Just a fairly simple recipe/idea from me today! I saw these banana split bites from Oh She Glows and I knew I had to try them, at least for the kids(although any excuse for dark chocolate, right? 
). Although, I obviously didn’t think of making them for the kids when I made them with toothpicks. It actually didn’t work too badly but they were a bit hard to hold onto and younger kids might have a hard time with them.
These are also pretty large so if you’re serving them to smaller children, you can obviously cut the fruit smaller. Even my 2 year old took quite a while to eat one, so next time I’d make smaller ones for her and these size for my 4 year old and myself 
I did end up making them again with popsicle sticks and they were way better. Although I didn’t hardly get any good pictures with the popsicle sticks. I really don’t know what was so hard about getting these to stand up straight but apparently it was really difficult. So just imagine the toothpicks are popsicle sticks because I like those pictures better
Just a thought, I’m actually pretty sure you could just stack the fruit and freeze them and they would stay together, but then again frozen fruit dipped in chocolate and little kids probably wouldn’t exactly be mess free. My 2 year old daughter somehow gets food from just about every meal she eats in her hair so I’ll take the sticks, thank you. We need all the help we can get keeping food where it’s supposed to be around here!
To make these a little fancier you could dip the chocolate in coconut or chopped nuts while it’s still soft. It does harden especially quickly because of the coconut oil, but if you dip them right away the nuts/coconut would stick and that would taste delicious. I was all about reducing the mess with these ones though.
Also, about the coconut oil, I don’t recommend using anything else because I love the “magic shell” feel that coconut oil provides, but if you don’t have coconut oil, just 1 tsp of any flavorless oil should work fine just to help it melt and make it easier to dip. I also recommend using bar chocolate and not chocolate chips because chocolate chips are harder to work with but if that’s all you have it will work.
I’ve included nutrition information in the printable recipe, but of course, that will depend on the size of your fruit, the kind of chocolate you use, etc. Also, my calculation is just for the plain banana split bites, so if you add nuts, etc it will be different as well.
Makes about 24
- 24 – 1″ pieces from about 1/2 small pineapple
- 2 large bananas, sliced into 24 bite sized pieces
- 12 small to medium sized strawberries sliced in half
- 150g(5oz) good quality dark chocolate(I used 72%)(this is between 3/4 – 1C if using a cup measurement for chocolate chips)
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- chopped nuts or coconut for rolling in(optional)
Chop fruit and assemble into stacks. Press a popsicle stick through the fruit and freeze until solid.
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper, wax paper or a silicone mat. Melt the chocolate along with the coconut oil either in a double boiler or in the microwave using short intervals and stirring frequently to prevent burning. Once completely melted, remove the frozen fruit from the freezer. Dip the fruit in the chocolate, let the excess drip off for a minute and then place on the sheet to harden. If desired, dip the chocolate covered side immediately in chopped nuts or coconut before placing on the sheet to harden. Once the chocolate is completely hardened(you may need to place in the freezer for it to harden completely), remove from the sheet and place in an airtight container to store in the freezer until ready to serve.
When ready to serve, remove them from the freezer and let sit at room temperature for a couple minutes before serving – if you can wait that long
I don’t recommend letting these sit for any length of time at room temperature though as they will thaw and the fruit – especially the banana – will not be pleasant. Please enjoy these within a few minutes of removing from the freezer.
For a fresh fruit option(where serving immediately from the freezer is not an option): Make a solution of water and lemon juice(about 1 tbsp lemon juice in 2 C of water). Dip the banana slices in the lemon juice solution. Assemble the fresh strawberry, banana dipped in lemon juice and water and fresh pineapple on the popsicle stick as desired and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. When chilled, dip in melted but cooled chocolate and place on a lined baking sheet and place back in the fridge. Once the chocolate is set, these can be removed from the fridge, but should be served within a few hours.
