Banana Bread Pancakes

I am currently in Denver visiting my best friend! Colorado is awesome. Almost as awesome as pancakes. This morning I got to cook in her kitchen, which is so much nicer than mine. It's very grown up and full of counter space and organized spices. 

Yum, banana mush. 

Although I used all-purpose flour, the original recipe called for whole wheat pastry flour, which I'm sure would also be good. I'm not sure if it was the altitude or I am just really good at making pancakes, but these looked quite pretty. 

 Next time I would definitely add chocolate chips and maybe walnuts.

I fed them to Stef and her boyfriend, who is visiting from England. He was also the very first person I know of to actually try to make a recipe off my blog at home!

They ate them plain, but I added butter and brown sugar on top. The original recipe also included a recipe for a vanilla maple glaze which I'm sure would be delicious as well. 

Banana Bread Pancakes Makes 10 pancakes Adapted from How Sweet It Is  2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup light brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon  1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1 cup milk 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 3 large ripe bananas, mashed 2 tablespoons melted butter 1 egg, whisked  1/2 cup chocolate chips and/or walnuts (optional) Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl Add in milk and vanilla and stir (batter will still be a little dry at this point) Stir in bananas and melted butter  Stir in egg Stir in chocolate chips or walnuts if using  Cook over medium-low heat

Goldfish Pancakes

There's only one thing to do when you wake up across town on your friend's floor - make pancakes for everyone! Lots and lots of pancakes. 

I used the basic recipe that I used in my Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes, just doubled. I also didn't melt the butter or mix very well, so there were some very buttery chunks...

There were a lot of goldfish around, so why not. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Especially dipped in maple syrup?

It actually wasn't that bad. The goldfish got a little soggy but they added a nice touch of salt to the mix.
I only used goldfish in about half of them, then put chocolate chips in the other ones, like a normal person.

Hooray!

Goldfish (optional) Pancakes Serves 5 people 3 cups all-purpose flour 7 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons salt 4 tablespoons sugar 2 eggs 2.5 cups milk 6 tablespoons butter, melted 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup Goldfish crackers 1/2 cup chocolate chips Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl In a smaller bowl, beat the egg then add the melted butter, milk, and vanilla Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and drop onto hot griddle Place goldfish into batter before you flip each pancakes (alternatively mix chocolate chips into batter).

Lemon Walnut Waffles

It's officially summer!!!!!!!! I originally wanted to make lemon poppyseed pancakes, but I am having trouble finding poppyseeds. These were a close substitute though. 

How to make lemon walnut waffles: 

Step 1: Ignore the random slabs of meat your roommate has left chillin' on a chair.

 Step 2: Zest your lemon!

Step 3: Realize the recipe called for lemon extract, not lemon juice. Decide to use juice anyway. Squeeze your lemon as hard as you can! Mix in a bunch of other stuff.

Step 4: Pour batter into iron, and sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

Step 5: Remove, admire, and devour.

These are not a super crispy waffle, but they are delightfully airy. The lemon flavor is mild but noticeable. Next time I might omit the walnuts to let the lemon flavor through more. 

I ate one plain and one with maple syrup. Happy Summer!

Lemon Walnut Waffles Makes 10 square waffles Adapted from Sunny Anderson 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 tablespoons sugar + 3 tablespoons sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 eggs, divided 1.75 cups milk 1/4 cup vegetable oil Zest from 1/2 lemon Juice from 1 lemon  1/2 cup chopped walnuts Mix flour, baking powder, 2 tablespoons sugar, and salt in a large bowl In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks then add milk, oil, zest, and lemon juice and mix. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until just combined Whisk egg whites and 3 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl then add to other ingredients.  Pour batter into waffle iron, sprinkle with walnuts, and cook until steam stops rising from iron

Doughnut Pancakes

In case you missed it, yesterday was National Doughnut Day. (It's also National Candy Month, which I think I am doing a pretty good job of honoring every day). 

Here is a picture of some doughnuts my mom made from scratch last Christmas to give you some idea of what I am trying to live up to:

Mine were not quite as beautiful but they sure tasted like doughnuts. Since I was alone I cut the recipe in half, but then forgot and ending up adding twice as much oil as I needed to the batter. It also was really thick, so I added a ton more milk than called for. The batter is really thick, then you add extra oil to the pan to cook them so it's almost like frying. 

The original recipe said to put the batter in a Ziploc and cut the end and squeeze it out into a perfect doughnut shape, but who has time for that seriously? I just blobbed it on. 

They came out nicely, and I didn't even burn myself on hot oil. 

Next, you make the frosting! Try not to burn your butter and spill your sugar. 

I don't know how she got her frosting so white looking. Maybe her butter wasn't burnt. I think the vanilla would turn it brownish anyway though. Despite overheating the pan and accidentally boiling everything, the frosting tasted great. Like a real doughnut! Must be all the sugar. 

