Serves: 8
Total Calories: 325

8 6-to-10 inch wooden skewers or lollipop sticks
8 baby bananas (or 2 to 3 bananas cut into 1-inch chunks), peeled
7 ounces milk chocolate bar, chopped (or semisweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips)
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
1 cup either edible confetti, chocolate sprinkles, coconut (toasted, if desired), nonpareils, or chopped peanuts (optional)

Insert a wooden skewer halfway into each baby banana or banana chunk. Place them on a baking sheet lined with nonstick aluminum foil or freezer paper and freeze for 1 hour.

When you are ready to prepare the baby bananas, melt the chocolate and vegetable shortening in a heavy small saucepan, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally. Once the chocolate has melted, remove the saucepan from the heat and tilt it at about a 45-degree angle to facilitate the dipping process. Holding onto the skewer, dip each banana into the chocolate, allowing the excess to drip back into the saucepan while gently twisting the skewers. (Do this step quickly because the cold banana will set the chocolate.) Immediately roll the banana in the optional edible confetti, chocolate sprinkles, coconut, nonpareils, or peanuts.

There are several ways to allow the chocolate to set on the dipped baby bananas. You can insert the skewers upright into Oasis (a green spongelike material used in plant nurseries) or a piece of Styrofoam, which will act as an anchor for them. Or they can be placed in a pan lined with nonstick aluminum foil or upright in a glass.

When the chocolate has set, freeze the baby bananas for 2 hours or overnight. Once the baby bananas are frozen, wrap each one tightly in plastic wrap and keep in the freezer for up to 5 days. Allow the bananas to sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes before serving, then place upright in a smoothie.

From SINFUL SMOOTHIES: more than 130 dessert smoothies & other indulgences. Copyright © 2004 Donna Pliner Rodnitzky. All Rights Reserved.

Nutritional Facts:

Serves: 8
Total Calories: 325
Calories from Fat: 117

More Recipes from the Cook'n Sinful Smoothies Cookbook:
-GREAT GARNISHES: Go to the Head of the Glass
Apple Chips
Berries on a Skewer
Chocolate Pirouettes
Chocolate-Covered Oreo Cookies
Chocolate-Dipped Frozen Baby Bananas
Cinnamon Pirouettes
Cinnamon Wonton Crisps
Cinnamon and Sugar Twists
Cinnamon- or Chocolate-Dipped Tortilla Triangles
Crisp Banana Wafers
Peanut Butter-Chocolate Drops
Pear Chips
Pineapple Chips
Strawberry Fans
Turtle on a Skewer
Vanilla Pirouettes