Apple Cinnamon Almond Butter Pancakes

The other day my sister sent me a recipe for almond butter pancakes, and it looked so good that I knew I had to try it.  So this morning, after drinking a couple beers last night (I know, I know, that's not Paleo...), I decided we needed some pancakes.

I used this recipe as a basis, but I changed it up a bit.  I decided to add apple chunks to the pancakes because I love things that are apple-cinnamon and why not add more fruit to the mix?  I opted to cook these on the stove in a skillet, but I may rethink that for next time.  The batter is a bit thinner than traditional pancake batter, and it was hard to get the heat at the right level.  I used coconut oil to fry them, when I usually would use butter, so it took a few tries to get the proper level of heat to work with coconut oil. They didn't come out as the prettiest pancakes you've ever seen, but they still tasted great.  The original recipe calls for baking them on parchment paper in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, and I think that may work better.  Oh well, gotta experiment!


So here's what I used:
(This served 2 of us)

• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup applesauce (all natural)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 apple, cut into small chunks

Preparation
Mix all ingredients together until batter is smooth.  Heat a large skillet at medium heat.  Add coconut oil to the pan. Pour batter into the skillet to form small pancakes and flip when they start to bubble.  Repeat with rest of batter.

OR pour batter onto parchment-lined baking sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

These are sweet and delicious enough that you won't need a topping, but I poured some honey on top since I love syrup on my pancakes.  They tasted great!  I served them with scrambled eggs and it made a great meal.  Next time, I will try them in the oven.  I look forward to experimenting with even more Paleo breakfasts.  Stay tuned!

UPDATE: I made these again today (3/9), but I used the baking method.  This was SO MUCH EASIER and made the pancakes a lot fluffier and better cooked.  After trying both, I would HIGHLY recommend baking them- as long as you have parchment paper!  Check out how much different (better, I think) they look after being oven-baked: