Coconutty Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

I tried kickboxing today. I'm still not sure how I avoided paralyzing myself. It was pretty tough, and it really made me realize how impossibly uncoordinated I am. Kickboxing is surprisingly very satisfying...especially if you're having a bad day. I knew if anyone saw me doing this activity they would think I was suffering from a seizure or transforming into a zombie or something, so I definitely did it on my lunch hour...in my office...in my scrubs. I have no dignity. I am sure it was a sight to behold. I have to say I was exceedingly delighted and terribly grateful to have somehow had the entire hour of flailing limbs to myself, without any interruptions...obviously.  I wanted to tell you all, one of my most beloved things about having this blog are all the emails I get from readers. I don't might actually keep them all stashed away like a super creep or some obsessed teenage girl. Yes, every single one of them. I treasure them! On average, I get about two or three per day. Readers email me with questions regarding different food items or to tell me that they love the blog and the recipes or just to plain chit chat.

I love them all. So keep them coming my friends! I'd love to post some of these emails because some of them are so incredibly lovely and sweet, however, since they were emailed to me personally, obviously, I couldn't do that. So I will just have to hoard them instead. My preciousesss. Oh and please, please, please for the love of god, use the voicemail feature! It's my favorite! 

Okay, enough sappiness! Onto the greatest recipe that has ever graced my lips! Coconutty Cinnamon Roll Pancakes. Unrefined coconut oil and coconut milk flavor these pancakes with a creamy, rich coconutty flavor in addition to all the gooey deliciousness of a fresh, hot cinnamon roll and drizzled with a sweet, coconut flavored icing. 

LORD ON HIGH. Alright, I don't know what that means really (I am not a religious person) but a friend used it in an email to me and it somehow seemed incredibly appropriate here. This is one mind-numbingly delicious breakfast.

Ehhhh...let's be real here. At this point it's pretty much just a cake. If you thought Todd and I had this for dessert though, you'd be wrong. Oh, for breakfast right? That makes sense. Pancakes = Breakfast. No, still wrong. We had these delicious mofos for dinner cus that's how we roll, yo! It's like having dessert and breakfast for dinner and seriously, what is better than that? Nothing. It's heaven on earth. Now let us thank the food gods for this unbelievably delicious meal. 

Prepare yo self!

Coconutty Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Inspired by Recipe Girl and McCormick

Serves 2-3

• --The Egg--
• 1 Tbsp. ground flaxseed
• 2 Tbsp. cold water
• --The Cinnamon Filling--
• 4 Tbsp. vegan butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon 
• --The Icing--
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp. unrefined coconut oil, melted
• 2 Tbsp. coconut milk (carton, I like Silk)
• 1/2 tsp. Kahlua or vanilla extract
• --The Pancakes--
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum (optional)
• 1 cup carton coconut milk (I like Silk)
• 1 Tbsp. unrefined coconut oil, melted

Flax is first. To make the flax egg combine the ground flaxseed and water in a small bowl and whisk very well. Place in the fridge until ready to use.

To make the cinnamon filling, add all of the ingredients to a small zip-lock bag and squeeze/knead until well mixed. Careful not to let it burst out the top! Once it is well mixed, cut a very small hole in one of the corners and place in the fridge until ready to use. 

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To make the icing, add all the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until very smooth. Add additional milk if needed. Set aside until ready to use. 

To make the pancakes, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Then add in the milk, the flaxseed egg, and the oil. Mix until just combined.

Over medium-high, heat a large frying pan and coat with a nonstick cooking spray. Add 1/4 cup of pancake batter to the pan. Allow the pancake to cook until the edges start to form bubbles, about two minutes, then "pipe" a swirl of the cinnamon filling onto the pancake, as such. Careful not to let it get too close to the edges of the pancake.

Then, flip the pancake over and allow the other side to cook for about 30 seconds. You don't want to leave it flipped for too long or else the filling may begin to burn. Some of the melted filling will seep out from beneath the pancake and that's okay. Remove the pancake from the pan once cooked through and place on a plate.

Before making a new pancake, take a paper towel and whip the pan, taking care not to burn yourself! This will help get some of the remaining filling off the pan so it doesn't burn. Continue with the rest of the batter.

