6/27/11

Almond Pancakes


The day my husband and I left for Yellowstone, we decided to take things easy. We slept in, watched the morning news and went over our plans for what we wanted to see inside the park. I made us some of these almond pancakes and we sat and watched the sun come over the tops of the mountains while we ate them.

At least, that was the plan.

We did sleep in, and I did decide to make us pancakes, but instead of being a relaxed, peaceful morning, it was a little bit crazy at our house. I wasted too much time figuring out what clothes to bring to make sure I was prepared for every possible weather scenario, so by the time I started making breakfast I was frantically mixing things up in the kitchen and making a floury mess everywhere. Meanwhile, my husband decided it would be a good time to play the drums instead of packing. I ate my pancakes out of one hand while standing by the stove watching the rest of them cook. My husband didn't even have any pancakes because by the time they were ready he had moved on to packing and there was no way I was going to interrupt that. We loaded the car and then added about fifty things that we didn't really need but thought we should bring because we had room. (Like kites. For real? Did we think we were going to fly kites in Yellowstone? Not quite sure, but we brought them, "just in case".)

These pancakes are on the list to make again on a morning that isn't quite so busy, because they're good enough that they deserve some undivided attention. I'm a fan of almond flavor, so the use of ground almonds in them and almond extract was just perfect. They were delicious on their own, scarfed down straight off the griddle, or with whipped cream and fruit. 

Stay tuned for Yellowstone pictures and stories. It was beautiful up there and I'm in the processing of sorting through my pictures.



Almond Pancakes

1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
about 1 1/4 cup raw almonds
2 T sugar
2 cups low fat yogurt (Greek yogurt won't work because it is too thick.)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/8 tsp almond extract (for subtle flavor) or 1/4 tsp almond extract (for strong almond flavor)

Directions:
1. Preheat a non-stick griddle over medium heat. Lightly grease the cooking surface with butter or spray with non-stick spray.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a mixing bowl.

3. Add almonds and sugar to a food processor. Pulse several times until the mixture is finely ground. (I like little tiny chunks of almonds in my pancakes. If you wanted the mixture to be smoother, sift out the larger pieces and pulse them again until they are fine.)

4. Measure out 1 cup of the almonds/sugar mixture and add it to the flour mixture until just blended. Stir the yogurt, eggs, butter and almond together in a separate bowl; add to the flour mixture, stirring only until just incorporated. The batter will be thick and airy. (You can add a couple tablespoons of milk if it is too thick to spread on the griddle.)

5. Pour about 1/3 cup of the batter onto your preheated cooking surface, leaving space for the pancakes to expand. Cook until dry around the edges and bubbles have formed over the top, 2 to 3 minutes; turn and continue cooking until done in the middle and golden brown, another 1 to 2 minutes.

Recipe Source: Adapted from allrecipes.com

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