Delicious Chocolate Chip Cranberry Banana Bread

Delicious Chocolate Chip Cranberry Banana Bread

I love banana bread. It’s one of the great uses for bananas that have ripened a little too far. The one thing that makes it better is adding chocolate… hence, chocolate chip cranberry banana bread.

Banana bread and banana ice cream are the two reasons I keep so many bananas in my freezer. Either recipe can use frozen bananas. You just have to defrost them for a while to make banana bread. Defrosted bananas are even mushier than overripe bananas, but that’s fine for this kind of recipe.

You can, of course, also simply use overripe bananas without freezing them first. The only reason I use frozen ones as often as I do for this recipe is that I’m not always in the mood to make something when I realize my bananas are overripe. You know how fast that happens.

You can freeze bananas in their peels if you’re making banana bread out of them. Don’t do that for banana ice cream, though. Sliced frozen bananas work for either recipe, so if I have the time, I usually slice the bananas before freezing.

Banana bread is definitely not necessarily healthy. While it has bananas, it also has a lot of added sugar. It still makes a pretty good breakfast as well as a dessert.

You want about 3-6 overripe bananas for this recipe. That’s the other reason I love using frozen bananas – it’s not always easy to get that many overripe bananas when I want to do this. There are times when I buy bananas and for some reason my family ignores that whole bunch, but most of the time I only get one or two overripe bananas at a time. That’s not enough for this bread.

The exact number of bananas you’ll need for this recipe depends on how big the bananas are and how much banana flavor you want in the bread. Aim for about 2 cups of bananas after they’ve been mashed if you really need a measurement. I’ve gone as low as three bananas with good results.

overripe bananas

The chocolate chips in the banana bread aren’t strictly necessary, but they are good! You could also add nuts if you like. I don’t because one of my kids absolutely hates nuts. Not allergic, thank goodness, just doesn’t like them. The dried cranberries give a nice extra flavor to the bread that goes very well with the chocolate.

If I want to improve things just a little, I replace some of the regular flour with whole wheat flour. This doesn’t change the taste that much so long as it’s less than half the total flour, but I like to think that it’s a little bit healthier.

Start out by defrosting any bananas that need to be defrosted. This may take an hour or so. Flip the bananas over occasionally as they defrost – it goes more quickly that way.

When you’re ready to get started, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Peel all the bananas you’re using in the recipe and place in a bowl. Defrosted bananas will just kind of slide out of their peels. They’ll look unappetizing, but the taste is just fine. Mash the bananas and put aside.

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Stir gently to combine. No mixer yet unless you need a cloud of flour all over your kitchen.

In another bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla and mashed bananas and blend. Pour this mixture into the flour mixture.

Do not overmix this part. You just want to moisten the entire flour mixture. Stirring with a spoon or spatula may go better than using your mixer.

Add the chocolate chips and cranberries, and stir in with a spoon.

banana bread - add chocolate chips

Pour into a lightly greased loaf pan. Bake for 60-65 minutes in the oven. Check for doneness with a toothpick. It should come out clean… unless it hits a chocolate chip. Melted chocolate doesn’t mean the banana bread isn’t done, of course. Test the banana bread in a couple places if you aren’t sure that it’s done.

Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before moving the loaf to a wire rack to finish cooling. Or be lazy and serve the chocolate chip cranberry banana bread straight from the loaf pan.

Delicious Chocolate Chip Cranberry Banana Bread

Chocolate Chip Cranberry Banana Bread
Ingredients
  • 3-6 mashed, overripe bananas
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
  1. Defrost bananas if frozen. This should take about an hour if the bananas are still in the peels, less time if they are sliced.

  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F after bananas have defrosted.

  3. Peel and mash all bananas. Put aside.

  4. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

  5. Cream together brown sugar and butter. Mix in vanilla, eggs and mashed bananas. Blend well.

  6. Add banana mixture to flour mixture. Stir in until moistened. Add in chocolate chips and dried cranberries, and stir.

  7. Grease a loaf pan and pour in banana bread dough. Bake for 60-65 minutes in oven, or until a toothpick comes out clean after being inserted in the middle. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the loaf pan.

Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows With Peppermint

 

Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows With Peppermint

My husband loves to get peppermint candy canes for Christmas. He doesn’t usually eat them, but they’re the traditional type, and so he really wants them in the house. The only problem is that I’m not that fond of them, and neither are the kids. They’d rather have the various flavored candy canes. And so I have to find something to do with the peppermint ones. The first thing I decided to make with them this year was some chocolate dipped marshmallows with peppermint.

