Blueberry-Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Happy Pancake Day! Today is a funny holiday that is typically celebrated in England more than it is in the US, though I’m not sure why that is! Back in the day, it was celebrated as a way for people to use up any extra fatty ingredients they had in their house before Lent (typically flour, sugar, eggs etc) – a last hurrah, if you will. Though today, it’s really just become an excuse to eat pancakes, and I’m all for it.

My friend and manager Kirsty is the absolute pancake queen, and I had her teach me the secret to the perfect fluffy pancake. Instead of whipping up a mix from scratch, use this gluten free baking and pancake mix by Pamela’s instead. Not only is it gluten free (so slightly more guilt free), I find that many other pre-made mixes don’t quite rise the way this one does. Create these yummy blueberry-banana chocolate chip pancakes, below!

Ingredients:

Makes 6-8 (6 inch) pancakes

3 cups of Pamela’s Gluten Free Pancake Mix
3 Eggs
1 cup of Almond Milk
1 1/2 cup of filtered water
Coconut Oil
1 medium ripe banana (soft enough to mash)
1/2 cup of Pecan Nuts
1/3 cup Dark Chocolate Chips
Reduced-sugar Agave
Strawberries & Blueberries
Powdered sugar to serve

Steps:

1) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 3 cups of the pancake mix and 3 eggs, until combined.

2) Pour in 1/2 cup of almond milk and whisk carefully. Some mixes say to use water, but I like to use half water and half almond milk as it makes the pancake batter a little more smooth and rich. Keep adding the rest of the milk and the 1 1/2 cup of water until the mixture is smooth, it should not be too thin or too thick, making sure there are no lumps, give it a good firm whisk for around 90 seconds to get some air into the batter, this will help the pancakes become more fluffy when you cook them.

3) Peel the medium ripe banana and mash it in a bowl and then fold in the mashed banana to the pancake batter.

4) Take the 1/2 cup of pecan nuts and place them in a ziplock bag (making sure that you squeeze the air out) and crush them into small pieces. Then take a non-stick frying pan on medium-high heat and melt 2tsps of Coconut oil. Once the oil has melted add the pecan nuts stirring them until they are coated in the oil. You want the pecan’s to turn a dark brown, but don’t leave them in for too long as they will burn quickly. The coconut oil gives them a sweet caramelized crunch taste, yum! Remove the pan from the heat and add the pecans to the pancake batter, also adding the 1/3 cup of dark chocolate chips and stir until they are folded in.

5) Place the pan back onto a low to medium heat. If you are using a good non-stick pan, you should be able to cook the pancakes without using any oil, so long as you use a medium heat. If the pan gets too hot, you may risk burning the mixture. If you have an older pan then melt 1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil per pancake. Once the pan is hot, using a big serving spoon or ladle take some of the pancake batter and pour it into the center of the pan. You can rotate the pan on an angle to spread the mixture more evenly. The pancake will take around 90 seconds each side, make sure the bottom is nice and firm and then slide the spatula underneath and flip over to the other side, you can keep flipping every 30 seconds ensuring that the pancake is a nice golden brown color.

You can stack the pancakes onto a plate and keep them in the oven on a low heat, or once all 6-8 pancakes are cooked you can always add them back to the pan for 20-30 seconds each to heat them up before you serve them onto each individual plate, however they should remain quite warm. To serve I suggest 1-2 large pancakes per-person, unless your have a hungry, active husband like Mackenzie and then you may want to serve 3 🙂 – I like to dust the top of the pancakes with some powdered sugar which I tap through a sieve, and then drizzle some maple syrup over the pancakes (be generous!) and add your blueberries and sliced strawberries.

xx,