Vegan peppermint mocha pancakes

Merry Christmas everyone! But if you thought a mere holiday would get in the way of June posting her daily recipe, you were wrong. Ain’t no party that can get in the way of this shit.

Christmas at our house is pretty mild. We get up late and eat sweet things (as you shall see) and exchange gifts and then we spend the rest of the day muddling around drinking various beverages (cocktail, latte—take your pick) and dozing off. It’s a very understated affair.

Not that our tree is by any means understated. Our tree is pretty sexy if I do say so myself. 

Isn't this just a quality tree?

My brother and I might be a bit (just a bit) on the old side Santa Claus and such, but that doesn’t mean we can’t give each other CD’s and socks and cute little things like that. I’ll have you know my parents were kind enough to pick up not one but two coffee-themed ornaments: the world’s tiniest Starbucks cup and a Dunkin Donuts snowman...with a powdered sugar doughnut as the body. Yeah. Pretty fly for a white girl.

But don’t you worry. Everyone else got homemade cookies in adorable little cardboard boxes I taped together out of an old shoebox and decorated with Sharpies and yes I will be writing about those in the coming days (the cookies not the boxes...there’s a reason this is not a DIY blog).

And like every other year, there comes the discussion of religion. 

Not this again. source

Yes, religion—that tricky thing, which has stood by the rise and fall of civilizations for thousands of years. We don’t like talking about it, per se. But there’s always this unspoken question of why the hell are we doing this? Are we part of the grand tradition of celebrating the supposed birth of Christ and the Nativity and all or are we doing this just for kicks?

Lately it’s felt like more of the latter. I hate to say this out loud, on the internet, a place where there are people of all backgrounds and with vastly different beliefs, but our Catholic blood might be fading in this generation. I’m okay with it, personally. It feels like blasphemy in a world where the newspapers light up with Bible quotes and the radio stations scream out warnings of THE WAR ON CHRISTMAS! every December 25—but then again, I can’t fake it. I like to think that the only thing worse than no religion at all is a pretend one.

They say that religion is the only thing that can provide a sense of closure in one’s life, a guiding spiritual light that illuminates the truth of morality and everything. Makes you wonder. Does not having a religion make a person evil?

Does having a religion make a person not evil?

I think about that, as we exchange our gifts and drink our eggnog and munch on pancakes (getting there, sorry). I wonder if my non-holy non-official moral doctrine is good enough.

So yeah. That’s a secular Christmas for ya. 

Don't question it. source

But I do know this: being descended from Irish Catholics makes you kind of obligated to drink (cranberry juice) and be merry around the holidays, whatever you think about deep shit like that.

Enough blabbering about things that have no business on a food blog. Let me show you some pancakes, get troubling things off your mind (and hopefully dissuade any irritated persons from leaving me death threats in the comments section). 

Oh yes. Soothing the jimmies.

You remember that Starbucks cup ornament I was given? Yeah? Before the ranting started? That cup represented all of the lattes I have drunk in years past, peppermint mochas foremost among them. Tis a drink of much sugar and happiness, with drizzles of melted chocolate a mile wide and trillions of pumps of peppermint sugar syrup. Oh yeah and a bit of espresso. They’re lovely affairs, really.

So it was only natural that I translate this to pancake form. I simply took my favorite pancake recipe and swapped out a bit of the flour for cocoa powder, added chocolate chips and espresso powder and peppermint extract, and topped it with candy canes and chocolate syrup. Nothing much. They were quick to whip up and immensely satisfying on a Christmas morning. Not that they would taste any different on any other date.

Oh, and the chocolate pancake base? It’s just fine. I’ve tried a couple chocolate pancake recipes in the past, with somewhat subpar results (always kind of chalky or not chocolaty enough)—but I think I’ve found a winner here. Especially with chocolate chips. These pancakes are not the same without them.

Here’s the recipe.

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Vegan peppermint mocha pancakes

Adapted from my favorite pancake recipe

Makes four servings

Ingredients

218 grams • all-purpose flour • 1 ¾ cups

20 grams • cocoa powder • ¼ cup

16 grams • baking powder • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon

3 grams • salt • ½ teaspoon

60 grams • dark brown sugar • ¼ cup

235 grams • nondairy milk • 1 ¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons

8 grams • apple cider vinegar • 2 teaspoons

28 grams • vegetable oil • 2 tablespoons

1 gram • peppermint extract • ¼ teaspoon

1 gram • espresso powder • ½ teaspoon

80 grams • nondairy chocolate chips • ½ cup

Chocolate syrup (whisk in a bit of espresso powder)

Crushed candy canes

Instructions

Sift all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and dark brown sugar into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Make a well in the middle and pour in milk, apple cider vinegar, oil, espresso powder, and chocolate chips. Stir just until combined and there are no streaks of flour remaining.

Fry on a well-preheated pan until the pancakes are dry on the outside and cooked through. Top with chocolate syrup and candy canes. Munch.

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Needs more chocolate syrup.

Notice how the above recipe is not single-serving but actually makes enough for the whole family? That’s because Christmas pancakes are for sharing.

Yeah it’s so warm and fuzzy. Before you leave, some more pancake recipes (because I have loads of those).

Peanut butter cup caramel mocha pancakes. I didn’t come up with these I swear. It was just...experimental.

Ginger pear pancakes with chocolate syrup. The combination of flavors in here is lovely.

Tiramisu pancakes. That reminds me...I should make a vegan tiramisu sometime soon. 

Necessary.