These actually tasted like a wonderful hybrid between a doughnut and a pancake. Forget those cronuts everyone is talking about. This is the next big thing.

After eating one, I also felt the same way I generally feel after eating a doughnut. Slightly ill. But totally worth it.

Doughnut Pancakes Adapted from Cooking Classy  Makes 6 pancakes 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cups milk   1 egg 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 tablespoon applesauce 1.5 tablespoons sugar For glaze: 1/8 cup butter 1 cup powdered sugar 1/4 cup milk pinch of salt 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl Whisk milk, egg, vegetable oil, applesauce, and sugar in a larger bowl then add in the flour mixture Cover the entire bottom of a heated non-stick pan with vegetable oil, then use a ladle to pour batter into a doughnut shape. As more oil as needed while cooking.  For glaze: Melt butter in a skillet (you can use the same one you cooked the pancakes in, just make sure it's not too hot!) Add sugar, salt, and milk until dissolved then mix in baking soda Remove from heat and stir in vanilla Serve warm on top of pancakes

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

I didn't take any good pictures of these because I was distracted. But they were great!

 I started with my favorite basic pancake recipe, then added chocolate chips. I placed the sliced bananas in the batter as they were cooking.

Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes Serves 3-4 people 1.5 cups all-purpose flour 3.5 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 1 egg 1.25 cups milk 3 tablespoons butter, melted 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1 thinly sliced banana  Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl In a smaller bowl, beat the egg then add the melted butter, milk, and vanilla Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and lightly mix in chocolate chips Pour batter onto skillet, then place banana slices in before you flip the pancake

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

I've been trying to eat healthier in the past few days. So in the midst of my parsley and spinach smoothies, I decided to add in some pancakes! These use entirely whole wheat flour which is nice.

I know it's not really the season for fresh blueberries, but my friend gave me this ginger syrup for my birthday and I thought it would really go well with them.

They turned out really nice and thick. It was challenging not to eat them all.

The ginger syrup has a confusing label which says "Does not require refrigeration" in English then "Refrigerate after opening" in French. I decided to live on the edge and not refrigerate. YOLO.

I will definitely have to go blueberry picking this summer and make these again!

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes Makes 7 thick pancakes Adapted from Cooks.com 1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 tablespoon sugar 1 2/3 cup (soy) milk 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 egg, beaten 1 cup fresh blueberries  Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl, then stir in wet ingredients until just mixed.  Fold in blueberries Cook about 1/3 cup batter at a time in a heated non-stick skillet over medium heat

Vegan Tea Pancakes

The whole city of Boston is on lockdown, so there's not much to do. I spent a while watching the news, painting my nails with polka dots, eating bagels, reading magazines, doing yoga on the porch, and cleaning my room. 

And bothering Natalie while she tried to work from home. 

Then I decided to make pancakes! Thankfully we had just enough flour. The grocery stores near us are closed, but a few convenience stores are open. 

This is a combination of a few recipes. The first used an instant pancake mix, and just substituted tea for water. The other was a vegan recipe that used water in place of milk. 

I used Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger tea. I don't normally drink tea so I spent about half an hour in the tea aisle trying to decide. It turned out to be a good choice. 

It was nice and flavorful, but very bright. I thought maybe this would turn the pancakes a lovely pink color. It did not.

But they came out fluffy at least!

Despite the odd color, they were good. They tasted like tea!

Natalie said they looked like mold. I can't argue. Maybe if I used a darker tea? Or didn't use cinnamon.

I ate one plain, then I ate one with Natalie's homemade marmalade.

Don't let the color discourage you from trying these! They are super easy and very versatile depending on what tea you use.

Vegan Tea Pancakes Makes 6 small pancakes 1.25 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon white sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon baking powder Dash of cinnamon 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil 1.75 cups cold tea  Brew tea. (I used 3 tea bags in 2 cups of boiling water and left them for about 20 minutes to make it strong.) Put tea in fridge to cool. Mix other ingredients then add cooled tea. Mix lightly and let sit for a few minutes.  Cook on a heated frying pan.

Gluten Free Grits Waffles

I went home for Easter and decided to make gluten free pancakes since my little sister has celiac. And I had a lot of grits to use up from the last waffles. 

My mom has this new fantastic sign hung above the stove. It's so practical! 

I used essentially the same recipe as the non-gluten free ones, but replaced the flour with this.

I asked my mom if we had any grated cheese. Her response: "No. ... But there's cheese. And a grater." 

Sooo haaaard. 

They were not as thick with the gluten free flour, so I ended up using more batter per waffle. I also replaced the butter with oil out of sheer laziness.

 I also omitted the chives because all our chive plants were still covered in snow and I kept forgetting to stop at the grocery store.

