Marshmallow & Banana Penguins

“I’m a little penguin in the snow.

I slide on my tummy to and fro.

I eat up all the fish in the deep blue sea.

I’m as black and white as you can be!”

If you’ve been keeping up with us the past couple of weeks, you know that we’ve been celebrating all things winter! We’ve been reading all sorts of snow-filled winter stories, crafting a variety of winter-themed decorations to hang up in our house, exploring wintry sensory bins, and playing outside in the snow (when it decides to grace us with its presence). But something was missing. We had yet to whip up a tasty treat to help us celebrate this snowy season. So…we made a batch of these adorable and delicious Marshmallow & Banana Penguins!

I mean, seriously…how cute are these little guys? They are almost too cute to eat…almost. 🙂 Our little nugget flipped for these wintry treats and gobbled down two, all while smiling from ear to ear. She then exclaimed, “Yummy, yummy in my tummy!” Needless to say…I think they’re a hit!

I came across the idea for these Marshmallow Penguins over on Eats Amazing! While marshmallows and chocolate are always a hit in this household, I also wanted to attempt the (slightly) healthier Banana Penguins (after coming across an abundance of photos on Pinterest).

Ingredients:

Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers (or chocolate chips)
Marshmallows
Bananas (cut into thirds)
M&M’s (yellow and orange)
Candy Eyeballs

Instructions:

Cover a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper, and set aside.
Setup a double boiler (I just use a medium-sized pot, and a heat-safe bowl that sits on top). Fill the pot approximately 1/4-full with water and place on the stove top. Place the bowl on top of the open pot, and add the dark chocolate melting wafers to the bowl. Note: You can also melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, heating in the microwave for 30-seconds at a time, until the chocolate has melted. I much prefer the double boiler method to melting chocolate…the chocolate melts more evenly, is a lot harder to burn, and is less likely to discolor once it hardens.
If using the double boiler method (as suggested) place the double boiler over medium-low to low heat, stirring frequently until all of the chocolate wafers have melted. Turn the burner off.
Working with one marshmallow (or banana chunk) at a time, slowly dunk the top and back of each marshmallow (or banana) into the melted chocolate. Shake gently to remove any excess chocolate, before carefully placing upright on the parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining marshmallows/bananas.
Once all of the marshmallows/bananas are coated in chocolate, transfer the cookie sheet to the refrigerator, until the chocolate hardens (approximately 15 minutes).
In the meantime, carefully cut each of the M&M candies in half, using a very sharp knife.
If you’re bowl of chocolate has begun to harden, turn the burner on low again to re-melt the chocolate.
Remove the marshmallows/bananas from the refrigerator.
Next, you want to attach the candy eyes and beaks (and feet, for the banana penguins) by placing a little drop of the melted chocolate underneath each of these components. I found that a small medicine applicator (as used with infant Advil) worked perfectly. Suck some melted chocolate up into the applicator, apply a small dot onto the marshmallow/banana and gently place a candy eyeball on top of the dot of chocolate. Repeat for the other eye, then dab a bit of chocolate between the two eyes and stick on the beak. For the banana penguins, apply a small line of chocolate to the base of the bananas and stick on two orange M&M halves, for the feet.
Once all of your penguins have eyes, beaks (and feet, if necessary) place the cookie sheet back into the refrigerator for another 15 minutes.
Enjoy!

The banana penguins should ideally be consumed the day they are made. If you’ve made a bunch and want them to keep, you can store them in the freezer. The marshmallow penguins can be stored in an airtight container (or Ziploc bag).