Pineapples and Bananas Dipped in Chocolate

Many of you have probably incorporated chocolate covered strawberries in your Feb. 14^th festivities making them common and overdone. If you really want to impress your Valentine, try dipping pineapples and bananas in chocolate. It’s something different and simple that you can make at home. (And homemade always gets more points than store-bought)

Another bonus is you probably already have some of the ingredients on hand. Most people keep bananas around for breakfast and you may have chocolate chips leftover from a batch of cookies. The rest of the ingredients you can get in quick, cheap grocery store run.

Once you have all of the ingredients, all you have to do is take a toothpick, add fruit, dip in chocolate, and roll it in a complementary topping. Such a simple process but the result is a sexy Valentine's Day dessert. Enjoy hearts!

Ingredients:

2 bananas

1 pineapple

6 oz. semi-sweet choc chips (half a bag)

3-4 tbsp Heavy Cream (at room temperature)

1 small bag peanuts (salted or unsalted)

1 small bag coconut shavings

toothpicks

Directions:

First prep the fruit by peeling the bananas and slicing them into 2-3 inch chunks. Then, chop the top and bottom off of the pineapple, stand it up and cut the skin off in strips. Then cut the pineapple flesh into quarters and chop off the core at an angle. Next, cut the flesh into 2-3 inch square chunks.

Prep the toppings by putting 1-cup peanuts into a plastic zip lock bag, squeeze the air out, and then close the bag. Using a rolling pin or large heavy can, crush the peanuts and spread them in an even layer on a plate. Also pour 1-cup coconut shavings on a plate and set aside.

Place chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and heat on 50% power for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir. Continue this process until the chocolate is almost melted. Then add 3-4 tablespoons of heavy cream and stir until the chocolate is smooth.

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Then, place a piece of pineapple on a toothpick, dip it into the chocolate and roll it in the coconut shavings. Place pineapple on the cookie sheet, leaving the toothpick in and repeat this process until all of the pineapple has been dipped and rolled. Then put the bananas on toothpicks, dip in the chocolate, and roll in the peanuts and add to the cookie sheet.

Once all of the fruit has been dipped and rolled, put the cookie sheet in the freezer for 20 minutes to allow the chocolate to set. Lastly, move the fruit into the refrigerator until ready to serve. To serve, simply arrange the chocolate dipped fruit on a platter.