These are extremely easy to make. The marshmallow size doesn’t matter. I used giant ones because I had them on hand, but regular marshmallows would work fine too. Miniature marshmallows might be a bit tedious to use.

This would also work well with white chocolate. More of a peppermint in snow kind of look maybe as well. Personally, I like dark chocolate, so that’s where I went with this.

Unwrap the peppermint candy canes and place inside a ziploc bag. Crush them with a rolling pin or mallet. Don’t crush them too fine – you want small chunks, not just powder. Pour into a bowl.

crushed candy canes

Melt your chocolate and some coconut oil in the microwave, using 30 second increments. Stir between rounds until chocolate is smooth.

Dip one end of the marshmallows in the chocolate, then dip it into the crushed peppermint candy canes. I just did the tops and a little along the sides. You can dip the whole thing if you want, but I like the look of it this way.

dip marshmallows chocolate peppermint

Refrigerate for a half hour to an hour or until the chocolate has solidified.

The last few marshmallows probably won’t look as cute as the first ones, as you get more into the peppermint dust rather than the peppermint chunks. Don’t worry – they’ll still taste fine. If you’re going for presentation, give the ones that don’t look as good to the kids or eat them yourself. You know kids only care so much about how a treat looks, so long as it tastes good.

If you want to get a little extra fancy with the flavor, you can add some peppermint extract to the chocolate to intensify the whole peppermint flavor. This would make more of a peppermint bark on marshmallow kind of thing.

Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows With Peppermint

2.99 from 270 votes
Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows With Peppermint
Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows With Peppermint
Ingredients
  • 6 peppermint candy canes
  • 10 oz chocolate chips white, milk or dark
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 bag large marshmallows (you won't use all of them)
Instructions
  1. Cover baking sheet with parchment paper.

  2. Unwrap peppermint candy canes and place in ziplock bag. Lightly crush with a rolling pin or mallet. Pour into bowl.

  3. Combine chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl. Melt in 30 second increments. Stir between rounds until smooth.

  4. Dip marshmallows in chocolate, then in crushed peppermint candy canes. Place peppermint side down on parchment paper.

  5. Refrigerate until chocolate is solid.

Recipe Notes

It may help to let chocolate partially solidify before dipping the marshmallows in peppermint. Don't let it get too hard.

The Great Big List Of Wonderful Homemade Chocolate Treats For Christmas

The Great Big List Of Wonderful Homemade Chocolate Treats For Christmas

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. When else do I have such an acceptable excuse to make things with chocolate in them? Sure, people will accept chocolate treats at any time of year, but there’s extra enthusiasm when you make homemade chocolate treats for Christmas.

Homemade chocolate treats are popular at just about any holiday gathering. Desserts are always more fun to bring than side dishes. Get good at a special treat, and people will expect you to bring it.

They also make wonderful and inexpensive gifts. You can give homemade chocolate treats to family, friends, and neighbors who you don’t want to spend a lot on, but want to give them something.

Roundup Christmas Cookies

Cookies

Cookies are the classic homemade chocolate treat for Christmas. They’re probably why Santa is so fat. Hey, he has to blame something, and Mrs. Claus says it’s not her fault.

Cookies are lots of fun to make, especially when you get the whole family involved. Some of these recipes don’t even involve actual baking, which is great when you want to keep things simple.

No-Bake Eggless Chocolate Salami by All That’s Jas

Chocolate Ganache Filled Sugar Cookie Cups by Happy Deal – Happy Day!

Chocolate Covered Oreos – Christmas Version! by Happy Deal – Happy Day!

Kalter Hund by Allergy Girl Eats

OREO Cool Mint Cookie Balls Recipe by 3 Boys And A Dog

5 Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies by 3 Boys And A Dog

No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies by 3 Boys And A Dog

Brownie Mix Crackle Cookies by The Baking Fairy

Mini Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies by The Baking Fairy

Easy Low Carb Peanut Butter Chocolate No Bake Cookies Recipe by Wholesome Yum

Sugar-Free Low Carb Chocolate Chip Cookies by Wholesome Yum

Gingerbread Biscotti With Chocolate and Sea Salt by Savory Tooth

Oreo Peanut Butter Bars With Chocolate Chips by Savory Tooth

Chocolate Cherry Cookies by Creative Homemaking

Andes Mint Cookies by Creative Homemaking

Winter Wonderland Chocolate Dipped Oreos by The Monday Box

Double Dipped Chocolate Shortbread by The Monday Box

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies by The Monday Box

Very Chocolate Chanukah Gelt Cookies by The Monday Box

Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Cookie Cups by Who Needs A Cape?