We ate them with butter. My family kept trying to add maple syrup but I stopped them. Maple and cheese? Gross.

I'm actually not sure if my little sister ate any. By the time she woke up, I was already taking my morning nap.

Yum.

Gluten Free Grits Waffles Makes 10 waffles  Adapted from Joy the Baker  1 cup water 1/2 cup dried grits (polenta) 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 cup milk 1 cup Bob's Red Mill GF flour 3/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 egg 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese Boil the water, then add grits and cook on medium heat for 2 minutes Remove from heat and stir in oil and milk In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt, pepper, and baking powder Whisk egg and stir into dry mixture Pour grits mixture into bowl, then add cheese. Stir until evenly mixed.  Cook in waffle iron!  I used about 1/2 cup of batter per waffle and left them in until most of the steam coming from the iron had died down.

Jellybean Pancakes

When I first announced my intent to make jellybean pancakes, I was widely ridiculed. But these pancakes came out amazing, so I guess I proved everyone wrong!

I love jellybeans. I always forget about them until around Easter, then I eat so many I feel sick.
I used Starburst jellybeans. My original intent was to crush them up a lot then add them to the batter almost like sprinkles. But turns out Starburst jellybeans are pretty much indestructible. I smashed them with a lot of heavy objects, but only managed to crush a few. So I ended up adding them pretty much whole.

I was a little worried the jellybeans would stick to the pan. Although they did melt a little, the melted sugar came right off.

The recipe I used promised super fluffy pancakes, which is what I wanted so that the jellybeans wouldn't stick out too much. And boy, they were fluffy. I cut the amount of recommended sugar in half since I figured the jellybeans were sweet enough.
They did stick together once I stacked them, but were so delicious.

The pancakes themselves were fluffy and light, and the jellybeans added a burst of flavor and chewiness. They almost force you to eat slower because you have to chew more, which heightens your appreciation of the flavors.

Maybe I should leave some of these out for the Easter bunny...

Jellybean Pancakes Makes 5 small thick pancakes  1 cup all-purpose flour 1.5 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 cup sugar 1/2 cup milk 2 tablespoons melted butter 1 egg 3/4 cup jellybeans, slightly smashed Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl In a separate bowl, mix egg, milk, and butter then pour into dry mixture Add jellybeans and stir Cook on a hot buttered frying pan - about 1/3 cup batter per pancake (batter will be very thick!) I would recommend soaking your dishes right away after you are done cooking to get rid of any stickiness!

Flapjacks + Flapjacks

I made these flapjacks a while ago, and they turned out really good. Last time I made them with cornmeal, but I wanted to use up some of the giant bag of grits I bought, so I substituted. 

I cooked the grits for a few minutes first to soften them up, something that you wouldn't need to do if you used cornmeal. 

They came out thicker than last time, and had a slightly chewy texture. I think that came from the grits, and also because I didn't use as much water as last time. It was good though! I ate them with maple syrup (for lunch of course). They are super easy to make too, with just a few ingredients, and totally vegan. 

While I was searching Pinterest for flapjacks, a common pastime of mine, I kept seeing pictures of chewy granola cookie bars. Evidently this is some English dessert made with oats and a whole lot of sugar and butter. I figured it would only be right to make both kind of flapjacks, purely for research purposes. 

I looked at a few recipes, then combined them and made a bunch of substitutions based on what I had in the cupboard. 

I think I used a bit too much oil because it was all bubbling when I took it out of the oven. Next time I'll add more oats to compensate. 

It sure looked fine once it cooled though!

I got a new app on my phone that I'm using to edit pictures. I may have gone a little overboard with the color saturation on this one.

Thirty seconds after taking this picture I ate everything on this plate then hid the rest from myself, out of sight.
I'm going to see some friends tonight and I plan on bringing them each some flapjacks - both British and American style!

Flapjacks Makes 6 large pancakes  2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 cup grits  2 cups water Boil 1 cup of water in small pot. Add grits to boiling water and cook for 2 minutes * Combine flour, salt, and baking powder then stir in cooked grits Add remaining cup of water and stir (for a thinner flapjack, add more water) Cook over medium heat (I used about 1/3 cup of batter per pancake) Serve with maple syrup * If using cornmeal in place of grits, omit this step and just use 1/2 cup dry cornmeal

Flapjack cookies Makes 1 dozen  1/2 cup coconut oil 1/2 cup margarine, melted 1/2 cup simple syrup (made by melting 1/3 cup white sugar in 1/3 cup boiling water) 1/4 cup white sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla 3 cups oats Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking dish with parchment paper (a pie plate is just the right size) Mix all ingredients except oats and stir until smooth Add in oats Bake for 30-35 minutes (Exact cooking time will depend on how long you forget they are in the oven because you are looking at pictures of cats on the internet)