We have a Sunday tradition- pancake breakfast.  Never fail.  Usually they are just basic pancakes.  Sometimes I’ll change things up with a variation, but always the same basic items- pancakes, veggie bacon, and french pressed coffee.

Vegan pancakes can sometimes be too chewy, flat, or brick-like.  I’ve been messing with this recipe for a while, and it is pretty solid. 

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/4 cup flour
• 1Tbs baking powder
• 1/2tsp salt (kosher is always best!)
• 1 and 1/4 cup plain soy or almond milk
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 2Tbs maple syrup (the real stuff, grade B if you can get it)

Steps:

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl.  
2. Measure the soy/almond milk in a 2 cup glass measuring cup.  Warm it up by putting it in the microwave for a minute.  This will allow the batter to bloom faster.
3. Add the vanilla and maple syrup to the soy/almond milk. Stir it up!
4. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and stir a few times.  DO NOT OVER STIR! It should remain somewhat lumpy.  Too much stirring will make a tough batter.  If the batter is too thin, add a little more flour (1Tbs at a time).
5. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before adding the batter to a pan.  This gives the batter some time for bloom and will make the pancakes fluffier.  A heavy cast iron skillet is the best to use.  Pour the batter onto a slightly oiled pan over medium low heat.  Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side- until it becomes golden brown.

Alternatives:

Chocolate Chip Pancakes:

- Add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips right before you stir up the batter (make sure the batter is cool- otherwise it will melt the chocolate chips, making chocolate swirl pancakes (which may be awesome)).

Cinnamon Molasses Pancakes:

-Add 2Tbs Molasses, 1tsp cinnamon, and 1/8tsp ground nutmeg and only use 1 cup of soy/almond milk.

Stack them and crush them!

-JD