Chocolate Dipped Frozen Banana Pops

I remember eating chocolate dipped frozen bananas at Disney World as a kid and wanted to recreate this treat for my kids.

These are relatively "healthy" treats and are pretty inexpensive and easy to make....perfect for summer!

Chocolate Dipped Frozen Banana Pops

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

*can be free of soy if you do not use Earth Balance natural shortening (you could substitute safe, soy free butter to thin it out)

*Makes 8 banana pops

Ingredients/What you need

• Wooden Sticks (I bought them at Michaels, they are called Woodsies and you get 150 sticks for$2.99, I then used a 40% off coupon and got them for $1.96...these will last for awhile! *You can find Michaels coupons in the Sunday paper) *You will need 8 sticks for this recipe
  
• wax paper
• 4 ripe bananas, peeled and cut in half (will make 8 banana pops)
• 1 bag of safe chocolate chips  (Enjoy life has completely allergen free chocolate chips also, it is a 10 oz bag....go to HERE to print a coupon)
• 1 TBSP of Earth Balance natural shortening (contains soy)-this helps make chocolate a little easier to work with by thinning it out
  
• medium pot and a bowl that fits on top to make a make-shift double broiler OR use a double broiler if you have one
  

Directions
Cut the bananas in half (you will have 8) and insert wooden sticks. Put bananas in something (I used an 8x8 glass baking dish) and place them in the freezer for at least 4-6 hours, but preferably overnight.
Make sure bananas are frozen. In a medium pot, boil water. Put a bowl that fits over the pot, but allow a little of the steam to escape (this will make a make shift double broiler so your chocolate doesn't burn). Add your chocolate chips, natural shortening and stir until melted. You can turn your burner off once the chocolate is melted and maybe even remove the bowl from the pot so your chocolate can cool down (see tip below). You can quickly dip the bananas into the chocolate and/or spoon and smooth the chocolate on and lay on wax paper. *I would keep your bananas in the freezer until they are ready to be dipped in chocolate.
Once all of your bananas are dipped, let them dry on the wax paper for a little while (just until hardened) and you can put them back into what you froze the bananas in and place them back in the freezer until you are ready to eat. *A freezer bag would be a great way to store your banana pops so you have them ready for whenever
*Tip-I noticed as I started to get down to the chocolate at the bottom of the bowl, it was so hot that it started melting my bananas and making it harder for the chocolate to stick.