Roundup Christmas Cakes

Cakes, Cupcakes, Brownies, And Muffins

I so love a good chocolate cake, and I don’t make nearly enough excuses to make them. The holiday season is a great time to bake a cake or cupcakes to serve to your guests.

Ooey Gooey Chocolate Cake Recipe by Happy Deal – Happy Day!

Gluten Free Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes by 3 Boys And A Dog

Chocolate Mint Oreo Cupcake Recipe by 3 Boys And A Dog

Peppermint Bark Layer Cake by The Baking Fairy

Chocolate Bundt Cake by Happy Foods Tube

Low Carb Paleo Keto Chocolate Mug Cake Recipe by Wholesome Yum

Double Chocolate Muffins by The Midlife Mamas

Chocolate Coconut Cake by Dinner at the Zoo

Chocolate Reese’s Peanut Butter Brownies by 3 Boys And A Dog

Chocolate Mint Brownies by My Organized Chaos

Roundup Christmas Fudge

Fudge

I love fudge. My stepmother is the one in our family who usually brings fudge to the party, so I haven’t experimented with it much myself. Homemade fudge is a great treat to bring for Christmas and other family gatherings.

Beer and Pretzels Fudge by Nomageddon

World’s Best & Easiest Chocolate Fudge! by Inspiring Savings

Easy Chocolate Christmas Fudge Recipe by Tweenhood

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge by Dinner at the Zoo

Rocky Road Fudge by Dinner at the Zoo

White Chocolate Fudge by My Organized Chaos

Roundup Christmas Candy

Candy

Chocolate candies are my own favorite homemade chocolate treats for Christmas. I especially enjoy making homemade truffles. I have a number of recipes I need to post here.

Chocolate candy is so much fun to make, and it always impresses people. Most people are used to having people bring cookies over for Christmas, not chocolates! They can cost a bit more than cookies to make, but a good truffle or other chocolate candy is soooo satisfying to make, give, and eat.

Crunchy Raspberry Chocolate Chunks by Gimme Chocolate

Homemade Pomegranate Truffles Recipe by Gimme Chocolate

Chocolate Popping Frogs by Gimme Chocolate

White Chocolate Bark by Aileen Cooks

Christmas Chocolate Bark With Coconut by Happy Foods Tube

Candy Cane Chocolate Bark by Drugstore Divas

5-Ingredient Sugar-Free Chocolate Nutella Truffles by Wholesome Yum

Oreo Truffles by Cincy Shopper

Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Bites Recipe by Ann’s Entitled Life

Caramel and Chocolate Pretzel Rods by Cincy Shopper

Chocolate Covered Cherries Recipe by Cincy Shopper

Coconut Truffles by Cincy Shopper

Peanut Butter Meltaways by Cincy Shopper

Crock Pot Candy by Dinner at the Zoo

Peanut Butter Lumps of Coal Recipe by Ann’s Entitled Life

Chocolate Cashew Clusters by Ann’s Entitled Life

Homemade Buckeyes by Joyfully Thriving

Peanut Cluster Candies by Joyfully Thriving

Custards And Puddings

One of the best parts about serving custards and puddings is figuring out how to present them. Putting them into individual containers or serving pudding as a part of a trifle can really bring out the delightfulness of this treat.

Paleo Pots De Creme With Orange Extracts by Noshtastic

Oreo Cookies Chocolate Trifle by Dancing Through The Rain

Pretzel Chocolate Pots by Slow The Cook Down

Drinks

Is it really Christmas if you don’t have hot chocolate around? Admittedly, in my area it’s often not cold enough to matter at Christmastime, but for many people, hot chocolate is the perfect way to warm up after coming in from the cold. It’s a great treat to serve guests.

Peppermint White Hot Chocolate Recipe by Centsable Momma

Spicy Hot Chocolate by A Cookie Named Desire

Tiramisu Hot Chocolate by A Cookie Named Desire

More Fun Homemade Chocolate Treats For Christmas

Some homemade chocolate treats really don’t fit into any of these categories, but they’re fun to share at Christmas anyhow.

Easy Chocolate Gluten-Free Tart With Caramel by Fearless Dining

Chocolate Fruit Dip by Dinner at the Zoo

Polar Bear Donuts by My Organized Chaos

Share Your Favorite Homemade Chocolate Treats For Christmas

What are your must-have homemade chocolate treats for Christmas? Anyone care to share?

Nutty Frozen Yogurt Bark

Nutty Frozen Yogurt Bark

I love it when I can add chocolate to healthy treats. It makes them a little more fun, and it doesn’t take a lot of chocolate to add a lot of flavor. This nutty frozen yogurt bark makes a great snack for kids and adults.

