Frozen Chocolate-Covered Bananas

With sweet fruit encased in a chocolate shell, plus all the toppings your heart desires, chocolate-covered bananas are a sweet treat you can prep ahead to please folks of any age. Start with just-ripe bananas, which are pleasingly sweet but able to maintain their structural integrity better than ones covered in brown spots. (Save those overripe ones for your next banana bread.)

We like the contrast of semisweet or bittersweet chocolate here, but you can substitute milk chocolate or even white chocolate if that’s what you prefer. You may see recipes that call for thinning the chocolate with coconut oil, but we recommend vegetable oil here—coconut oil will start to solidify the minute it hits the frozen banana, preventing you from getting a good coating of your assorted toppings. Either way, there’s no need to worry about tempering the chocolate—the oil will keep it glossy no matter what. To melt chocolate without a microwave, set a double boiler over medium heat and stir with a wooden spoon or nonreactive rubber spatula until smooth.

This crowd-pleasing dessert recipe serves four and is easily doubled or tripled for a party or playdate. Leftovers keep for up to a week in the freezer. For smaller hands and mouths, chocolate-covered frozen banana pops may be a bit much, but chocolate-covered banana bites are equally beloved: Use a fork to move banana slices in and out of the chocolate mixture and garnish just one side with the toppings of your choice.