Guilt-free Banana S'mores!

You guys. I have never been able to make an actual dessert that my paleo-ridden boyfriend can eat. (Just kidding about ridden, he has chosen to partake in the diet himself) But it was our two-year anniversary and I really wanted to enjoy something dessert-like for our nice quiet evening together. I kind of concocted this myself and put it together via other recipes.

Look at that gooey deliciousness! And completely guilt-free!

Now this recipe is not like a typical s'more. It's made with banana instead of graham crackers, but I will tell you how you can add a little crunch of some other varieties to make this one-of-a-kind delectable dessert.

Let me break this down, because it's hard to understand where all of these recipes came from.
3 Ingredient Chocolate Bars (recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie)
Honey Homemade Marshmallows (recipe from The Nourishing Gourmet)
Banana S'mores Recipe (recipe from Quick Dish)

But it gets a little more in depth! I added and removed my own ingredients (which is why my blog exists for the most part) and made it completely sugar-free!

There are going to be three recipes on this blog (eek!)

Banana S'mores

Ingredients:
2 Bananas
3-ingredient Chocolate, cut into small cubes
Honey Homemade Marshmallows, cut into chunks

Other toppings:
Organic peanut butter (for the guilt-free) or just regular peanut butter (I used reduced-fat)
Cinnamon Toast Crunch (for the indulging types)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Take a piece of aluminum foil and place under each banana you are baking.

3. Take your banana, and slice down the center hotdog style. Split it to give some room to place your s'mores pieces in. Place your chocolate, marshmallows, and whichever other toppings you want into/on top of your banana.

4. Put directly on the oven rack and bake for 5 minutes. Using tongs, or an oven mit, and take out of the oven. Unwrap and enjoy!

3-Ingredient Chocolate Bars

Ingredients:
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
4 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil (melted)
1/4 cup agave nectar

Directions:
Mix ingredients together until smooth. Place into a container with wax paper. Place into freezer for about 30 minutes. Take out, cut into squares, enjoy!

Honey Homemade Marshmallows

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tbsp. unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup honey
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
(Note: I copied and pasted these directions because she did such a good job of describing how to make the marshmallows with and without a candy thermometer!)

1. Lightly grease a loaf pan. Then cover with parchment paper (with enough to hang over the sides of the pan one way), then grease the parchment paper.

2. Put ¼ cup of water in a medium bowl (or in the bowl of a mixer with attached whisk) , and sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Set aside to soften.

3. In a small pot, place the honey, salt, and the other ¼ cup of water. Heat on medium heat. Using a candy thermometer, bring the mixture to 240 degrees. (Because this is such a small amount of liquid, I had a hard time getting an accurate temperature. You can also test it by dribbling a little of the liquid into a bowl of ice cold water. It should be in the candy stage of forming little soft balls when cooled in the water and taken out. It takes about 7-8 minutes to reach this temperature. ). Remove from the heat as soon as it’s at the right  temperature.

4. Using a hand mixer on low, very carefully mix in the hot syrup into the gelatin mixture by pouring the hot syrup in a drizzle down the side of the bowl. Once it’s all combined, add the vanilla and increase speed to high. Beat for 12- 15 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and fluffy (it will look like marshmallow fluff). Scrap into the prepared pan and leave, uncovered, for 4-12 hours to dry. It’s just about perfect in my climate when left overnight. Cut into squares, serve as is.