Banana Bread Donuts

Do you have baking moods?  I do!  Since I have Fridays off from work, I usually spend a portion of the day baking.  Sometimes I wake up knowing exactly what I'm going to bake that day and other days I have no idea what sounds fun.  On the days I don't know what to make, I'll often narrow down my choices by the ingredients I have in the house or how much time and effort I feel like putting into a recipe.

These banana bread donuts came about because I had quite a few over ripe bananas and I wanted something easy to bake.  My added incentive was using my Baby Cakes donut maker for the first time!  I also wondered how it would work to take a banana bread recipe and make it in donut form.  It turns out that it works out pretty well!  I made the batter for my Healthier Banana Bread and just poured it into the donut pans.  The taste and texture was different than the banana bread, which I found interesting!  I topped some of the mini donuts with cream cheese frosting, and it added the perfect amount of sweetness.

Healthier Banana Bread Donuts

Makes 12 donuts

You will need:
1-1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1-1/2 cups mashed bananas (approximately 3 large bananas)
4 Tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
cream cheese frosting

1. Whisk flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a large bowl.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, butter, eggs, yogurt and vanilla.

3. Gently fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture until just combined.

4.  Pour batter into greased donut pans.

5. Bake at 325 for 15-17 minutes, until golden brown and a donut springs back after being touched lightly.

6.  Cool donuts slightly before transferring to a wire rack and frosting.

Source: America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook