Toasted Coconut and Macadamia Nut Pancakes

 

It is crunch time you guys!!! Back-to-school is happening. I am excited about the return to our routine, but mostly I am excited about not listening to Xbox or Minecraft all day (Sidenote: why are the Minecraft noises soooo annoying? If you do not have boys at home under the age of 15 you probably have no idea what I am talking about right now and for that you should feel really REALLY glad). And I am excited about not mediating ridiculous arguments that end up with Evan trying to explain that, “Andrew is being a jerk to me!” (Andrew is usually not being a jerk, for the record. They are just brothers and Evan is particularly sensitive about criticism… I’m crossing my fingers that he finds himself a thicker skin somewhere.)

Actually, who am I kidding? All of that will still be happening, just not until after 3:30 which will at least give me a few hours to work without playing peacemaker or making someone a sandwich.

So back-to-school is full of good things and fresh starts and extra early mornings but.

I will miss some crucial summer-at-home-with-the-kids things.

 

Like long lazy pancake breakfasts.

I make the boys pancakes a few times a week. They love it. I love it. It’s a really fun little morning routine.

I wait until 8:30 or so, after several cups of coffee, when I hear them stirring (these guys like to sleep in the morning which does give me a few hours of quiet unless the kitties decide to be annoying). Pancakes are so simple to make– and they’re quick!! But for me they are intensely satisfying.

The boys agree.

 

These pancakes were inspired by a few things: 1) a bag of toasted Macadamia nuts that I bought to make cookies forever ago but never made it happen and 2) a fresh coconut that I shredded and then added to everything for days. These pancakes are so light and fluffy and just a teensy bit sweet (I like the sweetness in the syrup but not so much in the actual pancakes). I added a little almond extract just like I would have if I were making Macadamia nut cookies and these are rivaling the Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Ricotta Pancakes for my new favorites.

 

With our mornings changing here in the coming weeks, our pancake breakfasts will get moved to Sundays, and this recipe will definitely be part of that rotation. What are your favorite pancakes?

Pancake Batter was adapted from The New Best Recipe Revised Edition from the editor’s of Cook’s Illustrated. If you don’t have this book in your kitchen I would HIGHLY recommend it! It is a fantastic resource when it comes to the how’s, why’s, and basic building blocks of cooking.