Banana Ice Cream with Chocolate Pecans

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I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream to make ice cream that doesn't require an ice cream maker. Not only does this recipe not depend on any fancy equipment, but you won't feel guilty eating this reduced sugar treat. The sweetness comes from the bananas!

I adapted this recipe from Joanne Chang. Yes, I write about her a lot. No, I am not stalking her. Joanne Chang's  last cookbook,  Baking With Less Sugar is filled with wonderful low sugar recipes, including this banana ice cream.

When it comes to most recipes that I find, I can't leave well enough alone. Something always changes and in this case I added chocolate covered pecans. Bananas, chocolate, and pecans are good friends and my kids go nuts for this combination.

CHOCOLATE COVERED PECANS:

1/4 cup of bittersweet chocolate, melted

1/2 cup pecans, toasted and roughly chopped

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Toast the pecans in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

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Melt the chocolate over a double boiler.

Give the pecans a rough chop and mix them into the melted chocolate. Pour the nuts onto a sheet of parchment paper and let cool completely. Give it another good rough chop once the chocolate has hardened.

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BANANA ICE CREAM:

6 ripe bananas, peeled and frozen

1/2 cup of heavy cream

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt

Pinch of cinnamon

Pull out the blender and cut up the frozen bananas into small pieces.

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Add the bananas, cream and vanilla to the blender and turn it on high speed until smooth. Pour in the salt and cinnamon and blend again.

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Pour half of the ice cream into a container and top with half of the chocolate pecans. Top the pecans with more ice cream and more chocolate pecans. You could eat this now or store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. When ready to eat from the freezer, let the ice cream soften for about 10 minutes on the counter top. This recipe will make about 1 quart of ice cream.

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NUTRITION INFORMATION

Banana Ice Cream with the Chocolate Pecans about 8-1/2 cup servings

Calories: 184

Carbohydrates: 20g

Fat: 11g

Portien: 2g

Sodium: 41mg

Sugar: 11g

Banana Ice Cream without the Chocolate Pecans about 8-1/2 cup servings

Calories: 127

Carbohydrates: 18g

Fat: 5g

Portien: 1g

Sodium: 41mg

Sugar: 10g