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BANANA FRITTERS

SERVES 4 (MAKES 8 FRITTERS; 5 MG THC PER SERVING)

WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, when the bananas became too overripe and sugar-rich to eat we turned them into luscious and sweet, crispy banana fritters—what a treat! The trick to crispy edges and a deep brown sugar flavor in the fritter is to fry the bananas in butter and coarse cane sugar before adding the batter to the pan. The bananas caramelize and become sticky-good—when you flip the fritter it’s like a mini upside-down cake. If you have CannaVanilla Extract on hand, you can replace ½ teaspoon of the regular vanilla with it, and then omit the spiked butter or oil.

2 very ripe medium bananas

½ cup whole milk

1 large cage-free egg

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 tablespoon cane sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons CannaButter or CannaOil

1½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

4 tablespoons demerara or turbinado sugar

Powdered sugar (optional)

  1. Peel the bananas and add one and a half of them to a large bowl, then use a fork to smash the bananas into a pulp. Whisk in the milk, egg, 3 tablespoons of melted butter, the sugar, vanilla, and CannaButter.
  2. Slice the remaining ½ banana on a diagonal into eight ¼- to ½-inch-thick pieces.
  3. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the flour mixture to the banana-milk mixture and stir to combine.
  4. Add 2 tablespoons of the melted butter to a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the demerara sugar and cook, stirring slowly but constantly, until the sugar is semi-dissolved and the butter foams, about 30 seconds.
  5. Add a banana slice to each quadrant of the pan. Cook 30 seconds, then flip the banana slices over and reduce the heat to medium-low.
  6. Use about ⅓ cup of batter to cover each banana slice, making 4 pancakes. Cook until the bottoms are browned and the edges are starting to look set, 1½ to 2 minutes. Tilt the skillet occasionally to redistribute the butter and sugar mixture. Flip the fritters and cook the other side for 1 minute, then transfer to a plate.
  7. Use tongs and a paper towel to wipe out any burnt bits of sugar, then repeat the entire process, using the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons sugar, banana slices, and fritter batter. Serve the fritters plain or sprinkled with powdered sugar.