Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip and Walnut Pancakes

     So with all of this cold weather we have been having lately, I was in the mood for some warm comfort food last week. I ended up deciding on some vegan pumpkin pancakes...I mean seriously, how can you go wrong with pumpkin pancakes?! We even had them for (gasp) DINNER! I know what you are thinking and yes, we do like to live on the edge from time to time here in the our household ; ). The nice bonus with these pancakes is that with some flour substitutions, the final product is reduced gluten and slightly reduced carbs than your typical pancakes. I made these around Christmas time as well, but this time I decided to play with the flours a little and see what the outcome was like. I like to change up the flours a bit from the typical all purpose flour from time to time by substituting portions of what the recipe calls with other varieties of flours for a couple of reasons. One, I like that it gives our favorite recipes variations in textures. I admit that sometimes I end up having total disasters with the final products, but that's part of the fun with learning new things when it comes to cooking. Second of all, I also like that when I change up the flours a bit, we get exposed to the other health and nutrition benefits that other flours offer.
   With today's recipe, I substituted part of the 2 cups of flour need for the recipe with combining all purpose flour, almond flour, and oat flour. I almost always have the latter two flours on hand here at the house because you just never know when a good opportunity will arise to use them ; ). Do keep in mind that if you do not have these flours and/or honestly do not have the desire to buy them because you know that you will not use them often then by all means just use all purpose flour for the recipe, but just know that you are missing out! Both almond and oat flour have some good nutritional boosts that are hard to pass on. Almond flour is gluten free (these pancakes are not GF, but are reduced gluten since I have the different flour varieties in them), high in protein and good for you fats, and low in carbs and sugars. Oat flour is also gluten free and also provides the same health benefits (such as helping to decrease cholesterol) that you get from eating oats because it is simply ground up oats. So I apologize for the novel...let's get to the recipe. The directions seem wordy because I put several notes in to help you.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk (+ 2-4 tbs at the end after mixing if needed)
• 2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice 
• 2/3 cup packed pumpkin puree
• 2 tbs melted vegan butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 tbs either turbinado sugar or coconut sugar
• 2 tbs agave 
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• pinch salt
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I never buy this premade...I have a recipe...that I think tastes better than buying it already made because of the ration of spices in it...and make a batch and store in a small tupperware and use it as needed...I have included a recipe to make the mixture if you need it)
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cup flour mixture (I use 3/4 cup APF, 3/4 cup oat flour, and 1/2 cup almond flour)
• (optional, but highly recommended) 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
• (optional) 1/2 cup walnuts

Directions

1. Combine 1/2  cups almond milk with the lemon juice in a large bowl and let rest for 5 minutes to curdle (essentially you are making a vegan buttermilk). Then add the pumpkin puree, vegan butter, vanilla, sugar, agave and whisk to combine. (set aside)
2. In a medium bowl add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices, and flours and whisk together thoroughly.
3. Combine the dry ingredients into the wet mixture with the whisk. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts here if using. If the batter appears to thin you can add a bit more all purpose flour 1 tbs at a time and if it appears to thick then add more almond milk in tbs increments. (At this point, it is about personal preference. I prefer my finished pancakes more on the thin side vs thick and fluffy so I usually add an additional 2-3 tbs of almond milk here.) Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes to thicken for optimal pouring when starting to cook. (don't rush this part...let it get the 10 minutes...I have rushed this part and tried only letting it sit for a few minutes and the pancakes fell apart when flipping because the batter just wasn't ready)
4. While the batter is resting preheat a large skillet to medium heat...you want the skillet nice and hot. Once the batter is ready either butter/oil/spray your skillet (I like my pancakes to have a somewhat crispy border so I lightly oil my pan with avocado oil...you get the same healthy fat that you get from olive oil, but avocado oil is a higher heat cooking oil then olive oil) and pour 1/4 cup measurements of the batter on the pan. You will see bubbles start to appear (generally with pancakes I would flip at this point, but with this recipe where the finished product will have a high moisture content...due to the pumpkin puree...I let it sit a bit longer...maybe a minute or so past this point...because if you try to flip it at this point like you would with plain jane pancakes, it will fall apart...you want to make sure it is nice and cooked) so flip when it appears well cooked on the bottom and cook for another 2-3 minutes on the other side. Transfer the finished pancakes to a plate.
5. This recipe made us 15 nice sized pancakes...serve however your heart desires : )!

Recipe for DIY pumpkin pie spice

• 3 tbs ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/2 tsp ground all spice
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cloves

1. Combine spices in a small bowl and mix well to combine. Store in a small container.

Enjoy!

 ~Christina~

P.S. My daughter loves them ; )