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Banana Thumbprint Donuts are sweet and packed with banana flavor. The thumbprint has a cream cheese and peanut butter filling making this donut irresistible.

When I was younger, I used to make a killer banana bread. I haven’t made it in decades. I don’t know why. This recipe is so delicious that it made it into the family cookbook. But I need to remedy that soon. Especially after using it to make these Banana Thumbprint Donuts.

I bought a baked donut pan to make some fruitcake doughnuts. But it wasn’t until I made some green chile cheddar baked doughnuts that I had this idea of a thumbprint donut. We’ll get the doughnut vs. donut thing later. I accidentally overfilled the well a few times and that’s when it hit me! This could be a good fail.

You see that little portion that overfilled can then be filled with something else! Genius, right? I mean, I don’t think I’ve seen anyone use the pan in this way before. Most just fill it enough to make normal donuts. I am not normal. We know this. So, I overfilled them on purpose this time and filled the thumbprint part with delicious peanut butter filling. Because peanut butter and banana always go hand in hand in my book.

Is it spelled doughnut or donut?

What’s the difference, right? The official spelling is doughnut. In the early 1800’s it’s described as a small dough shaped like a nut that gets fried in lard or oil. Of course, we all know they don’t look like that now. We call those doughnut holes or donut holes.

Donut appears in a story by George W. Peck where the main character says, “…he would just drink a cup of coffee and eat a donut,” in the story. Fast forward a bit and a popular doughnut machine manufacturer in New York shortened the word to make it a more phonetic spelling. The hope was that immigrants arriving in the US would be able to easily pronounce the word.

The word was used but didn’t really became popular in the mid to late 20th century with Mister Donut founded in the mid 50’s and Dunkin Donuts founded in the late 40’s. These two famous donut chains made donut a household word. But I think it’s really only popular and mainly used in the US.

What are baked donuts?

Yes. Another sort of self-explanatory question. It’s a donut that’s baked in the oven and not fried in oil. I have no idea who invented them, or the baked donut pan. Sometimes it’s not easy to weed through all the doughnut and donut history to find what I’m looking for. It will remain a mystery for right now.

For me, the baked donut is like a quick bread batter. It’s a little thinner so you can pipe it into the wells. At least that’s how I made mine. And how I turned my famous banana bread recipe into the se delicious banana baked donuts. It’s also how I created the other recipes I have on my blog for baked donuts.

When did peanut butter and banana become a thing?

I have no idea. And in my research, the famous Elvis sandwich comes up. But I don’t understand how the Fool’s Gold sandwich that he loved from the Colorado Mine Company gets bananas on there instead of jelly. Supposedly his mother used to make peanut butter and banana sandwiches when he was growing up, but that doesn’t explain who invented the PB&B sandwich.

There is a mention of this type of sandwich in an interview with Anita Wood. She was close friends with Elvis between 1957 and 1962 and wrote to him when he was stationed in Germany. Anita recalls mixing the peanut butter and banana together and spreading it on to bread. They did not grill the sandwich. Later, a man made him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with thick slices of banana and grilled it. I guess that’s where the famous sandwich came from? But there’s no jelly in the famous version. It’s so convoluted. I can’t sort it out.

What I do know is it’s top five of my fave sandwiches. I haven’t grilled mine, though. I use lightly toasted bread and spread the peanut butter on both sides. Then I thinly slice the bananas and sandwich them between the coated pieces of toast. Sometimes I skip the bread entirely and just dip a spoon in the peanut butter and spread it on bites of banana. Especially after finding Kraft peanut butter. But that’s another topic.

What’s in Banana Thumbprint Donuts?

Bananas. I didn’t think I had any, but when I was rummaging through the freezer, I found two. Perfect! For those that don’t know, I stick my over ripe bananas in the freezer to save them for later. They’re perfect for baking after they’ve been in the freezer. When they thaw, they’re easy to mash. In fact, I don’t mash them at all. I just use the hand mixer or stand mixer to beat them into the batter.

Of course, there’s eggs, flour, butter, baking soda, and a little milk. But I also added a little vanilla extract and salt to round out the sweet flavor. You could add some cinnamon if you want. Or even some chopped peanuts for a little crunch in there. That’s not a bad idea, actually. I might have to add some nuts to the banana bread when I make it.

What do banana thumbprint donuts taste like?

Okay. They are dark. No. They’re not burned. I took the banana out of the freezer and put it into a bowl in anticipation of baking these donuts. Then I found out that all but 5 of the 6 eggs in the container were broken. And when they’re expensive as all get out that makes me mad! Curse you Walmart!!

I put the banana in a container and put it in the fridge. Between the time I took it out of the skin and got around to baking these the banana was so dark brown! It made these banana thumbprint donuts dark brown but also packed with banana flavor! The bananas are super sweet and delicious. These donuts are perfectly moist and addictive!

Then there’s the peanut butter filling. I combined a little bit of peanut butter with a little bit of cream cheese and powdered sugar. Oh my goodness. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and nut. There’s not much tang from the cream cheese. It just levels out all the sweetness from the powdered sugar and peanut butter. It’s the perfect amount of filling and flavor combination.

Friday #BrunchWeek Recipes

Beverages

• Coconut Syrup for Lattes from Jen Around the World

Appetizers and Salads

• Dill Pickle Cream Cheese from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings

Breads, Grains, and Cereals

• Banana Thumbprint Donuts from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Strawberry Lemon Scones from Jolene’s Recipe Journal

Egg Dishes

• Air Fryer Egg Toast from Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Scrambled Tofu Bowl from Magical Ingredients

Main Dishes

• Chipped Beef on Toast from Palatable Pastime
• Homemade Italian Sausage from Art of Natural Living
• Hot Chicken Salad Casserole from For the Love of Food

Desserts

• Chocolate Dr. Pepper Bundt Cake from That Recipe
• Dulce de Leche Dumpling Cookies from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Japanese Coffee Jelly from Tara’s Multicultural Table