This is also easy to adapt to the tastes of various children. It makes a healthier after school snack than many other things do. My kids like them even when the weather turns cool. Kids and frozen treats – they just go together.

This is a wonderful way to keep your snacking healthier too. I like my trail mix with dried cranberries, so that’s the one I chose at the store. It’s nice having snacks around that are good for me, rather than all those so-tempting unhealthy snacks.

This is one of those fun recipes where exact measurements don’t matter. A little extra of this, a little less of that – it pretty much all works.

I love recipes like that. They’re fun to play with.

Start out by lining a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine Greek yogurt with some honey in a bowl. Stir well. You can use plain Greek yogurt and skip the honey if you want, but most people will want the added sweetness. You can also stir some of the nuts into the yogurt now if you like. I just spread them across the top.

You can use regular plain yogurt rather than Greek if you want, but I think the Greek yogurt gives a better flavor.

Spread the yogurt across the parchment paper in an even layer.

spread Greek yogurt

Sprinkle trail mix and chocolate chips across the top. Lightly press into the yogurt.

spread trail mix

Freeze for two hours, then break into pieces. You can use a knife if you like, but it’s easier to break up the pieces by hand.

break up yogurt bark

Keep frozen until ready to eat. These melt very quickly.

trail mix frozen yogurt bark

4.53 from 269 votes
trail mix frozen yogurt bark
Nutty Frozen Yogurt Bark
Ingredients
  • 2 cups plain Greek yogurt
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1/2 cup trail mix
  • 1 tbsp chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  2. Combine Greek yogurt and honey in a bowl. Mix well, then spread evenly across the parchment paper on the baking sheet.

  3. Sprinkle the trail mix and chocolate chips across the yogurt. Press lightly into the yogurt.

  4. Freeze for two hours.

  5. Break frozen yogurt bark into appropriately sized pieces. You can use a knife or do it by hand.

  6. Keep bark in freezer until ready to serve. It will melt quickly outside the freezer.

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Banana Ice Cream

Raspberry chocolate chip banana ice cream

The excuse to make banana ice cream is one of the few good things about bananas getting on the old side. You can make it just fine with fresh banana, but old ones need to get used up. Something that tastes like ice cream, yet is almost entirely made of fruit makes a pretty amazing treat. After looking in the fridge, I decided that this batch of bananas would be made into raspberry chocolate chip banana ice cream.

I have been fortunate enough lately to find fresh raspberries at my local dollar store. Those little containers that cost a couple bucks most of the time at the regular grocery store are only $1 at the dollar store. The one by me carries lots of produce, and it’s usually a better price than what you’d pay at the grocery store. Most of the time it’s plenty fresh. I’ve seen the occasional exception, sadly, but in general, they’re very good about their produce.

I love getting berries there. My kids gobble them up. It’s nice being able to give them a healthy treat at a good price.

We get some unusual berries there too. We tried kiwiberries from there one time. They do in fact look like miniature kiwifruits without the fuzz. They’re a little more tart too. Overall, I’ll stick with regular kiwifruits because you get more for your money.

Back to the raspberry chocolate chip banana ice cream.

We’ve had a really warm fall, and my youngest was complaining that she wanted ice cream. I wasn’t in the mood to go to the store, but we had four bananas sitting out and getting on the old side. One of me, three kids… sounded about right.

We sliced up the bananas and spread them out on the cutting board to go into the freezer. Took them out a couple hours later and threw them into my Vitamix.

Now, I’ve made banana ice cream in my dinky food processor before, and I have to say that I like that method better overall. I used my Vitamix this time because my food processor is really, really small, and can only work on about a banana at a time. That’s no good when you have kids wanting their treats now. So I used the Vitamix.

bananas in blender

I prefer the food processor because it’s easier to pulse it. Banana ice cream is hard on a blender. You can do it, but you have to make sure to pulse the blender. Turning the Vitamix on and off isn’t that much harder than pulsing a blender, but it’s just a little annoying to me. It was also a lot harder to get all the bananas into the mix. I think that’s a volume problem.

The blended bananas have to be knocked down a lot when you’re mixing a bunch of them. By the time I was ready to add in the raspberries, I decided to finish the job off by hand.

This turned out to be a really good idea. I put the banana ice cream into a plastic container, then added the fresh raspberries and chocolate chips. No need to freeze the raspberries first – I wanted them to break up just a little.

mix in raspberries

This worked out beautifully. The raspberries broke up just enough and froze as I mixed. The chocolate chips behaved like chocolate chips. The mix looked beautiful.

