• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease donut pans and place on a parchment lined tray.

Banana Filling

• In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and ground cinnamon. Dice the banana into small cubes, about the size of pebbles, and toss gently in the cinnamon sugar.
  2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 medium yellow banana
• Spread coated banana pieces into a single layer onto a small plate lined with parchment paper and place in the freezer while you prepare the donut batter.

Donut Batter

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt until well combined.
  1 ½ cups all purpose flour, ⅔ cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• In a large bowl, combine mashed banana, eggs, melted unsalted butter, vanilla extract and whole milk. Whisk well to fully combine.
  1 medium mashed banana, 2 large eggs, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ¼ cup whole milk
• Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Whisk together until a smooth batter forms. Do not overmix.
• Transfer batter to a ziploc bag and cut a small hole at the corner of the bag.
• Remove bananas from the freezer (It’s okay if they are not completely frozen). Pipe each donut mold ½ way full with the batter. Then, gently place the coated frozen banana pieces into the batter. Pipe the remaining batter into the donut molds.
• Bake the donuts between 20 to 23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs (keeping in mind that the center has a gooey banana mixture).
• Place the donut molds on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before removing them and putting each donut directly on the cooling rack.
• Let donuts cool slightly before eating. If you plan to make the optional variations, cool donuts completely before you add a coating or glaze.

Cinnamon Sugar Coating

• As the donuts are cooling, combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, set aside. Melt butter in a microwave safe bowl for 15 seconds.
  2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• Lightly brush one donut on top and along the sides with melted butter and gently toss in cinnamon sugar. Repeat with desired amount of of donuts.

Brown Butter Glaze

• Over medium-low heat, start melting the butter in a small pot. Once the butter starts to foam, begin stirring until you start to see light brown specks. Remove from the stove, as the browning will continue. Do not wait until the specks become dark brown as you will burn the butter.
  4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Pour the butter into a medium bowl. Whisk in the powdered sugar, cinnamon, salt, vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon of milk. It will become smooth as you whisk. Adjust with 1 teaspoon of milk at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
  1 cup powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 3 tablespoons whole milk
• Dip donuts into glaze and place onto the cooling rack to let the glaze drip down and harden. If you want to add the banana chips, do so prior to the glaze completely setting. The glaze will dry matte.
  banana chips

Chocolate Glaze

• Put chocolate chips and butter into a heat proof bowl and microwave 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each time, until the chocolate is melted. Add the water if the mixture feels too thick and stir until smooth.
  ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon water
• Dip each donut in the chocolate glaze. If using crushed peanuts, place on top before letting the glaze cool completely. It can take up to 1 hour for the chocolate glaze to harden.
  salted and roasted peanuts