I didn't want to toss them I mean I bought them beacuse they are good for me and I am supposed to be eating fruits right? Right, but wasn't sure what to make with them. After a little research I though I would try to make banana chips.They seem like the perfect thing to try and a healthier alternative to the potato chips and oreo brownies staring at me. I read a few recipes and how to's online but no one recipe seemed just right or was exactly what I was looking for so I made up my own as I went adding pieces from everything I had read.
I started by peeling and slicing my bananas pretty thin and laying them out on a paper plate.
I didn't want them to turn brown while I was cutting up the rest of them so I lightly coated them in some fresh lemon juice.
Now I was wanting something sweet that I could snack on so I decided to make a simple syrup to put on them. Recipe as follows.
• 1/4 cups water
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• a pinch of ground cinnamon
• and 1 1/2 Tbs sugar
Mix all ingredients together in a small skillet on med/med-hi heat until sugar is dissolved and the mixture has come to a slight simmer . Them remove from heat and set aside. This make a small amount but it was more than enough for two bananas.
Next I took a 9x13 baking dish and very very lightly drizzled some Extra virgin olive oil into it. Now you can use a cookie sheet but mine tends to burn the bottom of things and my baking dish is new and therefore the non-stick coating works better :)
I then laid out all my banana slices in the baking dish in a single layer as close together as I could without allowing them to touch and took the simple syrup and drizzled it on top of them. I used the back of the spoon to make sure they were completely coated.
Now most place that I looked up said to cook the bananas at 200 degrees for about an hour in a half. Well when I checked on my bananas after an hour they still looked an felt like the fresh bananas I had put in the oven, so even though your apparently not supposed to I turned up the heat to 250 degrees. After another 45 mins I was much more happy with the results I was getting. They were starting to dehydrate some and turning a very light golden brown so I decided it was time to flip them over.
I put the rest of the syrup on the other side of them and put them back in the oven. After another 45 mins they were a deep golden brow and only slightly pliable in the very center. I then let them dry and cool for about 30-45 mins and this was the result.
Delicious sweet golden banana chips . I must say that I absolutely love these !!!!! They are sweet and crunchy with just a slight chew to them. They are the best snacking food . Bananas will never go to waste again in this house. I will probably double or triple the recipe next time as all the ones I made today are just about gone :) Layla loves them as well which I am thrilled about because I have a hard time getting her to eat bananas. Over all I am very very pleased with the finished chips.