The real test, of course, was the kids. Me too, I suppose, but kids can be picky.

My older two loved the ice cream. They want to make this again and again.

My youngest, the one who was begging for ice cream? Hated it. She loves bananas. She loves raspberries. She loves chocolate. And she’s just contrary enough to not like the combination. That’s kids for you. Raspberry chocolate chip banana ice cream was decidedly not to her taste. She took a few bites, then gave the rest to her sister.

I’ll gladly make this again sometime regardless of one child’s opinion. I thought it was wonderful.

Raspberry chocolate chip banana ice cream

3.11 from 2606 votes
Raspberry chocolate chip banana ice cream
Raspberry Chocolate Chip Banana Ice Cream
Ingredients
  • 1 banana
  • 1 handful fresh raspberries
  • 1-2 tbsp chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Peel and slice bananas, one per serving. Spread slices out on cutting board and place in freezer for at least 2-3 hours.

  2. Remove frozen bananas from freezer. Pour into food processor. Pulse food processor until banana ice cream is smooth. You may need to knock it down off the sides regularly.

  3. Remove banana ice cream from food processor and place in a container with enough room for mixing.

  4. Add raspberries and chocolate chips. These measurements aren't precise. Throw in what looks good to you.

  5. Mix with a spoon thoroughly. Be a little gentle so that you don't completely break up the raspberries. They should break up some but not entirely.

  6. Serve immediately. This will not go well if you put the raspberry chocolate chip banana ice cream back into the freezer.

 

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are 'affiliate links.' This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission.

Chocolate Mint Banana Ice Cream

Chocolate mint banana ice cream

I love making banana “ice cream.” The basic sort is nothing but a pureed frozen banana, and it is so good and healthy. It’s even more fun adding flavors to make it taste like other ice creams. Chocolate mint banana ice cream is utterly delightful.

It’s easy to keep the supplies to make chocolate mint banana ice cream on hand. Any time bananas get close to overripe, I chop them up and spread them out on a plastic cutting board. They then go into the freezer for a couple hours. After that, they can be bagged up and kept until someone either snacks on them or I make them into banana ice cream.

sliced bananas

If the banana chunks have been frozen for more than a day, they make better ice cream if you give them about five minutes to slightly defrost first. It will become smooth more quickly this way. Not that you’ll mind much if the ice cream isn’t perfectly smooth – it’s good either way.

I use about the equivalent of one to one and a half frozen bananas per serving. When the bananas are frozen in batches it’s hard to be precise. Fortunately, recipes like this don’t require precision.

We grow chocolate mint in our garden. It’s a bit more fun than regular mint, with its hint of chocolate. It’s nice having it available when a treat needs a little mint flavor. Fresh mint can be pretty powerful, but that’s part of the fun. I used about a tablespoon of them. You can use more or less, depending on your taste. I love the look of the mint blended into the bananas.

chocolate mint leaves

If you don’t have fresh mint, peppermint extract can be used as well, but be very careful. That stuff is powerful! For a single banana, you would be best off adding it just a couple drops at a time.

I used about a tablespoon of 63% cacao chocolate chips. Whatever chocolate you have around the house will be good.

bananas chocolate chips

Bananas are sweet enough that you shouldn’t need any further sweetener. That’s one of the things I love about banana ice cream. It’s as healthy as you care to make it. Do it right, and it’s pretty amazing.

Put the bananas and mint into your food processor or blender. I used my tiny food processor because I wanted to do just one banana. I would need to do at least two bananas for this to work well in my blender – larger containers need something more to work with.

Pulsing the food processor works best. You will need to take the lid off frequently and knock the bits of banana back down to the blades. They want to escape. It will take a few minutes for the frozen bananas to start to turn smooth.

You can add the chocolate chips at the start or as you get close to done blending the bananas and mint. I like them broken into smaller pieces, but not pureed into the mixture. In my tiny food processor, that’s at the start, but later on in the blender.

blended bananas mint chocolate

Serve immediately. I don’t recommend putting this back into the freezer. It won’t end well that way. I love the way this looks. There are little flecks of mint leaf throughout.

chocolate mint banana ice cream

3.15 from 2509 votes
chocolate mint banana ice cream
Chocolate Mint Banana Ice Cream
Ingredients
  • 1 banana, sliced and frozen
  • 1 tbsp chocolate mint or to taste
  • 1 tbsp chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Slice banana. Spread out slices and freeze for at least 2-3 hours on a flat surface.

  2. Place banana slices and mint into food processor or blender. Pulse several times to start pureeing the bananas. Knock the mixture down frequently to keep the mix in reach of the blades. It will take a few minutes for the mixture to start to turn smooth.

