These Banana Pops are a fun treat to serve both kids and adults. The cinnamon vanilla almond butter is a treat in itself and then sandwich it in between two banana slices makes it even better. Adding antioxidant rich dark chocolate to the mix makes the whole thing out of this world resulting in a really yummy, healthy treat.

 I love almonds and almond butter, but you’ve probably noticed that I don’t bake very much at all with almond flour. I prefer eating nuts raw and consuming nut butters occasionally for treats like this one.

 Some of the main reasons I don’t usually bake with almond flour are:

Baking with almond flour causes oxidation to the high level of polyunsaturated fats in the almonds. That basically means that the fat in the nuts go rancid when we heat them, which is not so great for our health. Also, consuming 2-3 cups of almond flour in a baked goods recipe is pretty excessive (it takes A LOT of almonds to make 2 to 3 cups of flour!) and this also isn’t the best for our health or our waistlines. Of course, everything in moderation so I do use almond flour on occasion, but the majority of the time, I stick with coconut flour in my baking recipes. As far as baking goes, coconut flour produces a very moist, fluffy baked good and is by far my flour of choice for baking. Coconut flour can be difficult to find, so here is a good place to get it:  Organic Coconut Flour 3 Lbs by Nutiva

Even though it may seem a little expensive, you never need very much coconut flour at all in baked goods – usually just a half cup or less so a large bag like the link above will last you a very long time.

 Enough about the almond versus coconut flour – just make these yummy pops! You won’t regret it!

*If you are allergic to almonds, you can use sunbutter.

Cinnamon Vanilla Almond Butter Banana Pops

Makes 4 Banana Pops

 Ingredients:

 2 bananas

1/3 cup almond butter

½ tsp vanilla

¼ tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup all natural dark chocolate pieces or chips (at least 60% cacao)

1 T coconut oil

popsicle sticks or bamboo skewers

 DIRECTIONS:

 Mix almond butter, vanilla, and cinnamon together until well mixed.

Peel and cut bananas in half. Slice the halves vertically in half.

Divide your almond butter mixture into 4 equal portions. Use 1 portion of almond butter per 2 banana slices. Spread the almond butter mixture over half of the banana slices.

Press your popsicle stick or skewer on top of the almond butter and top with the remaining banana slices.

Place the banana pops in the freezer and freeze until firm.

When your banana pops are all the way frozen, melt your dark chocolate and coconut oil in a double boiler over low heat. (If you don’t have a double boiler, use a large skillet filled with some water and place a smaller pot inside the skillet on top of the water. Put your chocolate and oil in the smaller pot.) Stir until melted and smooth.

Dip each banana pop in the dark chocolate and place on parchment paper. Place back in the freezer for a few minutes until chocolate is hardened and cold. Enjoy!

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