Home Entertaining Ideas - You Can Have Your Dessert And Drink It Too

Refreshing yourself during sultry weather can be as easy as mixing up a cool, delicious, drinkable dessert.

Drinkable desserts are great thirst quenchers, and they don't have to be high in calories if you make them with a calorie-free sugar alternative.

For example, you may want to sample some Bananas Foster in drinkable form.

The classic dish was created in New Orleans by the Brennan family in the 1950s.

It is made by cooking bananas with sugar, cinnamon, banana liqueur and rum, and is flamed. The mixture is then served over ice cream.

It's easy to turn this dessert into a smooth, cold, drinkable one with the following recipe:

Bananas Foster Frapp

Makes 4 servings

(about 31/2 cups)

2 bananas, peeled

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons Sweet'N Low zero-calorie sweetener

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon banana extract (optional)

4 tablespoons dark rum (or 1 teaspoon rum extract)

3/4 cup fat-free half-and-half

3 cups low-fat vanilla ice cream, slightly thawed

4 strawberries, rinsed, hulled and thinly sliced for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray medium-size baking dish with no-stick cooking spray and set aside.

Slice bananas in half lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces. Place banana pieces in small mixing bowl; add lemon juice, Sweet'N Low and cinnamon. Toss gently to coat evenly.

Place banana mixture in prepared baking dish and bake until bananas are soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Place the banana mixture in electric blender. Add banana extract (if using), the rum (or rum extract), half-and-half and ice cream. Blend until smooth. Pour into chilled wine glasses and garnish with the strawberries. Serve immediately.

Note: If you like a more intense banana flavor, use banana extract.

To download a new set of recipes entitled Drinkable Desserts, visit www.sweetnlow.com/recipes. This deliciously drinkable Bananas Foster Frapp is a wonderful warm-weather thirst quencher.