Also, one last quick note, I’m not sure what has changed on Facebook, but it’s come to my attention that not everyone that likes the Food Doodles page is getting my updates. So if you like Food Doodles on Facebook and want to continue receiving updates in your news feed(or don’t know why you’ve stopped receiving updates), be sure to check that there is a check beside “Show in News Feed” when you hover over the “Liked” button. Thank you!
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{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }
Such a cute idea! Banana splits always remind me of my dad because his favorite carton of Friendly’s ice cream is the banana split flavor. I obviously love this much healthier twist
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I hate how fb keeps changing their “rules” and making people jump through hoops just to keep their feed how it was before without notice!
On a more positive note…this are super cute and such a good idea!
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen recently posted..Coconut almond granola
*these not this…
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen recently posted..Coconut almond granola
These are so cute, Heidi! What a fun summer treat.
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Great idea! I am saving this for a sunny day!
Looks a little like the strawberry/cream puffs sticks I made. Check: http://brendakookt.nl/2012/05/27/zomerse-aardbei-snack/
Brenda (kookt!) recently posted..Mihoen | Spinazie | Tomaatjes | Tilapia
What a great idea, these look adorable and so perfect for kids!
Kathryn recently posted..lemon & poppy seed spelt muffins
Perfect! From combination to presentation…I love the creativity. Not to mention, it is easy to make. What more can I ask for? This is gonna be a blast!
myfudo recently posted..savory dishes: southern fried chicken & a beautiful ride
These look so colorful and fun! I am sure it’s a great recipe for a kids party! Thanks for sharing…
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Wow, these is genius. Fresh fruit, doesn’t require any baking and I am sure the kids love them. Super easy to eat as well. These are great even for the little ones to make and I agree that the popsicle sticks are way better for this.
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Super cute idea! I love the idea of dipping these in shredded coconut, what an easy and tasty snack
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so simple and cute!
Michelle recently posted..Food From the Weekend: Lots of Food!
I missed when to use the coconut oil….
Just melt it with the chocolate. Sorry about that, I changed the recipe to make it more clear
They look fantastic! I have an open house coming up at my home in a week, and I have a broken oven. Does the freezing help prevent the bananas from turning brown? Will they stay okay on the counter for awhile, if I leave them in the freezer until right before it starts?
Yes, freezing helps keep them from turning brown, but they will eventually(after a couple weeks or more though) I think these would be OK on the counter for a short while. I will say that the banana gets kind of gross if it thaws too much though.
Sounds great…how would you suggest keeping the banana fresh looking if taking them to a pot luck?
The banana will look fresh as long as it’s frozen. I don’t recommend letting these thaw, but as long as they’re kept in the freezer until about ready to serve the banana will be fine.
I use bananas in other receipes, and just squirt a little lemon juice on them to stop them from turning brown. It works great and there is no lemon taste.
I love your presentation with these! Such a fun idea to stack them.
Thanks for the shout out & glad you enjoyed them.
Thank you for the inspiration!
What if you just put the banana slice on the bottom, wouldn’t that make a larger, flatter base for them to stand up more easily?
Possibly, but the pineapple worked well. I think it was a case of my pineapple being flat on the bottom and the piece not being perfectly square. Either way they’re super yummy
How do you keep the bananas from turning brown?
The banana will stay a nice color when it freezes and it wont turn brown for at least a couple weeks as long as they’re kept in a sealed container and kept frozen.
There are short skewers that are bigger and thicker than the toothpicks, but yet smaller than the popsicle sticks. Maybe these would be even better? Just a thought–haven’t tried it yet.
That might work too! You could even make larger skewers with a couple pieces of each fruit and just drizzle the fresh fruit(not frozen) with chocolate. That would be an awesome idea!
Might be fun to add one or two of those new flattened marshmallows to the stack!
I came over here today, wondering why you hadn’t posted in such a long time and then saw that you had posted lots since I was last here! I don’t know what’s going on with Google Reader. These look so yummy! But my mind would just process these as fruit and not a treat. They look so refreshing and perfect for summer.
