Banana Bread Balls

YES !!

 Am I the last person to find out about these cake ball things?!? I brought this up with Dahn and some other folks yesterday and everyone seemed very blase' about the whole subject - when I was "LOOK AT WHAT PEOPLE ARE DOING!"

 Could very well just be carb deficiency. 

So, anyway. I think these are just beyond perfect for a day time tailgate. Photos and recipe from the VanillaKitchenBlog ( she is very protective of her pics )

BANANA BREAD BALLS

I used one of my favorite banana breads:

 Mama Dips’ Banana Bread.

 Feel free to use whatever banan bread recipe you prefer. ( If and when I make these I will be using Wegman's Pre Made Banana Bread )

•  1/2 cup shortening 
• 1 cup sugar 
• 2 eggs
•  1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 medium; the browner, the better!) 
• 3 TB sour cream 
• 1 TB lemon juice 
• 2 cups flour
•  1 1/2 ts baking powder
•  1/2 ts salt
•  1/2 ts baking soda 

In bowl of stand mixer, cream shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time; then bananas, sour cream, and lemon juice. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Slowly add dry ingredients to mixture. Pour into greased and floured 9x5x3 loaf pan. Bake for 60 minutes. Once bread is cooled. Crumble it up in a large bowl until you have crumbs—no large chunks should be remaining.

•  8 ounces of cream cheese, room temp 
• 2 cups +/- of milk chocolate chips (for dipping) 
• 1 cup of crushed walnuts or pecans, optional Preheat oven to 350 degrees 

 Add in the softened cream cheese. Mix well. I used my hands to mix this really well. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let set up, harden.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Scoop out 1 or 2 inch balls, roll into fairly uniform balls. If using a medium size ice cream scoop makes it easier then go ahead. Remember you don’t want balls any larger than 2 inches. Once all balls are done, place in fridge to chill.
 Temper milk or dark chocolate. I used about 2+ cups of milk chocolate chips. You might need a bit more. Once chocolate is tempered, using a plastic fork or chopsticks, dip balls into chocolate and place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle the balls with the chopped nuts while chocolate is still soft. It takes a while for the chocolate to harden or you can place them in the fridge to speed up the process. They keep covered in air tight container in the fridge for about 3 days.
Should make about 25 balls; dependent on the size you roll them.