I don’t like pancakes.

Gasp, the horror! I know. I’m a little wacky. Occasionally (and by occasionally I mean maybe once five years ago when I was pregnant with my first baby), I’ll have a hankering for pancakes, but they’re really not my first choice. I’ll eat them; they’re fine. I’m just not a big fan. (I’m also not a huge fan of donuts either. Or pie. Or frosting. Please don’t hate me.) I can actually hear Jim Gaffigan yelling at me.

BUT…

I love these pancakes. Maybe because I inherited my mother’s love of almonds and their delightful flavor. Who knows.

But these are amazing.

I have searched and attempted to make many versions of a paleo pancake. Some with coconut flour and eggs, some with just banana and egg, some with protein power. I had yet to find a decent texture and firm enough pancake that tasted good and wouldn’t fall apart when I flipped it. Because that happens to me a lot.

Then I came up with these. Oh, happiness.

Currently, my husband and I are completing our second round of Whole30 and I was trying to incorporate more healthy, Whole30 eating for my kids as well. Hence the search for the perfect pancake. After several attempts, I landed on this little gem and it was amazing! Technically, pancakes aren’t Whole30 approve, even when making them with entirely compliant ingredients. But since pancakes aren’t a trigger food for me (see above), and I’d already completed one round, I figured I’d be safe.

My life will forever be changed.

These little cakes are delightful. Filled with nutty almond flavor, and a pleasing texture, they were a hit even with my children. (Including the 9 month old)

The almond flour is a new ingredient for me and I bought it on a whim. Be sure to get almond flour instead of almond meal. You could certainly try almond meal, but I prefer the texture of flour (the skins of the almonds have been removed making it a finer texture).  I also used a little coconut flour to  help with texture, flavor, and to stabilize it a bit.

To really beef up the almond flavor, I used unsweetened almond milk (vanilla or regular work just fine) and almond extract. The extract is the key. My mom always used almond extract in her  Christmas cookies instead of vanilla, so these pancakes have a treat-like feel for me. (If your mom didn’t make Christmas cookies that way, add the almond extract anyway. It’s yummy.)

Mix everything together. Note: the batter will be thicker than a traditional pancake batter and this is perfectly fine. You may have to spread batter out in little circles with the back of a spoon.

For my kids I served with real maple syrup. I ate them plain (Whole30, you know). Enjoy!

Paleo Almond Pancakes

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1 tbs coconut flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• tiny splash vanilla

Mix wet and dry ingredients separately. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well. Batter will be slightly thicker than regular pancake batter.

Heat a nonstick skillet on medium heat. Melt a little ghee or butter onto the skillet. Drop about 1/4 cup of batter in skillet and spread out with back of a spoon in a medium-sized pancake. Cook several minutes per side until each side is golden.

Top with maple syrup or a date-almond butter syrup. (See below.)

Dig in!

 

Date-Almond Butter Syrup

Ok, this isn’t really a recipe. But it’s super yummy. Again, probably not Whole30 approved since its a recreation of a sweet syrupy sauce, but it would work very well with the pancakes.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pitted dates
• 1/2 boiling water
• 1/2 cup almond butter

Soak date in water until plump and softened. Throw in a food processor or blender with almond butter and blend until smooth and a syrup-like consistency. Serve with pancakes, or just eat with a spoon. It’s that good.