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I found these on Pinterest (I think…) and tried them today. So good and so easy to put together. I used Wilton Cookie Sticks that I use for cake pops and they worked great! I dipped Pretzel Crisps in the extra chocolate. We’ll be enjoying these a lot this summer. Thank you!
Sounds fun and healthy! Thanks for the idea!
These would look cute with the sandwich pick with the little feather thing on top, I will try them for my Tupperware party.
I found this on Pinterest…. I can not wait to make these!!!!! Banana splits are my favorite dessert of all time!!!
I just made these for my son’s birthday party; perfect!!! I used Baker’s semi-sweet chocolate and mini bamboo sticks, which was a lot easier than toothpicks.
What would you recommend as a substitution for the banana? There are quite a few people in the group i’m making this for that don’t like bananas- so i was trying to think of another fruit that would work. Maybe kiwi? What do you suggest?
I haven’t tried it, but I’d heard kiwi with chocolate is good so you could try that. Maybe you could try something else like a sweet cherry(pitted of course) or a piece of mango, or just leave it out and have strawberry pineapple bites
I really do recommend the banana though so maybe make some with and some without 
looks Amazingly sumptious:)
I think that using coconut oil is great but instead of chocolate with the sugar and all , but to use raw cocoa beans and stevia vanilla liq. for sweetner and coconut oil ….raw nuts and raw coconut and maybe some hemp seeds in the chocolate and freeze all the wonderful full flavor fruit Bananas, pineapple, strawberry, and cherries. oh this is such a great Idea and the the thoughts on this is unlimited as to what you can do!! thank you for this post!
I love your recipes! Thank you for sharing them.
Thank you so much for continuing to reply to the questions. I was wondering if these could be made in advance and decided to research further and all my questions were already answered by just reading others with your answers to them. I had no idea bananas would not turn brown when frozen. I have learned so much! I am cheating and purchased the melting chocolate in the baking department. I am sure it will have the same effect. I appreciate the posts and suggestions. This is very helpful! Thank you for your time for in making other lives more organized! Making these for church tomorrow and will get them done tonight to save time.
Sooo cute. You might want to submit this to Edible Crafts. Meghan loves healthy cuteness to break up all the sugar.
Thank you for the suggestion – I think I will
I made these today for a large dinner party, and while they looked delicious, the bananas turned to mush. Most people were eating the pineapple and strawberries, and pitching the bananas. Next time I’ll only use the pineapple and strawberries. They held up better. I also used canola oil (instead of the terribly expensive coconut oil) and the chocolate still turned into “magic shell” and was delicious.
Hi Michelle, I’m sorry they didn’t turn out perfectly… I do recommend keeping these frozen until everyone is ready to eat which makes these really hard to serve at a dinner party. I highly recommend the banana layer if you can serve them straight from frozen though because it’s so creamy it’s almost like the ice cream in the banana split! I’m glad at least part of it turned out well though!
Made these for a holiday party and they were a big hit. I agree that when they thaw the fruit does get a bit mushy. The next time I make them I won’t even bother freezing the fruit, I don’t think you really need to.
Is there a substitute for coconut oil or can it be omitted? I am not a big fan and most of my family aren’t either, but it looks yummy otherwise.
Hi Dina, the coconut oil in this case is what gives the chocolate it’s “snap” when you bite into these straight from the freezer but doesn’t give these a coconut flavor if that’s what you’re worried about. I do think a tiny bit of any flavorless oil should work in it’s place though.
I don’t think I would freeze them either. I use a small amt of crisco with my melted choc and it works out fine. Try dipping the bananas (or any fruit that discolors quickly)
in lemon lime soda for a few seconds. You don’t taste the soda and the fruit stays brighter longer.
I’m not a fruit eater but even I would eat these! They look so cool!
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