Island Banana Donuts

We never seem to eat the bananas we buy and I end up with a freezer full of them, unexcited to make more banana muffins or bread, but unwilling to just toss them until it's been several months and they start growing ice crystals.

Yesterday we went to our local apple orchard to get our fill of apple donuts and cider. We also brought home our favorite fall treats, Honeycrisp and Chestnut Crab apples. This morning I was wondering if I could recreate the apple donuts we had. I was googling recipes until I saw a half dozen bananas going bad on the counter. I decided to google banana donuts instead and found a recipe that looked easy, save the gourmet ingredients it called for that I'd have to order online and wait another week for delivery. I tweaked it a bit and came up with this recipe that was amazingly yummy:

Island Bliss Banana Donut Holes
2 cups Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake Mix (you could probably use whatever is in the house)
2/3 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 bananas, mashed
1 tsp. vanilla (opt.)
grape seed oil (or vegetable oil)

Pour oil into a pot, at least 2 inches deep and heat the to medium-hot. Mix remaining ingredients together until batter is sticky. Using a small 1 inch ice cream scoop, drop balls of batter into the hot oil. Turning once, deep fry until a deep golden brown.

Check the first few to make sure the batter is cooked through and adjust cooking time. (mine looked very dark before they cooked through completely)

Remove from oil and place on paper towels to drain.  Roll in sugar, if desired.

Note to the nesting: You may want to try this on a cool day while not pregnant or you may find yourself trying to keep your sweat from dripping into the oil.