Banana-Walnut Donut Holes with Cinnamon Sugar Dredge

If one more person talks to me about cauliflower rice…

or raw tacos…

If I see one more mother of 16 on Instagram with six-pack abs and no stretch marks…

Do people not eat donut holes any more? Am I the only one who eats them and pats my full and not-pregnant stomach after the third or fourth one? Or eighth?

Can we all stop pretending that cauliflower “rice” tastes like rice?

Can we all stop pretending raw tacos are anything more than seasoned walnut meat wrapped in lettuce leaves with salsa and guacamole? It’s nuts and vegetables, y’all.

Nuts and vegetables.

Yasssssssssssssss, I made both this past week (don’t judge me), but not because I enjoy them! No, not at all. I eat healthy not because I enjoy it. I would, as you all should be familiar with by now, eat spring rolls, onion rings, and french fries for every meal if I could.

But I can’t.

Cause I’m vain as shit, I like not having heart palpitations, and I want to age well.

But, see, the way my tastes buds are set up…

So, every now and again…once in a  while…I make donut holes, and they are ri-damn-diculous. Watch this–they’re vegan (I love how people make vegan mean healthy!) These are not health food, but they are healing.

Sometimes a little healing is all you need.

Banana-Walnut Donut Holes with Cinnamon Sugar 

Dry Mix

• 2 cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour or prepared gluten-free flour mix
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup sugar of choice
• 1 TBSP baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

1. Whisk together all of your dry ingredients into a bowl and set aside.

Wet Mix

• 1/2 cup mashed bananas
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut yogurt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
• 1 TBSP vanilla extract

1.  Combine all the ingredients for your wet ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

You will also need

• coconut oil (or oil of choice) for frying
• recipe for cinnamon-sugar dredge (below)
• small scooper for measuring donut holes (or a large tablespoon)
• pot for frying

Cinnamon-Sugar Dredge

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Make your donuts…

1. With your hands (I’m all about putting your energy in your food:), gently fold your dry mix into your wet mix until well combined. It should look like this…
2. Heat your oil of choice in a small pot or deep pan until it reaches 340 degrees. Scoop one heaping tablespoon of batter and gently shape. Fry one tester donut hole! Please please please. Test one…see if it takes five minutes or seven minutes or six and a half minutes to cook through…before you fry eight at once.
3. Place a few donut holes at a time in the hot oil. Be sure not to over-crowd the pot as it will drop the temperature of the oil too fast. These little ditties brown quickly because of the banana, but don’t let that scare you. If you pull them too soon from the oil, the inside will not be cooked all the way through…and nobody wants a gummy donut hole. No.Body.
4. The holes take about 5-7 minutes to cook through. Turn them, roll them, watch them with much anticipation until you have cooked them all.
5. As you remove them from the oil, roll them immediately into the cinnamon-sugar dredge. Let them cool slightly, then eat them, pat your tummy and smile.
6. Just so you know, you can store this batter in the fridge with a piece of plastic wrap pressed directly on top of the batter. It will keep in the fridge for three days. You can make these for three days straight. What?!?!?!?!?

Until next time, Reine