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).

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

Tomato Feta Pancakes

 I had a bunch of tomatoes, so obviously I put them into pancakes. It seems like not many people have tried this before, so I had to make up the recipe somewhat. I based it off one I found on the internet, but it was in French and all the measurements were in grams so I had to make some adjustments.

I dropped the tomatoes in boiling water to take the skins off. Naked tomatoes look kinda gross.

Then I sliced each one in half and scooped the seeds out.

Chopped them up, added feta, soy milk, an egg, baking powder, white and whole wheat flour.
I finally used the griddle - it made cooking these go so much faster.

My main worry was that these wouldn't stay together but they did surprisingly well.

The taste however was not the best. I think the tomato was too moist, so the inner parts didn't seem all the way cooked.
Next time I think a little more flour. Sun-dried tomatoes instead of fresh would definitely be better.

But we ate them anyway!

Tomato and Feta Pancakes Makes 8 small pancakes Inspired by Alter Gusto 5 tomatoes (chopped, with skins and seeds removed) OR 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes (recommended) 1/2 cup feta cheese 1/4 cup whole wheat flour 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 egg 1/2 cup soy milk Mix flours and baking powder, then add all other ingredients. Add milk last - use more if necessary to create a liquid consistency

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.

Goat Cheese Pancakes with Dried Cranberries and Thyme

A couple weeks ago I was at Whole Foods and I decided to buy the largest package of goat cheese they had, because goat cheese is awesome. In the following two weeks I proceeded to eat only pizza and cupcakes until I realized that all this cheese was going to go bad at some point. 

So I made it into pancakes! 

I wanted just the leaves of the thyme, so Stef carefully removed them all for me. It's harder than it looks.

Hooray for giant sized bags of Craisins from Costco! The recipe I based this off used fresh raspberries, which I'm sure would be absolutely delicious as well. Stef was so involved de-leaving thyme that she looked over when I was done mixing and didn't believe I had actually added the cheese.

These have no butter or oil in them, which would be great for the health-conscious. It's great for me too because I hate melting butter. The goat cheese made the batter very smooth and moist.

I ate one plain, then I ate one rolled up with more goat cheese spread on the inside. I highly recommend this method.

 

A few hours later I ate another one cold from the fridge. Still good. 

PANCAKES!

Goat Cheese Pancakes with Dried Cranberries and Thyme Makes 9 medium pancakes Inspired by MyCommunalTable 1.5 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup white sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1.5 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 cup goat cheese 3/4 cup milk 1.5 tablespoons lemon juice 3 eggs 1 tablespoon thyme leaves 1/3 cup dried cranberries Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl In a smaller bowl, mix together goat cheese, milk, and lemon juice until relatively smooth. Beat eggs and add to mixture Add wet ingredients to the dry then mix in thyme and cranberries Cook in a small skillet over medium heat. Use about 1/3 cup batter per pancake.  Serve with additional goat cheese on top, or use instead of bread in a sandwich!

***Deliciousness Update: 

I have been using the leftovers to make sandwiches and they are wonderful! I put the cheese and stuff on top then microwave it for about 40 seconds.

Cheddar cheese and tomato

Cheddar cheese, tomato, and parmesan 

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!