Almond and Orange Pancakes

The only way I could pump out all these citrus recipes is with the help of my new zester. There is no zester that can compare to a Microplane zester. It gently scrapes off the zest from an orange, lemon or lime and leaves the white pith. It also grates Parmesan cheese perfectly. Its like snow. I just love my Microplane. In fact, I love it so much that I think I am going to give one away tomorrow. Yeah, I will. So come back tomorrow and enter.


My last post was almond and orange truffles. I like the combo of the almonds and orange so much that I did it again, but in breakfast form. These pancakes are a bit upscale from your regular breakfast flap jack. They are lightly scented with the best part of an orange, the fragrant zest. And lots of zest. Two oranges worth. They are also a little different because of the crunch from the almonds. The almonds also seem to accentuate the orange flavor. These gourmet pancakes are something you would order at a fancy brunch.




1/2 cup almonds
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp sugar
2 oranges, zested
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
3 Tbsp warm melted butter

Heat a griddle over medium high heat.

In the bowl of a food processor, add the almonds. Process until they are coarse crumbs. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Whisk to combine and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the orange zest, eggs and milk. Add to the dry ingredients using a rubber scraper. Mix until the batter is still lumpy. Add the almonds and the melted butter and fold until combined. Spray the griddle with non-stick spray. Pour batter onto the griddle 1/4 cup at a time. When the edges of the pancakes are dry, flip them. Cook on the other side until golden. Serve with butter and syrup and whatever other pancakes condiments you like.

Yields 8 pancakes.

Rookie's Notes: If you feel so inclined to use every bit of the oranges, I know just how you can do it. Cut the oranges in half, juice them and pour the juice in a saucepan. Pour in 1 1/2 cups maple syrup and add the squeezed orange halves and simmer over medium heat while preparing the pancakes. The result will be a warm citrusy maple syrup to pour over your pancakes.