DARK CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER BANANA BITES

Makes about 25 bites

5 large bananas, sliced into 1 cm (½ in) thick rounds
3 tbsp smooth peanut butter or other nut butter
220 g (8 oz) dark chocolate (minimum 62% cocoa), chopped

Toppings:

sea salt flakes, to taste • chopped peanuts

I tend to feel a bit panicky if I don’t have a stash of these in the freezer at all times. They are such a perfect snack, for when you need a little something sweet. They are particularly good brought out at a dinner party instead of your standard box of chocolates.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the banana slices on the lined baking sheets, in a single layer, in rows. Use a spoon to scoop the peanut butter onto half of the banana slices. If you want to be a bit neater, you can transfer the peanut butter to a Ziploc® bag, snip a corner off and pipe the peanut butter on top. Put the remaining, uncoated banana slices on top of the peanut butter ones.

Carefully insert wooden sticks to secure it all together (the peanut butter will want to escape). Pop into the freezer to firm up for about 30 minutes.

Melt the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water. Stir the chocolate until smooth.

When the pops are frozen, simply dunk in the melted chocolate and sprinkle with sea salt and chopped peanuts. Continue until all the bananas bites have been coated. Pop back on the baking sheets and freeze for 2 hours to harden.

These keep beautifully in the freezer for a good month or so. Just store them in a Ziploc® bag once they are completely hard and eat at your leisure. Before serving, allow the bites to thaw for about 5–10 minutes so that you can bite into them.

Top Tip: Follow the method above but leave out the peanut butter. Dunk the frozen banana slices in chocolate and then add toppings to your heart’s delight.