According to Travel Butler County, paczki were created to avoid waste and use up all the available eggs, sugar, butter and other treat ingredients before Lent.
And you shouldn’t feel guilty if you want to enjoy a real paczki, but if you want to try some fruit-filled paczki-inspired alternatives, you should make Battered Banana Paczki Bites.
Our friend Shanthi Appello from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan joins us to share the recipe!
Ingredients
● 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
● 2 Tbsp. sugar or sweetener
● 1 Tbsp. baking powder
● ½ tsp. salt
● 1 ¼ cups milk
● 1 egg
● 1 Tbsp. butter, melted
● 2 tsp. vanilla extract
● 4 bananas
● 2 Tbsp. confectioner’s sugar
● ¼ cup raspberry preserves
Instructions
- Combine together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add the milk, egg, melted butter and vanilla.
- Use a whisk to mix wet ingredients in the well together first before slowly folding them into the dry ingredients. Mix together until smooth. Add more milk if the batter is too thick. It should be able to pour out of a ladle.
- Slice bananas ½ -inch thick and add a few to the batter, making sure they are completely covered.
- Heat a nonstick pan over low-medium heat. Lightly grease pan with butter. Add battered banana slices, leaving space in between.
- When the underside is golden and bubbles begin to appear on the surface, flip with a spatula and cook until golden. Repeat with remaining banana slices.
- Add confectioner’s sugar to a sieve and dust over the banana bites.
- Add finished bites to a serving plate. Put raspberry preserves in a plastic bag and cut off a small corner. Squeeze the preserves over the bananas in a fine drizzle. Enjoy!