Frozen Chocolate Banana Pops

Credit to my brother for this one, which is kind of fun, and really good. Just don't tell mom about the coconut oil (it's just a little smidge, really). The coconut oil allows the chocolate to melt all smooth like, but then solidify quickly and evenly on the frozen banana.

There really is something kind of magical about freezing something on a stick. Seriously, you should try it. You inner sense of childlike wonder will be amazed.



Have you ever frozen anything awesome on a stick to snack on? Tell us about it.


Frozen Chocolate Banana Pops

Ingredients

• 6 bananas, cut in half
• 12 skewers (you can probably cut the long ones in half, just fine)
• 1 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup coconut oil.
• optional: chopped nuts, for coating

Put each peeled banana half on a skewer, and quickly insert in the freezer on a wax-paper lined tray. Freeze overnight.

When ready to serve, melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a double-boiler over simmering water. Whisk until smooth, and then pour into a tall, narrow glass.

Take the bananas out of the freezer. Remove any visible ice buildup on the outside. Gently dip the bananas into the chocolate, twisting them gently as you remove them. If adding nuts, pour the nuts on immediately after removing from the chocolate (it hardens very quickly). Let them cool right-side up (we jabbed the skewers into a styrofoam block, and that worked well).

Watermelon Lime Sorbet

Watch out, world; summer is on its way. I just got an ice-cream maker, and this was its maiden voyage. We have about half of a small watermelon leftover, so we said to ourselves, "selves, what can we do with this watermelon?" Obviously the reply came, "make sorbet in your new ice cream maker." Boy am I glad I listened to myself.

Not gonna' lie, this one is a little labor intensive, but well worth the result. It's none too sweet, so if you're feeling all hoighty-toighty and having a fancy dinner party, you could serve this one as a cleanser between the appetizer and entree, or you could just have it as an awesome, light dessert.

Most recipes for sorbet call for a syrup made of just sugar and water, but watermelon is practically all water, anyway, right? I tried making the syrup out of watermelon juice to see if that would intensify the flavor a bit (I also hated throwing out all the extra watermelon juice). I think it worked just fine.

This recipe makes about 1 quart, so you can multiply based on the size of your gathering and the capacity of your ice cream machine.

Watermelon Lime Sorbet


Ingredients

• Approximately 1/2 small, round watermelon
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup lime juice

Scoop the watermelon flesh into a food processor or blender, and then blend until smooth (if your watermelon has seeds, don't puree past the point where you'll be able to remove the seeds with a sieve). Pass the puree through a sieve, pressing firmly on any flesh that remains to extract all the juice you can.

Put 1 1/4 cup of the watermelon juice in a saucepan with the sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer, stirring constantly, until all the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the stove and cool quickly by moving to another container, or placing the pan in an ice bath. After the syrup has cooled, mix with 2 cups of the watermelon juice and the lime juice, place in an airtight container, and place in the fridge until well chilled.

When well chilled (as with all frozen ice creams, etc., you need to start with very cold ingredients), put in your ice cream maker and follow its directions. When it reaches the desired consistency, I put it in an airtight container and stored it in the freezer for a few hours to let it set.