I had Lily in mind when I made these fun little treats, even though she’s still too young to experience the deliciousness that is chocolate & peanut butter (baby girl has NO idea what she’s missing!). She LOVES bananas, though, and the petite stature of these cracker bites deems them kid-friendly.
They’re also perfectly healthy – and not too sweet (we’re making our own chocolate for this recipe!) – for mindful parents to give to their kiddos.
Trader Joe’s carries these mini whole grain crackers – which taste like a popular buttery cracker – that I really like (and can pop like candy if I’m not careful). For this recipe, we’re spreading ‘em with a bit of peanut butter, sandwiching a frozen banana slice in between a pair, and dipping the whole shebang into an easy & healthy homemade chocolate sauce.
When you combine melted coconut oil, cocoa powder, and maple syrup, you’re rewarded with a delicious refined sugar-free chocolate sauce that hardens when chilled.
The recipe makes more chocolate sauce then you’ll need for the cracker bites, but please don’t toss it! You can warm up leftovers until liquified and drizzle over ice cream for a homemade chocolate shell, spoon it over oatmeal for a decadent breakfast, or, (as I’ve been doing), eat it by the mini spoonful.
These little bites would be perfect for a kid’s birthday, but would also go over quite well at an adults-only get-together. Or just make them for yourself!
I can’t wait to make – and enjoy – these with Lily when she’s older :).
Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Banana Cracker Bites
| Name: | Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Banana Cracker Bites |
|---|---|
| Cuisine: | Fusion |
| Prep Time: | 20 minutes |
| Cooking Time: | (Freezing Time: 45 minutes) |
| Total Time: | 1 hour |
| Servings: | 24 bites |
| Yield: | 24 bites per batch |
Keywords: dessert snack peanut butter banana chocolate
Ingredients (10 bites)
- 20 round whole grain mini crackers, such as Trader Joe’s 12 Grain Mini Snack Crackers
- 1 small banana, peeled, sliced into 10 “coins”, and frozen in advance
- ~2 Tbsp natural smooth peanut butter, well-stirred
- 2 1/2 Tbsp virgin coconut oil, melted and then cooled to room temperature (you want the oil to be liquid, but not warm)
- 2 1/2 Tbsp unsweetened dark cocoa powder, sifted to remove any lumps
- 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup, preferably grade B, at room temperature (if you add cold ingredients to melted coconut oil, the oil with solidify)
Instructions
If you haven’t already, peel, slice, and freeze the banana.
Spread a bit of peanut butter onto the bottom of each cracker.
Place a frozen banana slice onto one of the pb-covered crackers. Top with another pb-covered cracker.
Repeat previous step with remaining crackers & bananas.
Place assembled cracker bites back into the freezer.
In a bowl, stir together the melted coconut oil, sifted cocoa powder, and room-temperature maple syrup until very smooth.
Dunk half of each cracker bite into the chocolate sauce. Place chocolate-dipped cracker bites into the freezer for a third time, until the chocolate sauce has hardened into a shell, about 5 minutes.
Store in freezer.
Estimated Nutrition Per Serving
- Calories: 120 calories
- Total Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 75mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 14g
- Dietary Fiber: 2g
- Sugars: 8g
- Protein: 2g
- Vitamin D: 0%
- Calcium: 1%
- Iron: 4%
- Potassium: 120mg
