Vegan Pecan Pie Pancakes

Vegan Pecan Pie Pancakes

Is Thanksgiving really over? Tell me no.

Tell me I have more time before I have to rush and buy all my Christmas presents last minute.

Tell me I’m not already late in putting up our Christmas lights and getting a tree and putting up all sorts of delicate sparkly glass balls on it that break as soon as you look at them.

Tell me nooooooo!

Ok. I think I’ve calmed down a little bit. Thanksgiving is over, but today is Cyber Monday, and Cyber Monday is my favorite holiday between TG and Christmas. Cyber Monday means I can get awesome deals on Christmas gifts and not have to stand in line outside Target for 5 hours to save my ten dollars.

That’s exciting, if you ask me. I told Bjork I was going to take Friday off and he asked if I was going to go “line up outside Best Buy at 3 am” and I responded, “No, there is this thing called the internet, and there are no lines there.” Nuff said.

So I guess that because Thanksgiving is over and it’s officially time to put up Christmas lights and kill a poor pine tree so it can spread happiness and piney smells throughout our house for the next month, that means it’s ALSO time to start making all the sweet things. Like cookies!

And Pecan Pie Pancakes. Yup, I went there.

This recipe was one of those things that popped into my head with no forethought and nothing that I can remember that inspired it. I just woke up one Saturday morning recently, made a coffee, and decided that Pecan Pie Pancakes was a good idea.

And in true Raquel fashion, I of course had to make them vegan. What else do I do?

And they turned out AMAZING. Realll good. Good enough that you could totally serve them on Christmas morning and your family would love you for it.

To emulate pecan pie flavors, I used some warming cinnamon and nutmeg in the pancakes and topped them with a brown sugar syrup instead of maple syrup.

You guys. The brown sugar syrup. It’s where it’s at!!!

It’s so easy to make – you just combine brown sugar, a little (vegan) butter, and some corn syrup in a pan and warm it until the sugar is about dissolved. And if you’re about to close the page because I just recommended you use corn syrup, just remember that high frustose corn syrup is the evil, evil sugary liquid – not regular ol’ corn syrup.

Poor regular ol’ corn syrup has gotten such a bad rap because of it’s high-fructose cousin, but I swear it’s not bad. Want to know why? Fructose is the problem. See, when you metabolize sugars, glucose uptake into cells is regulated, where it is then turned into glucose-6-phosphate, and then into fructose. Fructose in itself isn’t bad for you – it’s a normal part of your cells’ glucose metabolism.

The problem with fructose is that its uptake into cells is not regulated when it’s coming from outside the cell. So while cells know how much glucose they’ve taken up and how much they should take up in a given time period, fructose totally bypasses that regulatory cycle and enters on its own free will. <<– and that’s the problem. If you want me to go into why lack of regulation is a problem, shoot me an email. I’d be happy to explain it. For those of you who just came here for this Pecan Pie Pancakes recipe, I’m going to move on 😉

So yeah. Cinnamon, nutmeg, pecans, and brown sugar syrup = pure winter morning bliss. They also taste remarkably similar to pecan pie, if you can just imagine eating a pecan pie in the form of a pancake.

They’re also half whole wheat, so even if I haven’t convinced you and you still feel like you’re committing some sort of health sin by eating corn syrup, you can take comfort in the fact that these are half whole grain and therefore are fantastic for your waistline and should be eaten as part of a normal morning routine, consistently a few times every week throughout the fall and winter seasons.

Nuff said.

VEGAN PECAN PIE PANCAKES

Prep time:  
Cook time:  
Total time:  
Serves: 6 PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS

for the brown sugar sauce:

  • 3 Tbsp butter, vegan or otherwise (I used Earth Balance)
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup corn syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

for the pancakes:

  • ¾ cup all purpose flour
  • ¾ cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp ground flax seed + 3 Tbsp water
  • 2 Tbsp canola oil
  • 3 Tbsp brown sugar sauce
  • ½ cup chopped pecans

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the butter is melted, then cook for 1 more minute. Remove from the heat.
  2. Mix the flax seed and water together in a small bowl. Set aside.
  3. Combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices in a medium bowl. In a 2-cup measuring cup, add the almond milk, flax seed mixture, and the remaining ingredients except the pecans. Mix well.
  4. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and whisk together just until no lumps remain.
  5. Set a heavy skillet or griddle on the stove over medium heat. Let warm for a few minutes, then turn to medium-low. Spray with spray oil, then add the pancake batter ⅓ cup at a time. Let cook until golden brown on the bottom and the edges just start to get dry. Flip, then cook for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
  6. While the pancakes cook, set the pecans in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook while stirring constantly until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat.
  7. If necessary, re-warm the brown sugar sauce before serving. Serve the pancakes topped with some chopped pecans and drizzled with the brown sugar sauce.