Serve the pancakes stacked high, hot and drizzled with the coconut icing. No need for maple syrup or butter!

What am I listening to? Kate Nash – Mariella

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Pumpkin Pie Molasses Ginger Cookies

In case you don't know, Fall in Alaska lasts about three hours. Yep. The leaves pretty much turn ugly yellow right before your eyes, then fall off and you're left with sad, naked trees. There's nothing lovely about it. No beautiful colors, nothing. Nope. Go to Vermont for that.

So how does an Alaskan know it's Fall (besides the time of the year, obviously), it rains incessantly, for like three weeks straight. Flood warnings will appear on the news and the chilly morning air will bite right through your scrub pants. Okay, that last bit may be just according to me. But oh the rain, and just when you think it's over...more rain. Am I right, Alaskans? Yes. Luckily, I baked these cookies to warm the house and fill it with a delicious and proper Fall smell. No rotting leaf smell here. Just sweet pumpkin pie...but what's that, I smell cookies as well! Yes.

These are Pumpkin Pie Molasses Ginger Cookies and they are as delectable as they sound. I might make them for Thanksgiving this year instead of a pumpkin pie. They're that good. Like a ginger molasses cookie but sooo much better. Enlivened with pumpkin pie spice and crystallized ginger bits, these soft molasses cookies are what Fall is made of.

In case you plan on using a chicken egg instead of a flax seed egg, allow me to enlighten you with this video that demonstrates how the Journal of Atherosclerosis (yes there's a journal for that) found a "...similar exponential increase in carotid artery plaque buildup found for smokers and egg eaters." Say what? Eggs? No, thank you I think I'll pass.

You'll be delighted to find out how the American Egg Board attempted to bribe a prominent Yale physician to disagree with the study. The physician refused, so in the most rational and obvious of choices, the egg industry had a fake physician (that they made up) try to discredit the study. Nice. It's really touching stuff. Makes you feel all good and wholesome about buying eggs from the store right? Um, no.

The takeaway? Try a flax seed egg. Just try it once. Pretend you're a hippie and do it for Halloween, I don't care. It won't kill you, though those chicken eggs probably aren't helping you out so much. Hey, don't hate the messenger. For all the goodness of flax though, check out this treasure trove on all things flax. Flax...not so exciting, but it does the body good.

Yes, the irony of this being a dessert post is not lost on me. Cookies are a necessity, though. Eggs are not.

Pumpkin Pie Molasses Ginger Cookies

By Katie Henry - Produce On Parade

Enlivened with pumpkin pie spice, and crystallized ginger chunks these soft molasses cookies are what fall is made of.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. ground flaxseed
• 2 ½ Tbsp. water
• ½ cup vegan butter, room temperature
• 1 cup vegan granulated sugar
• ½ cup canned pumpkin
• ¼ cup molasses
• 1 tsp. Kahlua (or vanilla extract)
• 2 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 ½ tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. kosher salt (or ½ tsp. table salt)
• ¼ cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped
• ¼ cup vegan granulated sugar for rolling, adjust as needed

Instructions

1. In a small bowl combine the ground flaxseed and water. Allow to rest in fridge until ready to use.
2. In a large electric mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the flax egg, pumpkin, molasses, and Kahlua and beat for several minutes, until fluffy and smooth.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients, except the last two ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients very slowly while the electric mixer is on low. Mix until just combined, then fold in the chopped crystallized ginger.
4. Cover, and allow the dough to chill in the fridge for at least one hour.
5. Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven 350° F. Roll one tablespoon of dough in the sugar. The dough is pretty sticky, so don't worry about having perfectly round balls (snicker).
6. Drop 12 cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes. Put the remaining dough back in the fridge while they bake.
7. The cookies will come out quite soft when done baking. Allow them to rest on the baking sheet out of the oven for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough.

Prep time: 70 minutes
Cook time: 00:15
Total time: 01:25
Yield: 24 cookies

Save Money!

I buy my ground flax seed here where I find it for almost half the price!

It’s only $0.27 per ounce vs $.54 per ounce at our local grocery store.

