Thursday, December 25, 2014

Vegan peppermint mocha pancakes

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. 

oh boy gif
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). 

chocolate peppermint mocha pancakes
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


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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vegan peppermint mocha pancakes
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.

14 comments:

  1. Looks delicious:-) love pancakes

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  2. Love how your recipe is Christmas colored!
    But to add my two cents: I hated saying "happy holidays" when I worked at a grocery store instead of "merry Christmas" when I knew that these people celebrated Christmas. (how did I know? They told me) But it was company policy not to say those words.

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    1. I totally understand! Most people wouldn't mind Merry Christmas anyway, it doesn't make any sense. Thanks for indulging me, heh :)

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  3. If I didn't have offspring, I wouldn't bother celebrating Christmas. But, I do it for him, and make it more secular than anything--I'm not particularly religious anymore, and my husband isn't really either (in spite of his family being hard-core Lutherans). That being said, my child LOVES candy canes (I get him an entire box all for himself each year) and he loves pancakes. He would be all over these in a heartbeat! Bookmarking for his birthday breakfast (which is next weekend)!

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    1. Yay!! I hope you do make these, they are so good. Won't let you down :) I feel like the secular traditions around Christmas are more fun for kids anyway, so good for you guys! :D

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  4. Ahhhh religion. Meh - I say to that!
    Which is why, despite there being religion in Norway, I am quite grateful that we say "god jul" meaning "good yule" instead of merry christmas, because to me christmas is all about tradition, about sharing and creating moments with near an dear ones, and using this time as an excuse to hurry about the kitchen baking tasty treats (on which I indulged upon highly when visiting aforementioned home country a mere week ago). Yule is about keeping warm (in cold countries anyway!), eating delicious food, and just being nice to one another :) And - no matter christmas or not, one can always rattle up a batch of these pancakes - Actually, I reckon I'd prefer these to the coffee version!

    You guys did an awesome job on that tree, I love the ribbons, and cannot wait for the cookie recipe :D xx

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    1. Yes, you're so right--it's all about decorating trees and giving gifts over here :) I'm glad you like the pancakes, they are awesome indeed :)

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  5. These pancakes sound mouth wateringly delicious!! Love the combination of peppermint and mocha, great way to start the day! If you had a spare moment, I would be delighted if you'd drop this (and anything else you'd like to share) by at the #PureBlogLove DIY and recipe link party! You can find me here: http://picnicnz.blogspot.co.nz/

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  6. Thank you so much for attending week 15 of #PureBlogLove and linking your fantastic blog post. These pancakes are just so delicious looking! I cannot wait to try these. I can't wait to see what you have in store for our party next week Thursday 8 PM EST- Sundays at midnight. Your post has been added to the #PureBlogLove Pinterest board for all to see :) Have a great day!
    Nicole

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