Banana Bread Donuts + Chocolate & Peanut Butter

When I think of food and my father, a few very select items come to mind. Peanut butter and chocolate may be at the top of that list.

Growing up, and even now, my dad keeps a secret treat hidden in the pantry. He takes a jar of peanut butter and some chocolate chips and stirs the chips into the jar. When he wants a sweet treat he digs out a spoonful at a time to eat. My love for chocolate was definitely passed down from my dad.

When my father-in-law comes to mind, I immediately see donuts. Not only does he love sweets more than your average bear but because he lives close to a donut shop, he grabs a dozen anytime the hot sign is on. I know how easy it is to gobble down freshly glazed, warm donuts. They practically dissolve in your mouth.

So when I was contemplating a good bake for Father’s Day, it was easy to find inspiration.

These donuts take classic banana bread, remove the nuts, and are baked into donuts. For the glaze, a dark chocolate ganache and peanut butter drizzle paired perfectly with the banana. On top, I added crushed salted peanuts to cut through the decedent chocolate topping.

This recipe is extremely moldable. You can easily change it around to suit your father. Put chocolate inside the donuts, and the same goes for nuts of your choice. You can do just a peanut butter glaze, and so much more — the options are limitless.

Banana Bread Donuts

Ingredients:

• 1 Stick of Butter, softened
• 4 Extremely Ripe Bananas
• 1 Cup of Sugar
• 2 Large Eggs
• 1 Tablespoon of Vanilla
• 1/4 Teaspoon of Cinnamon
• 1/4 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1 1/2 Cups of Flour
• 1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Butter and flour your donut cake pan. Set aside.
• In your stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Mix in eggs and the remaining ingredients. Mixture should be fully mixed but still have a few lumps due to the banana.
• Spoon into donut pan. Each donut should be about 2/3 full. This recipe makes 13 donuts total. Bake each pan full in batches for 15 minutes each.
• Let donuts cool before dunki ng the tops of each donut into your ganache and drizzling with peanut butter. You can top the donuts with crushed peanuts as well.

Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients

• 2 Cups of Dark Chocolate, chopped
• 1 Cup of Heavy Cream

Directions

1. In a small saucepan heat the heavy cream over medium.
2. Once at a simmer, remove cream from heat and pour directly over chocolate.
3. Let sit for several minutes, then stir vigorously until chocolate mixture is melted and smooth.

Peanut Butter Drizzle

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup of Creamy Peanut Butter
• 2 Tablespoons of Heavy Cream

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, stir together cream and peanut butter.
2. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
3. When peanut-butter mixture is warm enough to drizzle it is ready.