry with a paper towel, and placed them back on the plate. I covered the plate with plastic wrap, and placed it in the freezer.
When the bananas were frozen, I assembled the rest of the ingredients.
I coarsely chopped some salted peanuts in my food processor, and put them in a shallow bowl. I had some Magic Shell ice cream topping in the pantry, so I used that for the hardening chocolate. I have a narrow measuring cup that holds about 1/2 cup of liquid. You could use a small juice glass as well.
I poured a little bit of the Magic Shell into the bottom of the measuring glass, since I was planning on having three chunks of banana. Once it is poured into the glass, you cannot put it back into the bottle.
Tipping the glass slightly, I rolled the banana in the chocolate, making sure it was coated well.
I held it above the glass until the chocolate began to harden. Then, I rolled the banana in the coarsely chopped peanuts.
I repeat the process for the other banana pieces that I wanted to prepare. Then placed the rest of the bananas back into the freezer for the next time I had an ice cream craving.
The bananas satisfied the craving. They tasted just like a banana split…okay, almost like a banana split!
My next challenge is to try different combinations – splitting the bananas down the center, and spreading creamy peanut butter on one half making a pb banana sandwich to freeze. After they are frozen, dipping them in a homemade chocolate shell mixture, and letting them freeze again. Mmmm. I think I need to go buy more bananas!
Have fun with your food today!
