Don’t Miss the Banana Boat!

The other night my family tried something super fun and really delicious…a sugary, chocolaty, gooey, almost caramelized banana cooked to perfection over an open flame!  I’m pretty sure at first the boys didn’t think this dessert would be too tasty even though they actually had a lot of fun making them!  And the honest truth is that when you unwrap the hot foil after removing them from the fire…they aren’t the prettiest dessert you’ve ever seen!  But after you top those melted, steamy, sweet bananas with some whipped cream and sink your spoon in for the first bite…you’re in for a surprising treat!  Not only were they yummy, they were a blast to create…and there’s something about cooking over a fire that makes anything taste just a little better!  You don’t need many ingredients to make these campfire goodies…you’ve probably already have what you need right in your kitchen!  So light up the fire pit or the grill…you’ve gotta try a banana boat!

let’s go bananas for banana boats!

i love cooking things over a fire!  there’s something so fun about roasting a hot dog or marshmallow over the glowing coals until its outsides are browned and crispy…and that aroma left behind– YUM!  so the other evening the weather was just perfect for having dinner outdoors followed by creating our own banana boat desserts to grill over the fire!  you can make them a short time ahead or build them on the spot, and all you need are some simple ingredients and supplies…

the fillings we chose for our banana boats were caramel bits, chocolate chips, and mini marshmallows…

the first thing you need to do is open the banana so you can shove all that sugary goodness inside!  starting at the top of the fruit make a slit through the skin…

and continue cutting across the banana about 3/4 of the way through.  make sure to not pierce the underside of the fruit or you may loose all the good stuff out the bottom!

then widen the slit enough so you can fill the banana with the caramel bits & chips…

press them gently into the banana so that there’s room for the marshmallows…

then take a piece of foil and wrap it up…

seal the foil on the top leaving a little space above the marshmallows so that they don’t stick when baking.

then lay them on a grill over the flame and bake until they feel soft to the touch…

carefully unwrap the hot foil and top the caramelized treat with whipped cream or any other sweet toppings you love!  and don’t worry if some are browner and more melted than others…once you top them they all look the same!

they’re so much fun to make…AND EAT!

round up your family for some campfire fun…

and build some banana boats!