The 4-Ingredient Gooey Dessert You Can Bake With Leftover Bananas

Whenever you have bananas you don't know how to use up, banana bread seems to be the go-to recipe to avoid waste. While it is delicious, if you're tired of having to make the loaf every time you have leftover bananas, there's a luscious dessert you can make in a matter of minutes — and it only uses four simple ingredients.

The sweet, decadent flavor of chunky monkey has been the focal point of a number of ice cream sundaes, but what if it was simplified and turned into a warm, gooey treat? All you need is bananas, chocolate, an egg, and a pack of crescent rolls to make your very own chunky monkey croissant.

After taking the banana out of the peel, scoop the center out with a spoon. You won't be needing it for the rest of the recipe, so feel free to use it for overnight oats or toss it into a banana matcha smoothie. Line the empty space with chocolate chips or chopped up chocolate bars then bring out the crescent dough. Roll it out until it's thin then wrap them around the bananas. Brush the tops of the dessert with egg yolk and stick it in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake them for 15 minutes or until the crescent dough is golden brown.

The combination of banana and chocolate is perfect for a last-minute dessert, but if you have extra time or ingredients to spare, you can always spruce up the chunky monkey croissants. Instead of using just one type of chocolate to line the bananas with, use a combination of white and dark chocolate, or go for candy bars with fillings, such as coconut or almonds. If you have leftover chocolate, melt it while the treats are in the oven to drizzle them on top once they're out. After drizzling the chocolate on top, sprinkle coconut flakes, sea salt, or chopped nuts onto the croissants.

If you're really looking to spice things up, add more than just chocolate to the bananas before wrapping it up in the crescent dough. In the oven, the mildly sweet, yellow fruit will turn golden brown and caramelized, so cover it in spices that will complement its new taste. A dash of cinnamon sugar, chili powder, ginger powder, or ground nutmeg will give the fruit a cozy, warm heat while also elevating the chocolate. To get the spices to adhere to the banana, brush it with brown butter beforehand.

To infuse the treat with a classic banana pudding flavor, crush vanilla wafers and mix it with chocolate syrup before adding the mixture to the hollowed-out bananas. Once the treat is baked, place it on top of some warm vanilla pudding and finish it with whipped cream.