{MMW} banana boats

Love bananas, peanut butter and chocolate? Check yes! This is such a quick and tasty treat you'll definitely want to add it to your summer dessert list.  There are many variations to personalize this treat and make it work for liking and situation.

My sister introduced me to this dessert while visiting us in Michigan this past week and I love that she shared this yummy-ness with us!  The first time she enjoyed banana boats, a banana was cut down the length all the way through the peel on the top and the banana; cutting the banana into two pieces but not through the peel on the bottom.  Once cut, the banana was covered with a layer of peanut butter.  Then chocolate chips and mini-marshmallows were inserted in the opening - tucking them on the sides and on top.  The bananas were placed on a cookie sheet and bake for 10minutes at 300 degrees. It is common for them to roll over so do your best to balance them on one another and not place on the edge of cookie sheet.

When my sister decided to make these for us one evening during her visit, we decided to switch it up a bit and use Reese's peanut butter chips along with chocolate chips and marshmallows for our toppings.  Two thumbs up!  Honestly, using the peanut butter chips saved time and did not create a mess while trying to spread peanut butter on the banana halves. I guess it comes down to how much peanut butter you want with your banana.  We only had large marshmallows in the pantry so we just cut them down to make them an appropriate size to melt on the top of the banana.  We also placed them in the oven for about 10minutes at 300degrees. Note: the banana peel will turn black during the baking process! Watch carefully and remove when toppings are melted and marshmallows browned.

If you are looking for more creative ways to serve banana boats, click on the photos above for other banana boat tutorials I found on Pinterest.  The options are endless! You can wrap them in foil and grill them, add butterscotch chips or coconut on the top etc. Great for camping or a special dessert after a day at the pool.  How fun would it be to have a 'toppings' bar and let everyone assemble their own banana boat at a neighborhood party. And surely you can call it a 'healthy treat' since the base is a banana, right?!

Grab a banana and your favorite toppings and enjoy a banana boat today!