This is a D-E-S-S-E-R-T Alert! 

I am sooooo happy to finally be able to sit down and write this post. Why the delay? 

Well, it actually took me 4 tries!!!! to perfect this deliciousness here. And by perfect, I mean banana-caramelly, coconutty, chocolatty perfection. Isn’t that the best kind of perfection ever? Like, yeahhhhh!

The other day, I was munching on a shredded coconut snack, which was stupidly delicious. Well, they were supposed to be coconut macaroons, with a hint of bananas that came in a sealed bag,  but ended up falling apart inside the bag. So no macaroons, just shredded banana-infused coconut.

I was thinking, hmmm… these are yummy, but I could make them better but I’d have to add some kind of a binding agent so they stick together better..and WHAM!

It hit me! Banana Caramel Coconut Macaroons! Oh my gosh I could already tell it would be one of those recipes that I would fall in love with. I was already in the first stages of infatuation and hadn’t even made it in my test kitchen yet. Wait..it gets better…I wanted to make them bite-sized and dip ’em in chocolate. So the Banana Caramel Coconut Macaroons were reborn into Banana Coconut Chocolate Bon Bons!

Banana Coconut Chocolate Bon Bon Recipe

• PREP TIME 90 mins
• COOK TIME 20 mins
• TOTAL TIME 1 hour 50 mins
• Recipe type: Dessert
• Cuisine: American
• Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

• Equipment Needed
• 1 medium sauce pan
• 1 small pan
• 1 small pot
• metal bowl
• food processor or blender
• parchment paper-lined cookie sheet
• silicone spatula
• metal fork
• metal spoon

Coconut Mixture

• 2 cups coconut flakes
• 2 bananas, pureed
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup of brown sugar
• 2 tbsps. coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Banana Caramel

• 2 bananas, pureed
• ¼ brown sugar
• dash of sea salt
• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Puree 2 bananas and set aside. Puree the remaining 2 bananas separately and set aside. Add the coconut to a food processor or blender and run until it has a fine flour texture. Add 2 pureed bananas, coconut, coconut oil, ¼ of the brown sugar to a medium sauce pan and cook over medium heat.
2. Continue cooking until the mixture starts to get darker and sticky, continuously stirring, then add the maple syrup. The maple syrup will get absorbed by the coconut. Should be about 10-15 minutes. Set aside.
3. Start the banana caramel by adding the pureed bananas, dash of sea salt and the remaining brown sugar to a small pan and cook over medium low heat, constantly stirring. I use a silicone spatula to continuously move the banana caramel around in the pan. Continue cooking until all of the sugar is dissolved, the mixture has gotten dark and a caramel texture.
4. Add the banana caramel and vanilla to the coconut mixture and mix well making sure all of the banana caramel is incorporated fully. Let cool 5 minutes.
5. Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Use a small scoop, 1 inch in diameter or a spoon and spoon out about a 1 to 1½ inch scoop of the coconut mixture. Refrigerate for one hour.
6. Take the coconut out of the fridge and form the mixture into balls on the parchment-line cookie sheet. Refrigerate for 3o minutes or put in the freezer for 15 minutes.
7. Add about ½ cup of water to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil water. Add a metal bowl directly on top of the small pot and fill with the chocolate chips. Continue moving the chips around until the chocolate is completely melted and promptly remove from heat. It’s important NOT to get any water in the chocolate or it will seize – this means it will stop melting and get crumble and yucky. <–Avoid this by using a dry, metal fork or spoon or a dry, silicone spatula. Do not use a wooden spoon.
8. This operation will require both hands at the same time–>Once the chocolate has melted, with one hand, use a fork to lift the coconut balls from the cookie sheet and into the melted chocolate. With the other hand, use a small metal spoon and coat the coconut completely. Let some of the chocolate drip from the coconut balls then put back onto the parchment paper by carefully nudging it off of the fork. Repeat this step for all of the coconut balls.
9. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes before eating. Sprinkle with sea salt or toasted coconut.

Yield: 24 Banana Caramel Coconut Bon Bons

Voila!

