Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pancakes

I don’t seem to have written any notes about these pancakes from Minimalist Baker (I do seem to be looking at that blog more and more often now!). What I remember is that they were easy to make, hearty and satisfying. The recipe makes 5 or 6 small pancakes, so we didn’t have any leftovers, and if the Little Prince had eaten some, I would have probably needed to double the batch – which would have been a good thing, because I love leftover pancakes. I served them with maple syrup, as always. And I’m now thinking I should just stack pancakes for prettier pictures, even though I don’t usually eat them like that!

I do remember, though, that I had put almond butter on the grocery list, and as I was checking the pantry for something else, I realized I had almost a whole bag of almonds sitting unclaimed, so I decided to make my own almond butter. I used this recipe for vanilla bean brown sugar almond butter, and it was by far the best almond butter I’ve ever had in my life. I’ve made it again since then and tried raw almonds, but I really do prefer it with roasted almonds. If you have a Vitamix or something with enough torque to make your own nut butter, I highly recommend it; otherwise, your favorite brand of natural almond butter will do.

1 very ripe medium banana
1 tsp. baking powder
1 flax egg (i.e., 1 Tbsp. ground flax seed + 3 Tbsp. warm water)
pinch salt
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. almond butter
1 Tbsp. canola oil (or coconut oil)
3 Tbsp. almond milk (or other lactose-free milk)
½ cup rolled oats
¼ cup whole wheat or unbleached flour (I used white whole wheat flour)
3 Tbsp. semisweet chocolate chips (non-dairy for a vegan recipe)

Preheat a skillet to medium heat (or about 300-325 °F).

Prepare flax egg by mixing flaxseed meal and water and letting set for 3-5 minutes.

Mash your very ripe banana with baking powder. Add flax egg, oil, salt, vanilla, almond butter, almond milk and stir. Stir in oats and flour until just combined. Sprinkle in chocolate chips and fold gently.

Scoop scant ¼ cup measurements onto lightly greased griddle. Cook for 2-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Serve plain or with a small drizzle of maple syrup and a few additional chocolate chips for melting.