Earlier this week I read that bananas are in danger of rapid extinction as some fort of fatal banana fungus is spreading so.. you might want to make these waffles right away.

I love banana bread - I’ve been making it for years in its more traditional loaf and muffin forms. Banana muffins topped with a Chocolate kiss will always delight me - and when I can’t make it myself I’ll always take a slice of Starbucks banana bread. However - I recently was struck with a craving for banana bread and waiting an hour for it to bake was just not going to do. This lead me to the discovery that if you take banana bread batter and pop it in a waffle maker - you’ll have a really great morning.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

8 tablespoons butter (room temp)

2 large eggs

6 very ripe bananas

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups self-rising flour*

In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy - I use an electric hand mixer to do this but I’ve always done this very enthusiastically with a fork and had great results.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing in after each additions.

Peel the bananas and mash them, with the cinnamon and vanilla - leaving a few little banana chunks throughout.

Gently combine the banana mixture with the egg mixture.

Add the flour and stir until just barely combined - it’s okay if there are still a few floury patches.

Cook according to your waffle irons instructions - until deep golden crispy on the outside and gloriously plush on the inside.

Eat! Plain, with butter, with fresh berries or syrup - they have even become the vessel for meatball tacos in our house so the sky is the limit really.

* A note on self rising flour - you can make your own by adding 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt per cup of flour.