Banana Fritters with Cranberry Butter

For the fritters:

2 medium bananas

3 eggs

dash cinnamon

pinch nutmeg

1/2tsp. vanilla

pinch salt

For the butter:

6tbs. butter

2-3tbs. milk or water

heaping 1/4c. cranberries

Best. Pancakes. Ever. Now, that may be a little bit of a biased statement, since I was never a huge pancake fan even before cutting out gluten, but even my flour-loving roommates agreed with me that these are definitely tasty-- moist and buttery with the perfect amount of banana flavor that contrasted nicely with the tartness of the cranberries. They're the perfect medium for interpretation, too; the addition of cocoa powder, chopped walnuts, or chopped dark chocolate would turn out mouthwatering (check out the rest of the gluten-free  blogosphere and I'm sure you will come across other versions).  Now if only they were burn-proof, my search for the ultimate pancake would be over...

Start out with the butter: soften it to room temperature, put it in the food processor with a few tablespoons of milk or water, and puree.  It will start out looking like butter shavings, then turn a light and airy consistency perfect for spreading. Boil 1/2 cup of water, add the cranberries and take of the heat to let soak for about 10 minutes.  Strain the cranberries and trade them for the butter in the food processor.  Once they're chopped,  mix them in a bowl with the butter and add a touch of honey or powdered sugar if the berries are too tart for you.

For the fritter batter, put everything in a food processor and blend until air bubbles start appearing in the mixture.  Heat a dollop of coconut oil over medium-low heat, then ladle your fritters onto the pan-- I'd advise keeping them fairly small for the sake of flipping.  As you get further into the batch you may have to turn down the heat and add more oil (two reasons my attempts at pancakes frequently burn).  Stack 'em high with pats of cranberry butter between layers for a delicate and flavorful addition to Sunday brunch.