So if you’ve never had banana caramel or coconut bites dipped in chocolate, then YOU are in for a treat my peeps. I’d made banana caramel a couple of times before but it wasn’t the star of the show.

I felt the world needs to know about the power of banana caramel! You know how wonderful caramel is, right? And you know how perfectly delicious bananas are? Put them together! Bam, that’s what I’m talkin’ about. Then dunk in some choc-o-late and booyah!

You can totally taste the flavor explosion of that caramelized banana mingling in there with the coconut: it’s a smack in your face taste. I’m telling you coconut just got sexier friends.

Vote Of Confidence

You know baking or cooking beautiful feel good  foods does have a certain scary stigma around it.

“Will I get it right? That looks too complicated? How do I know it’s coming out right?”

But if you focus on making foods that the people around you love and can enjoy, you can become a great cook and baker. All the fear just melts away.

You too can make food that looks like only a chef could make, by just following directions and not giving up if and when you fail.

For example, I had an idea – rather my taste buds had this flavor and texture snapshot of what these bon bons should be like but it wasn’t until my 4th try that I achieved what I had envisioned. I didn’t consider the other 3 trials a failure, I just knew I had to keep going ’till I got it right.

Shhooh! Thank God. Labor-of-Love, Labor-of-Love. (<—me reminding myself throughout all of the tests :))

Every time you try something new, it makes you better and increases your self-confidence. So don’t be afraid to try new things, and don’t be afraid of failure. Failure just means you haven’t finished trying to get it right.  You’ve got this. Virtual pound!

Let’s Get Down To The Nitty Gritty..

Shall we? These Banana Coconut Chocolate Bon Bons require several steps and some back-and-forth waiting for them to chill in the fridge…but..stick with me to the finish line and I promise these will be worth the wait.

1. Let’s start by pureeing the first 2 bananas with an infusion blender or food processor and then setting aside in a small bowl. Then puree the next 2 bananas and set aside later for the Banana Caramel.  Add the coconut in a blender or food processor until it has a flour texture. Add 2 pureed bananas, coconut, coconut oil and brown sugar to a medium sauce pan and cook on medium heat. Once the mixture starts to come together add the maple syrup.
2. Continue cooking until the mixture starts to get darker and sticky, continuously stirring. The maple syrup will get absorbed by the coconut. Should be about 10-15 minutes. Set aside.
3. Start the banana caramel by adding the  remaining 2 pureed bananas, dash of sea salt and brown sugar to a small pan and cook over medium low heat, constantly stirring. I use a silicone spatula to continuously move the banana caramel around in the pan. Continue cooking until all of the sugar is dissolved, the mixture has gotten dark and a caramel texture.
4.  Then, add the banana caramel and vanilla to the coconut mixture and mix well making sure all of the banana caramel is incorporated fully. Let cool for 5 minutes.
5. Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Use a small scoop, 1 inch in diameter or a spoon and spoon out about a 1 to 1 1/2 inch scoop of the coconut mixture. Refrigerate for one hour. This will help the mixture harden, making it easier to work with.
6. Take the coconut out of the fridge and form the mixture into balls and place on the parchment-lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate for 3o minutes or put in the freezer for 15 minutes.
7. Add about 1/2 cup of water to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil water. Add a metal bowl directly on top of the small pot and fill with the chocolate chips. Continue moving the chips around until the chocolate is completely melted, then promptly remove from heat. It’s important NOT to get any water in the chocolate or it will seize – this means it will stop melting and get crumbly and yucky. <–Avoid this by using a dry, metal fork or spoon, or a dry, silicone spatula. Do not use a wooden spoon.
8. This step will require both hands at the same time–>Once the chocolate has melted, with one hand, use a fork to lift the coconut balls from the cookie sheet and into the melted chocolate. With the other hand, use a small metal spoon to coat the coconut completely. Let some of the chocolate drip from the coconut balls then put back onto the parchment paper. Repeat this step for all of the coconut balls.
9. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes before eating. Sprinkle with sea salt or toasted coconut.

Enjoy these guilt-free, bite-sized flavor bombs! Bravo, you Iron Chef, you.