This is one of those recipes…
One of those recipes that’s impossible to stop eating until every last chocolate bite has disappeared. Rich dark chocolate, complemented by creamy banana filling…
I made two batches (for five of us who were watching the Olympics last night). One batch was just banana and a second batch was peanut butter banana, where I blended a big spoonful of crunchy peanut butter into the filling.
There were no leftovers.
Monkey See Monkey… Eat
The summer after I finished third grade, my family took a trip to Vermont and stopped at the Ben & Jerry’s factory to see how ice cream is made. (I think that same summer, we visited a brewery and got to see how beer is made. It was a very educational summer for me!)
After touring the factory came the best part: sampling ice cream. We tried chocolate, we tried Cherry Garcia, and finally we tried their #1 seller, Chunky Monkey. I decided this flavor was my favorite, mostly because I thought the name was funny. The tour guide then informed us that this particular product had a different name in Japan; it was simply called Banana Nut. Apparently, if you try to translate the name to Japanese, you get “Chunks of Monkey.”
Ever since that trip, whenever I see anything chocolate-and-banana flavored, my mind automatically thinks of chunks of monkey.
So… who’s hungry now? 
Chocolate Monkey Bites
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, melted
- 20-30 nunaturals vanilla stevia drops (or 3-4 tbsp liquid sweetener, such as agave)
- 1/2 a banana (see “nutrition info” link below for all substitution notes in this recipe)
- tiny pinch salt
- optional: 1-2 tbsp peanut butter (or pb2, or another nut butter)
Combine first three ingredients in a bowl and stir until it makes a chocolate sauce. Pour a little of the sauce (saving the rest for later) into the bottoms of cupcake liners, mini cupcake liners, or candy molds. Then freeze 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, blend (or mash and stir with a fork) the banana, salt, and optional ingredients. Take liners out of the freezer and top each with banana mixture. Now evenly distribute the rest of the chocolate and re-freeze until solid. This recipe makes 9-10 mini cups (as shown in the photos).
View Monkey Bites Nutrition Facts
Link of the Day:
I’d definitelly do an almond butter cup!
A caramel cup would be awesome! But is there such a thing as vegan caramel?
Also, I’m curious Katie, if you have ever tried making a non dairy milk chocolate? I love the dark chocolate recipe, but sometimes I find myself wanting something lighter. 🙂
There definitely IS vegan caramel 🙂
You can just sub Earth Balance for the butter in recipes… I’ve also seen recipes that use canned coconut milk for the heavy cream.
I’ve not tried to make a milk chocolate bar… yet.
Strawberry Banana PB cup!!!!
Do you have a banana cream pie recipe? That would be awesome!
I don’t… I think I need one!
Here’s a FABULOUS cream pie. It’s a strawberry cream pie, but I’ve made it banana, mango, mixed fruit. I make some changes but this is an awesome basic cream pie recipe. I prefer a simple date and almond crust, but again, awesome base for your tweaks 🙂
And it’s RAW!!! 🙂
http://www.rawmazing.com/raw-strawberry-cream-pie/
I think I’d just leave out the banana completely. Why ruin a good thing. Chocolate + Peanut Butter is all you need. Just ask Reeces. 😉
Maybe something infused with liquor though. That could be good.
Could you possibly make one of those print options so we can print recipes right from your site without having to copy and paste them? It would be a huge help!! 🙂
I can’t at the moment, because of a corrupt plugin on my site. Trust me, I am working on it :-?.
I have the most perfect baking molds for these babies — stars, to be exact. Little star banana chocolate bites. Noms are on!
After tasting your PB&J shake I’d have to go with that theme for the new PB cubs…perhaps a giant dried cherry inside? And peanuts gross me out (highest bacteria of any nut) so I vote for any other kind of nut butter.
THANKS for the banana choc dessert…it’s one of my faves from Trader Joes but they put liquor in theirs so they’re off limits for the kiddos. Now I can share! (Not that I ever wanted to…) 🙂
These look awesome!!!! If we DID use chocolate chips instead of the coconut oil would we just then use a 1/4 cup of chocolate chips?
Thank you! I love your website!
I haven’t tried it, so I don’t have specific proportions. I just know that melted chocolate works as a substitution for the coconut-oil chocolate. 🙂
I am making these!!! No if ands or butts!!!!!!!!!!!!