Banana Split Dippers

For the most part on weeknights we try to have fruit for dessert. But every once in a while we like to switch it up with something a little fun. This quick and easy dessert was still mostly fruit based . . . with some extra yumminess thrown in.

In fact, this dessert had all the makings of a banana split . . .  without the ice cream. Perfect for the fact that "Banana Day" is coming up on April 20th! We're pretty excited that Witty Hoots decided to host a "Quirky and Unusual" Blog Hop to celebrate the upcoming day.


Ingredients:
1 to 2 bananas, sliced into 1 inch pieces
hot fudge
chopped peanuts
shredded coconut
sprinkles or jimmies
miniature chocolate chips
chopped dried cherries

Materials: 
Appetizer picks
Muffin tray with silicone liners (or a tray with 6 small bowls)

I wanted our dipping materials to be easy to access, and easy to clean up. So I set the ingredients up in a 6 cup muffin tin and lined each one with our silicone baking liners. After slicing the bananas, I set them up on a small plate with the appetizer picks. Originally we tried setting them up so the picks were upright, but quickly realized it was easier to dip the bananas if the picks were horizontal (almost like a a lollipop.)

I preheated the hot fudge according to the directions on the jar, and added that to the "dipping" tray. 

I could barely get the dessert set up before the kiddos started to get excited about digging in. To get the best possible sticking of materials we first dipped the banana into the hot fudge and then dipped it into the "toppings" we wanted to try. 

We found it worked best to dip just in one topping, although it was fun to try for a couple of toppings at a time. 

I started out making a few for myself, but quickly realized if I actually wanted to eat any I better stop taking photos and start making my own! They were disappearing so fast I had to cut up a second banana! 

This was definitely an easy way to add a little fun to our weeknight dessert while honoring a classic treat! You can bet we'll be making it again on April 20th for the official "Banana Day." Until then, make sure you check out some of these other fabulous Banana Day Posts. 

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