Coconut Cream Pie Pancakes

I love coconut. In fact, I'm pretty much obsessed with it. It's weird. If I could grow a coconut palm in my backyard, I totally would. But I can't cause I'm in Missouri, so I make up for it by keeping a constant supply of products in my kitchen. I have coconut flavoring, dried coconut, coconut milk, coconut water, coconut oil, and coconut butter in my kitchen right now! When I was a non-vegan little kid, I used to ask my family for the coconut chocolate in the box of chocolates because I knew that would be the one they'd take a bite of on accident and throw away. I wasn't having that!! Literally, when I found out about Artisana coconut butter, I almost died. Then, when it finally arrived in my HyVee a year later, I bought some, took it home, ate it on a slice of peanut butter toast, and danced around my house. Luckily, this kind of behavior is expected of me.

There. Now you know about my coconut obsession...

Anywho, I'm pretty sure I've been promising you this pancake recipe for like, a year now. It is one of my all-time favorites, and I make it whenever I have a little bit of canned coconut milk left in the fridge. I modified my original recipe to create a "healthier" version (though, I'm being honest here, it's still a tasty, tasty pancake). I even reduced the calories a little bit without reducing any of the flavor. It's awesome.

I added the water because I wanted a thinner pancake this time around, but you can leave it out if you'd like. The banana helps to give some sweetness and body (and to serve as an "egg"), but if you aren't feeling fruity today, you can leave it out. In fact, I almost never add the banana to this recipe. With pancakes, you don't really need an "egg", but I think the next time around I'll make a flax seed egg, just for the nutty flavor.

So here you go, for the pancake-lover in you:


Coconut Cream Pie Pancakes:
1 1/3 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour
2/3 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 c. shredded coconut, toasted, unsweetened
1 Tb. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. almond milk
1/2 c. coconut milk
1/2 c. water
1 very ripe banana, mashed (optional)
1/2 tsp. coconut extract/flavor
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and coconut. Whisk to combine.
2. In a medium bowl, mash up the banana and add the brown sugar, almond milk, coconut milk, water, coconut flavor, and vanilla extract. Mix well to combine.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir together until just combined.
4. Place about a 1/4 c. amount of batter on a hot skillet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Cook over medium until bubbles form in the center and it's dry around the edges.
5. Flip pancake over and cook for about 1-2 minutes or until golden brown. Repeat process with all the batter, spraying with nonstick spray occasionally if needed.

I just can't make a joke about nuts. So here... pancakes.

I really enjoy these pancakes topped with Artisana coconut butter, a touch of maple syrup, and some of the leftover toasted coconut, but fruit and sweetened coconut cream are also a super tasty topping!