Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Banana Bites (made with coconut oil)

I keep seeing recipes for chocolate covered banana bites and they look so good.  But, I wanted to find some that didn't have added sugar in them, and all of the recipes I saw called for chocolate bars or chips (which are full of sugar).  So, I decided to make my own "chocolate" with coconut oil and cocoa powder.  I love how unique coconut oil is-- it can be all melty and then harden right up, which makes it great for making fudge, etc.  

So, here's the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 2 Large Bananas
• Almond or Peanut Butter (or any nut butter)
• 1/4 cup Coconut Oil
• 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• 1-2 tsp. Maple Syrup (optional)

Directions:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Slice the bananas thinly and line the baking sheet with them. You should get about 40 banana slices total. Place your nut butter on top of the banana slices and make them into sandwiches.  Now you have 20 banana bites.  

• Place the baking sheet in the freezer for about an hour.  If you are short on time, you can just put them in for 10-15 minutes, but you want them to be chilled a little so that the coconut oil will harden on them.  

• While the bananas are chilling, melt your coconut oil.  Then, stir in the cocoa powder, vanilla, and maple syrup until well incorporated.  

• Take your banana bites out of the freezer and dip in the chocolate sauce.  It should harden around the bananas.  You can eat them immediately or put them in the freezer to get the bananas completely frozen (about 3 hours).  Store in freezer.  

So, my picture is NOT so pretty.  I basically just dumped the remaining chocolate sauce over the top of all of my banana bites, so they don't look so pretty.  But, you could spend a little extra time and make the chocolate smooth and even drizzle it with some peanut butter on top.  These make an awesome snack or dessert :)