Chocolate Covered Bananas

Since switching to the Paleo diet I have been really successful at avoiding sweets and any sort of bingeing. These chocolate covered bananas changed all that. These are straight up candy - yes made with all paleo approved food - but no doubt about it, candy none the less.

I made a batch of these a few nights ago and they are all gone now. There is a hard chocolate coating made from unsweetened bakers chocolate and sweetened slightly with the addition of coconut oil, raw cashews, and figs. These additions make it taste more like 85% chocolate which is pretty awesome given there is no sugar added.  But what really takes these over the edge is the sweet and creamy banana center.  By using super ripe bananas the bitterness of the chocolate is completely balanced.  Topped with a little something salty these candies were practically perfect. We literally couldn't resist them.

After they were gone Mike and I had a little discussion:

Sara: So, you liked the banana candy?
Mike: Umm. Yeah. They were just as good as regular candy
Sara: I know! But not really an ideal food, huh?
Mike: Seriously, I think we over did it a little.
Sara: Ok, the recipe will go in the reserved for special occasions file
Mike: Yeah, thats smart - but you better not forget about them!

So if you are the kind of person that can have one piece of candy and move on make these keep 'em in the fridge for a treat.  If your more like me, make these (maybe only a half batch) when you really need a treat and promise yourself a few months will go by before you indulge again.

Chocolate Covered Bananas, topped with Cashews or Bacon Salt. Bacon salt is ridiculous.  Its salt mixed with bacon. When I left my job a week ago my amazing cubemate gave me a little jar as a going away gift. It's been going on everything, but it was especially good on these candies.

Ingredients

10 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup raw cashew butter
1/4 cup fig and hazelnut spread (I used this, if you can't find it, or another fig spread that is sugar free you could just take either fresh or died figs, cook with a little bit of grape juice until syrupy and then puree)
2 very ripe bananas, you want the skins to be spotted but not black yet. These should be soft, but still able to hold their shape.
Garnishes: salted cashews, bacon salt, sea salt, coconut flakes

1) Peel bananas and slice into 1/3 inch thick discs. You want to cut these straight across like coins to make perfect little circles, not on the bias.
2) Cook first 4 ingredients on low heat or in a double boiler (I don't have a double boiler, low heat works fine, although your chocolate might not be as smooth, see picture :) ) stirring constantly
3) When the chocolate as all melted and everything is incorporated take off heat.
4) Dip banana slices one at a time into chocolate getting a thick coating on each piece. I used 2 spoon to do this - used one spoon to dip and the other to scoot the banana off and make sure it was totally covered.  After every 3 or 4 bananas put the chocolate back on the heat for about 15-20 seconds to ensure that it stays smooth and melty.
5) Line up chocolate coated bananas on a cookie sheet covered with wax or parchment paper. Top with salt or nuts. The salt you can just sprinkle on, the nuts you've gotta press in a little.
6) Put in freeze for 2 hours and then move to fridge. Eat, try to resist eating all at once.