  3. Add chocolate chips and pulse a few more times to break them up a little. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

Ingredients are per serving.

Spooky Chocolate Treats To Make For Halloween

Spooky chocolate treats to make for Halloween

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. You have every excuse to indulge in some candy at Halloween. My focus, of course, is on things I can do with chocolate. But why limit yourself to what comes home in the trick or treat bags, when there are so many great ideas for fun and spooky chocolate treats out there.

I’ve shared a few ideas here. Just to remind you, they’re:

Mint Chocolate Monster Milkshake

Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Monsters

Eye Scream Sundae

Chocolate Popping Frogs – Strictly speaking, I don’t make these guys for Halloween. I make them because my kids love Harry Potter, which makes chocolate popping frogs an awesome idea. But they work very well for Halloween too.

I have so many more ideas, but not enough time to do them before Halloween. They’ll have to wait until next year. For now, I’d like to share some ideas I’ve found across the internet.

Cookies and Brownies

Halloween cookies are a tradition for many families. They’re easy to make, and a few simple add-ins make them perfect for Halloween.

Halloween Spider Cookies

Halloween Witch Hat Treats

Halloween Brownie Bites

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies – not scary, but they look good.

Chocolate Dipped Treats

When you don’t have time to bake, dipping pretzels or fruit in chocolate may be easier. You can get pretty fancy if you want, but many of these look super easy.

Halloween Pretzels

Chocolate Pear Ghosts

Halloween Chocolate Apples

Monster Munch – this one isn’t so much chocolate dipped as it is chocolate coated, but near enough. Variations to suit whatever you have on hand should be easy enough.

Pudding

Witches Brew Pudding

Graveyard Dirt Cups

Candy and Fudge

Halloween Fudge

Oreo Bat Truffles

Cakes

Spider Web Cupcakes

Halloween Kitty S’more Trifles

I hope these ideas get you going to have a little fun making spooky chocolate treats for your family this Halloween. It’s so much fun surprising everyone with an unexpected treat. Other times it’s more fun making them together. Get creative with your use of ingredients and see how you can change these up for your family.

Mint Chocolate Monster Milkshake

Mint Chocolate Monster Milkshake

Milkshakes are a lot of fun to make, and so easy! The trend right now is absurdly huge milkshakes, with so much other stuff on them that it’s hard to eat the whole thing. Fun, if really, really unhealthy. My mint chocolate monster milkshake doesn’t have as many extras on it as some do, but it’s still fun.

One of the great things to remember about these milkshakes is that you can always make them smaller. Use a small cup, and you can have the fun without so much excess. It also means better portions for kids.

But if you need the whole thing once in a while, go for it. Nothing wrong with indulging yourself occasionally.

These milkshakes have chocolate sauce in the cup and chocolate around the rim to hold some candy decorations. A cookie with a gummy eye on it gives it a little bit of a monster look. If your shake is thick enough, this will sit nicely on top.

Start out by freezing the glasses you want to use for your milkshakes. This will make decorating them easier later on.

Melt chocolate in a bowl big enough to dip the tops of the glasses in. Use 30 second increments in the microwave, and stir between rounds. Allow chocolate to cool but not solidify before dipping glasses in the chocolate. You don’t want to shock the frozen glass and make it crack. Add any decorations to the edges of the glasses before the chocolate solidifies, and return to the freezer. Sprinkles are easiest – pour them into a bowl and dip the top of the cup. I chose some Halloween candies, which was a bit more work but I like how they look.

Take one cookie for each shake you plan on making and put a dab of chocolate on top. Place a gummy eye on the chocolate. Refrigerate the cookies to solidify the chocolate.

Defrost your ice cream for about 10 minutes. This makes it easier to blend with less milk. You’ll get a thicker shake this way.

I used mint chocolate ice cream. You can use any flavor, of course. Vanilla is the most common, and then you can add in flavors for whatever you want it to be. I chose mint chocolate because blending it gives a kind of murky green-brown color that I felt was a good choice for a monster milkshake. I also love the flavor.

You want about a quarter cup of milk for every three scoops of ice cream. If it’s not blending well, you can add more milk, but too much milk will make the shake runny. Add in any flavors you want. Blend until smooth.

ice cream in blender

Prepare the glasses. Remove them from the freezer and drip chocolate sauce around the inside.

decorated glass

Pour the milkshake into glasses. If you’re putting the cookie on top, the monster milkshake will need to be very close to the rim. Serve immediately.

monster milkshake

Mint Chocolate Monster Milkshake
Ingredients
  • 3 scoops chocolate mint ice cream or any other flavor
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • chocolate syrup
  • 1 cookie
  • 1 gummy eye
Instructions
  1. Please note that ingredients are per serving. Ice cream and milk are approximate - just how big do you want the shakes to be?

