I had this idea to combine three of my favorite foods - banana bread, doughnuts, and almond butter.  I like my banana bread full of healthy bits, like walnuts, coconut, and whole wheat flour. I like to spread a generous serving of creamy almond butter on top, and wash it down with a glass of almond milk. It is so good, and delicious, and comforting. It's my favorite of the sweet breakfast treats. Sometimes I'll add a big handful of chopped dark chocolate to the mix, which is extra indulgent. This whole ritual, slicing of the warm bread, slathering of almond butter and then washing it all down with almond milk, and the need for more doughnuts in my life, was all the inspiration that I needed to come up with this recipe.

When creating these doughnuts, I opted for a fairly simple banana bread recipe, nothing too complicated. I left out the healthy bits like whole wheat flour and walnuts, because who are we kidding, these are doughnuts we're talking about here. I've made this recipe two ways: incorporating the chocolate into the batter, and leaving it out and then sprinkling on top. I prefer the later, for the aesthetic appeal and the added crunch. I have been a bit obsessed lately with baked doughnuts. The effort required is substantially less than frying, and in the end, you will probably smell of banana bread and less like a grease trap. These doughnuts are soft and fluffy. Subtly sweet, with a touch of salty. They are the perfect marriage of banana bread and doughnuts. What more could you ask for?

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BANANA BREAD DOUGHNUTS WITH AN ALMOND BUTTER GLAZE

makes 6 doughnuts

notes: over ripened, frozen and then thawed bananas work best for this recipe. 

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 tsp unsalted butter, melted

1 egg

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

icing

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tbsp almond milk

2 tbsp almond butter

pinch of salt

1 oz dark chocolate, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Grease a doughnut pan.

In a bowl, add the mashed bananas, sugar, yogurt, butter, and egg. Combine with a whisk until smooth.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and combine.

Scoop the batter into the doughnut baking pan, filling each hole a little more than 3/4 full. Place into the oven and bake for 12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the doughnuts cool on a wire rack.

Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl. Slowly drizzle in the almond milk while mixing rapidly with a whisk. Add the almond butter and combine until thin. You may need to add a bit more almond milk to get the right consistency. Add a pinch of salt.

Once the doughnuts are cool, dip one side into the glaze and then sprinkle with chopped chocolate. Best eaten immediately, but can be stored in the fridge overnight and served the next day.