Baked Banana Spring Rolls #12WksXmasTreats

If your family is anything like mine, you always have a surplus of steadily blackening bananas on your counter. We mean well, for sure, but we always buy so much fruit (between our weekly shopping trips and my stepdad's Costco habit) that we just can't eat it all in time.

Thankfully, we are also a family who loves bananas in pretty much any form - and with the number of people we have visiting over the holidays it just seemed natural to take some of the "far gone" bananas and make a few nibbles for the ravenous crew that would freeze well and bake up in a flash. I was inspired by one of my Home Ec units on dumplings, where we made the previous hit Pan-Fried Vegetable Wontons. While shopping for those ingredients, I came across a pack of frozen spring roll wrappers and was instantly convinced I needed to try something sweet with those!

I settled on a sesame-kissed banana filling for these "cigars", adding Muscovado sugar for a hint of molasses and the right balance of rich flavour when combined with the wafer thin, crisp spring roll wraps. I'm loath to deep fry anything, more so out of fear than health (but hey, healthy treats over the holidays are key too!), so I opted to bake them - effectively keeping the whole recipe 99% fat free! While I served a couple with just a whisper of cinnamon sugar dusted on top, I have some chocolate-dipped plans for the rest - who could resist?

Shared with 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats at Meal Planning Magic

Baked Banana Spring Rolls
Makes 50

5 very ripe bananas, mashed
½ cup Muscovado (or dark brown) sugar
1 ¼ tsp cinnamon
⅓ cup +1 tbsp tapioca starch
3 tbsp + 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
50 spring roll wrappers
Canola oil spray or melted butter, for brushing

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a saucepan, mix together the bananas, brown sugar, cinnamon, and starch.
3. Place the pot over medium heat and cook, stirring, until the mixture is thick.
4. Remove from the heat and stir in the sesame seeds. Let cool to room temperature.
5. Lay an egg roll wrapper on a clean surface and brush the edges with water.
6. Spoon a line of the banana mixture along one third of the wrapper, leaving a space at either end.
7. Roll the egg roll wrapper around the banana, fold in the corners, and continue rolling the rest of the way (like a burrito). 
8. Press the edges of the wrapper lightly to seal.
9. Place on the cookie sheet.
10. Repeat with all wrappers and banana mixture.
11. At this point, you can freeze rolls on the sheet and transfer to a zip-top freezer bag up to 2 months.
12. Spray completed rolls lightly with canola oil spray or brush with butter.
13. Bake for 10 minutes (fresh) or 17 minute (frozen) or until browned and crisp. 
14. Let cool at least 10 minutes before enjoying.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 61.3
Total Fat: 0.3 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 16.1 mg
Total Carbs: 14.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.4 g
Protein: 1.3 g