  2. Freeze serving glasses.

  3. Melt chocolate in a bowl big enough to dip the tops of the glasses in. Use 30 second increments in the microwave, stirring between rounds until smooth. Allow to cool but not solidify. You do not want to shock the frozen glasses, as they could crack if the temperature difference is too great.

  4. Dip tops of cups in melted chocolate.

  5. Dip tops of cups in sprinkles or add small candies by hand. Return glasses to freezer.

  6. Place a dollop of chocolate on the cookie. Put gummy eye on top of the chocolate. Refrigerate to solidify the chocolate.

  7. Defrost ice cream for about 10 minutes to soften.

  8. Scoop ice cream into blender. Add milk and any other desired flavors. Blend until smooth.

  9. Remove glasses from freezer and drizzle chocolate sauce along the insides.

  10. Pour milkshake into glass. Stand cookie at the top of the glass. Serve.

Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Monsters

chocolate covered marshmallow monsters

Kids love marshmallows. They especially love giant marshmallows, which is why I chose giant marshmallows for this Halloween treat. The size also goes better with the gummy eyes I used to make my chocolate covered marshmallow monsters.

marshmallows and eyes

These are easy and fun to make. You can use just about any small topping to make the monsters look interesting. I used Nerds and Pop Rocks for these, along with a little candy corn for decorations. The ones made with Pop Rocks have to be eaten fairly quickly – the Pop Rocks will lose their pop and get soggy after several hours.

Cake sprinkles would work well too. Sugar sprinkles don’t work too well, as they soak quickly into the chocolate. If the chocolate is close to solid they may work out better.

Lightly crushed pretzels are another option I considered but didn’t try. I think the bit of salt would go well with all the sweet this treat has.

You could also use colored candy melts rather than chocolate to give your monsters an interesting color. I prefer chocolate, so I didn’t.

I make these over a baking sheet for easy cleanup. It keeps most of the drips off the counter. When I’m done, the whole mess can be cleaned in the sink. It’s much faster than scrubbing countertops.

When you’re dipping the marshmallows, it’s easiest to have them on a popsicle stick. You can keep them on the stick for serving as well if you like. Dip the marshmallow into your melted chocolate. Use a spoon to pour a little chocolate around any areas that don’t go all the way in. I left the bottoms undipped – just a style choice.

dipped marshmallow

It took some work to figure out how to let these dry for a little before dipping into the toppings. If you dip the marshmallows into the topping when the chocolate is too melty, everything drips off.

I placed a bowl on my baking sheet, and used it to balance the freshly dipped marshmallows, with the popsicle sticks against the edge of the baking sheet. You can’t fit a lot of them using this method, but you can get a few. If the sticks won’t stay down, a bag clip attached to the baking sheet above the stick will help.

balanced marshmallows

Refrigerate the freshly dipped marshmallows for just a few minutes before rolling in the toppings. You don’t want the chocolate to completely solidify, but you want it solid enough to hold the toppings well. 2-5 minutes, depending on how warm your chocolate is, should be plenty. Carry the baking sheet carefully, or the marshmallows will fall over. No big deal, just prop them up again.

Pour your chosen toppings into a bowl, and roll the chocolate coated marshmallows in them. Coat them completely, but leave a bit of space for the eye or eyes.

If you cover the space where the eyes with toppings, take a clean popsicle stick and move them out of the way. Add a little chocolate if necessary before placing the eye.

clear space for eye

You will probably need to lay the chocolate covered marshmallow monster down on its back after adding the eye, so it doesn’t fall off. Depending on the toppings, you may get a slight flat spot back there, but it’s usually not too bad.

monsters on sticks

To add candy corn decorations or anything else that sticks out, stab the appropriate spot with a skewer or butter knife, then stick the item in.

Refrigerate your chocolate covered marshmallow monsters until solid. Give at least 20 minutes to an hour.

At this point you can remove the popsicle stick if you want to display the monsters sitting up. Then again, kids may like them better on a stick – food tastes better on a stick, right? These probably won’t last long either way once the kids see them.

chocolate covered monsters

4.46 from 357 votes
chocolate covered monsters
Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Monsters
Ingredients
  • 10 oz chocolate chips
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 bag giant marshmallows you won't use all of these
  • popsicle sticks
  • assorted toppings Nerds, sprinkles, etc.
  • 1 package gummy or candy eyes
Instructions
  1. Place chocolate chips and coconut oil in microwave safe bowl. Melt in 30 second increments, stirring between rounds.