More Yummy Fall Desserts

Maple Banana Cookies

Maple Molasses Chocolate Cookies

Spiced Pumpkin Gingerbread

Spiced Cinnamon Rolls w/ Pumpkin Icing

For fun, what am I listening to? Basia Bulat – Heart Of My Own

The Best Lavender Blueberry Muffins

There are no words to describe how perfect these muffins are. They are so incredibly moist and fluffy. The wild blueberries lend a robust tartness, the lavender is floral and comforting and sugar sprinkled on top gives a nice, sweet crunch. I don't know if I'll be able to resist making them again this weekend!

I have a different blueberry muffin recipe on Produce On Parade. You can see it here. But I didn't do my homework well enough. Move aside old blueberry muffins because these muffins will top any other blueberry muffin you've ever have tried. Yes, I am making that claim. I will never look for a different base recipe for blueberry muffins. They are that good. I of course "veganized", and "snobbified" this recipe from Cook's Illustrated. If you don't know about Cook's Illustrated then you better go find out about here. I can pretty much credit everything I've ever learned about how to cook well, to my parents and Cook's Illustrated. Cook's Illustrated is a magazine. They also have a site online as well as podcasts! Growing up, my grandparents as well as my parents subscribed to the magazine and I looked forward to it every month. I loved the always changing watercolor illustrations of various fruits and vegetables that was on the back cover. Yet, my favorite part of the magazine was the "Taste Test" part, where they ranked various canned/boxed or jarred food items by taste and affordability. I also loved the "What Is It?" article. Readers send in photos of some random and obscure kitchen gadgets that they found in their great grandmother's kitchen and they are explained in detail what they are and what they were used for. In regards to the images in the magazine, most are all sketched as opposed to actual photos which is really cool. As somewhat of an artist myself, I always cherished that. Though, I don't get the magazines anymore because I use the online subscription.

Don't know the difference between quinoa and couscous? Does chopping an onion take more than 5 minutes? If you're new to cooking, or just looking to better your chef skills, Cooks Illustrated is where to get your start. They even have an online "cooking school". Take a look at their site to see recipes, equipment reviews (which I love!), and taste tests. America's Test Kitchen is under the same umbrella as Cook's Illustrated as well as Cook's Country and they're one of my favorite shows on television. If you've never checked out the show, there's a link to when they air on TV, here. I feel I should note that I am in no way affiliated with them, though I wish I was...I just really think there's a lot to learn from them!

Okay, so let's remember this muffin recipe was inspired by them. They are divine. I made these for our family's August birthday party. Todd as well as my Grandma, Grandpa, Dad and Uncle all have August birthdays so we just have one big celebration towards the end of the month. I will tell you that there was German chocolate (the standard) as well as red velvet cake at the party, but my little brother only wanted the muffins. He kept asking me, "Is it okay if I have another?" I think he had three or four! There are no words to describe how perfect these muffins are.

The Best Lavender Blueberry Muffins

By Katie Henry - Produce On Parade

There are no words to describe how perfect these muffins are. They are so incredibly moist and fluffy. The wild blueberries lend a robust tartness, the lavender is floral and comforting and sugar sprinkled on top gives a nice, sweet crunch. I don't know if I'll be able to resist making them again this weekend!

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. ground flax seed
• 2 Tbsp. cold water
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup granulated vegan sugar
• 1/4 cup vegan butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 1/4 cups (10 oz.) vegan sour cream
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries, wild if you can find them
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lavender, minced
• extra sugar, for sprinkling on top

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and spray a regular 12 muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk together the cold water and flaxseed and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
4. In an electric stand mixer bowl or a large bowl add the flax mixture and the sugar and whisk vigorously for about 1 minute. Add the butter and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and sour cream in two steps, mixing until just combined.
5. Add the frozen blueberries and lavender to the dry mixture; toss to coat. Gently fold the dry mixture into the wet mixture until just combined. Be very cautious not to overmix. There may even be some sprays of flour and that's okay. The batter should be very thick.
6. Drop an even amount of dough into each muffin space on the pan. Do not flatten or arrange the batter and do not overfill. Bake at 350 F for about 30 minutes until somewhat firm and a light golden brown around the edges. Rotate the pan halfway through.
7. Remove from pan and place on a wire cooling rack; sprinkle with sugar if you like and allow them to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 00:30
Total time: 00:40
Yield: 12 muffins