Baked Banana Donuts

Given the choice between a donut or a kolache in the morning, I always go with the kolache. Even though donuts aren't a frequently craved food of mine, sometimes you just can't help but want a deep-fried, sugary piece of dough.

As with most of my recipes, I decided to satisfy this spontaneous craving by making it healthier! I had 3 bananas just chillin' in the freezer (ha ha ha) and was tired of the same old banana bread recipe. I just received a donut pan for Christmas so decided to make a baked banana donut. I topped with a simple maple glaze to add some shine and extra sweetness.


Although I wouldn't recommend this to a donut-fanatic or someone who swears by the fried yeast variety, this recipe is tasty, versatile and fun. And really, I just love anything banana.

Baked Banana Donut w/ Maple Glaze Recipe:

• 3 bananas (small to medium size)
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups white flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground allspice

• *1/4 cup maple syrup
• *1/4 cup powdered sugar
• *2 tbsp water
  

*Honestly, I just kinda eye-balled it.

In a medium bowl, mash the bananas. Add the vanilla, oil, sugar and egg whites and mix together. Next add dry ingredients and mix until moist and well-combined. Spoon into your donut pan. Because this dough is thick and sticky, it's kind of a messy endeavor, but try to fill each donut cup about 2/3 full and even. I only have a 6-donut pan so I had a lot of leftover dough. Instead of waiting until they were finished and re-loading full of sticky dough, I just plopped the rest in a muffin tin and baked them all together. In a 425-degree Fahrenheit oven, the donuts were done at about 8 minutes; muffins took about 12 minutes.

While they're baking, mix the maple syrup, powdered sugar and water. Allow the donuts to cool and then smear on the sweet glaze.