  2. Place giant marshmallows on popsicle sticks.

  3. Dip marshmallows into chocolate. Use a spoon to pour chocolate over the marshmallow if the chocolate is not deep enough.

  4. Balance dipped marshmallows and give time for chocolate to partially solidify. This will help the toppings stay on. Refrigerate for 2-5 minutes to speed this up.

  5. Roll dipped marshmallows in selected toppings. Lay the marshmallow flat.

  6. Clear a space for the candy eye or eyes, then place eye. The marshmallow will need to remain flat so that the eye does not fall off as the chocolate solidifies.

  7. Cool finished marshmallows for at least 20 minutes or until the chocolate has completely solidified.

  8. Remove popsicle sticks if you want to stand the chocolate covered marshmallow monsters up, or keep on sticks if you want to serve them lollipop style. Kids won't care.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are 'affiliate links.' This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission.

Eye Scream Sundae

eye scream sundae

Blood… blood everywhere. And those eyes. Awful, awful eyes!

Wait, nope, that’s not it. It’s an eye scream sundae. A silly little dessert for Halloween or any other time you want dessert to look just a little bit disturbing. It may well be greeted with screams of delight.

Crushed raspberries make delicious and lumpy fake blood. Homemade chocolate shell, like the Magic Shell you can buy at the store, holds the eyes in place. Delicious ice cream to make the whole thing worthwhile.

I used store bought ice cream because it’s so much easier. Pick a flavor that will taste good with the raspberries, but otherwise it’s up to your preferences. I chose Dreyer’s Double Fudge Brownie this time because chocolate and more chocolate.

I chose gummy eyes because the local dollar store has them out for Halloween. They’re on the large side, but delicious if you like gummy candy. You could also use the little Wilton eyes if you can’t find gummy ones anywhere. Use a bunch and you could make a great monster.

It’s easy to make this for one or for several. I’m giving directions for one, but measurements really aren’t that precise. It’s an Eye Scream Sundae. Have fun with it and don’t worry about precision.

Eye Scream Sundae Instructions

Prepare your homemade chocolate shell. Melt about a quarter cup of chocolate chips with about a teaspoon of coconut oil in the microwave in 30 second increments. Stir between rounds. When the mix is smooth from stirring, it’s ready. Put aside.

Place a quarter cup, more or less, of raspberries into a small bowl. Mash with a spoon. You want them well smashed, but still a little lumpy. The grosser they look, the better.

crushed raspberries

Slice a banana in half across the middle, then lengthwise for each part. Slice each quarter in half lengthwise. These are for decorative spikes.

banana spikes

Stack two scoops of ice cream into your dish. A little height works nicely to give you room to work.

Stick the banana spikes around the ice cream. Be careful – they may break easily. Tuck any broken ones in the back or come up with a fun placement for them. A spike in the “head” might work out, but I didn’t try that one.

ice cream and banana spikes

Pour chocolate shell all over the ice cream. Place gummy eyes onto the chocolate shell and hold in place 15-30 seconds so the shell solidifies and holds the eyes in place.

Pour the crushed raspberries all over your poor victim… ice cream. I meant to say ice cream. Serve.

eye scream sundae

3.14 from 234 votes
eye scream sundae
Eye Scream Sundae
Servings: 1 person
Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup chocolate shell see below
  • 1/4 cup fresh raspberries
  • 1 banana
  • 2 scoops ice cream
  • 2 gummy eyes
Homemade Chocolate Shell Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 tsp coconut oil
Instructions
  1. Place raspberries in a small bowl. Use a spoon to smash them until they are well smashed but somewhat lumpy. Gross is good.

  2. Slice the banana in half across the middle as well as lengthwise. Slice each quarter into halves lengthwise to form spikes.

  3. Place two scoops of ice cream into serving dish, one scoop on top of the other.

  4. Place banana "spikes" decoratively around the ice cream. Have fun with it.

  5. Pour chocolate shell all over ice cream.

  6. Quickly stick gummy eyes into chocolate shell, before it hardens. Hold in place for 15-30 seconds so that the shell hardens and holds the eyes in place.

  7. Pour crushed raspberry "blood" all over your creation. Serve.

Homemade Chocolate Shell
  1. Place chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl.

  2. Microwave in 30 second increments until chocolate is completely melted, stirring between rounds. Add more coconut oil if you find the mix is too thick.

 

Disclosure: Gimme Chocolate is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. I also review or mention products for which I may receive compensation from other sources. All opinions are my own.

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