Simple Craves & Olive Oil: whole grain & almond pancakes with banana syrup

What better day to make homemade pancakes than on a Sunday? I was up so late last night, technically this morning, reading about food photography and planning ideas for my future kitchen/patio/yard/garden. Call me crazy, but I just can't help it! Therefore, today's breakfast was enjoyed a little on the late side (2 o'clock pm late- yikes!) Sometimes you just need those lazy, relaxing Sunday afternoons!

Nutty whole grain pancakes with hints of almond and vanilla. Top it off with a warm banana syrup and you'll be in pancake heaven!

yield: ~10 medium-sized pancakes

Ingredients:

Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup all purpose flour *
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 flaxseed eggs (2 tbsp ground flaxseed + 6 tbsp water) *
1 1/4 cup of non fat milk + 1 1/4 tbsp white vinegar (or 1 1/4 cup buttermilk) *
1/2 cup chopped almonds, toasted

Notes:

I don't have whole wheat pastry flour, however if you do, then you can substitute that for the combination of regular whole wheat flour and all purpose flour. Next time I may add a little more all purpose flour since the whole wheat flour tends to be a bit more dense.

Ground flaxseed meal can be used as an egg substitute in many recipes. I thought it would be great to use flaxseed "eggs" in place of real eggs to bump up the nutritional value and add fiber. A flaxseed egg is just 1 tbsp of ground flaxseed plus 3 tbsp of water. Mix together and let it sit for a few minutes to thicken.

Today I used non-fat dairy milk because that's what we had in the fridge. Adding either white vinegar or apple cider vinegar can be used to mimic buttermilk.

Banana Syrup

1 1/2 tbsp of vegetable oil
2 tbsp of raw agave nectar
1 tbsp of molasses
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 very ripe banana, mashed
1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice (or 1/8 tsp each of: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, & allspice)

You can strain out the mashed banana once the syrup is done cooking if you don't want to have bits of banana in your syrup. I decided to leave them in mine, though. :)

Directions:

In a small sauce pot, add vegetable oil, raw agave nectar, molasses, and water. Whisk together well. Add brown sugar, mashed banana, and pumpkin pie spice. Turn up heat to medium high and whisk every few minutes while it comes to a boil. Once the mixture is at a boil, turn down heat to very low to keep warm while you make the pancakes.

Chop or process 1/2 of cup of raw almonds and toast them on a sheet pan in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, add ground flaxseed and water to make flaxseed "eggs". Let it sit for a few minutes.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add brown sugar and mix well. These are your dry ingredients. In another mixing bowl, combine milk, vinegar, vanilla extract, almond extract, and flaxseed eggs. Whisk together well. These are your wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until mixture is well combined. Stir in chopped almonds. The batter should be a thick consistency.

You can make these in a frying pan or on a griddle. If you decide to make them in a pan, turn the heat on medium and let the pan get nice and hot. Make sure to spray the pan or griddle with non-stick cooking spray or a little bit of butter. The pancakes will be ready to flip when they start to bubble up.

Plate pancakes and drizzle with warm banana syrup!