Almond Joy Pancakes

Straight from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s The Joy of Vegan Baking (TJOVB), with just a little bit of tweaking by me, I present coconut almond pancakes, otherwise known as Almond Joy Pancakes. I spent part of Saturday with one of my oldest friends and we visited Brownstone Diner and Pancake Factory in her new haunts of Jersey City, NJ. There was an endless array of pancakes that were all delicious-sounding but I always have a tendency to want something more after eating pancakes so I skipped them in favor of a veggie burger with gorgonzola and some onion rings.

The craving for pancakes, however, did not subside. I woke up next to Brian on Sunday morning wanting to eat coconut pancakes but feeling too lazy to make them. So we had Chinese takeout at Mei Mei’s (link to MM post) instead. After dropping off Brian for his train back to Philly, I headed off to Wegmans with the sole purpose of buying tempeh bacon and shredded coconut because I wanted to have some breakfast for dinner and that was going to be some pancakes. I’m not one to resist a craving that lasts 15 seconds let alone one that’s gone on for longer than 24 hours. It was time for pancakes.

Not to toot my own horn—but I’m gonna—but the pancakes I make are always way better than diner ones anyway. I suspect that is not because I have been given the rare ability to turn out remarkable pancakes. Rather, I think pancakes are just one of those things that taste better with the least amount of fussing, which means, make them with flour, baking powder, and the binders they call for rather than the myriad chemicals found in many commercial mixes (what the diners use). Pancakes also were my induction into home cooking. Along with scrambled eggs, they were the first things I learned to make. I remember the first day I mastered them, waiting for those bubbles to magically appear, signaling they were ready to be turned. I was hooked. I made stack after stack for my father, with him eating them for all three major meals that day.

I referred to a few cookbooks for proper measurements before settling on TJOVB rendition. Perfect. All the ingredients were ones I had on hand and it was a simple palette to which I could add a few other flavorings to. Besides, I could freeze most of the cooked batch so Brian could have some next week too.

All I did was follow TJOVB recipe, but used golden syrup as my liquid sweetener rather than maple syrup. I had both but I use maple syrup almost everyday in my morning bowl of oatmeal so decided to use up the golden syrup I hadn’t touched since Thanksgiving. Also, it’s milder than maple syrup and really allowed the coconut and almond flavors to shine. Lastly, I added unsweetened dried coconut shreds and a generous splash of pure almond extract. They were just what I wanted for dinner on Sunday night and I can’t wait to thaw out and dig into the leftovers next weekend. If you truly want to make these Almond Joy Pancakes like their namesake candy, please do yourself a favor and add a few handfuls of chocolate chips to the mix. Oh. Yeah.

Almond Joy Pancakes (vegan)
Small amount of butter, spread, oil, or cooking spray to lightly grease pan or griddle
1 cup unbleached, organic, all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup nondairy milk (such as vanilla soy milk or almond milk)
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons liquid sweetener (I used Lyle's Golden Syrup; you also can try maple syrup, apple juice concentrate, or orange juice as per TJOVB)
1/4 cup shredded, unsweetened dried coconut
1 teaspoon pure almond extract

1. Lightly grease a nonstick pan or griddle and place over low to low-medium heat. Watch carefully that it doesn’t burn or smoke.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. In a large measuring cup or small bowl, combine milk, oil, and sweetener. Add wet ingredients to dry ones and mix until just combined (there will be some lumps and that's ok). Add coconut and almond extract and stir until ingredients are just combined.
3. Spoon 1/4 cup batter onto preheated pan for each pancake. Cook each pancake for 3 to 5 minutes, adding about four at time, depending on the size of your pan. Be sure not to overcrowd or you’ll end up with one big pancake rather than several of them). You will know it's time to turn the pancake over when bubbles appear on its surface and the edges look cooked. Cook on other side for just 2 to 3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Will yield 10 pancakes.