Sunday, June 15, 2014

Monkey Bar Pancakes


Nothing says family like old bananas. I love that my brother-in-law walked into our kitchen yesterday and offered us a bunch of brown, speckled, soft bananas. It reminded me of bringing an open bottle of wine to a best friend's dinner party. O & I gratefully scooped them up, chatting excitedly about what we could do with them.





We decided to try a "monkey bars" recipe from a local cookbook, Morning Glory Farm, and the Family that Feeds an Island. Of course, O & I healthi-ed those monkey bars right up! And, Uncle Ryan's old bananas did what they do so well in baked goods-- created a moist, sweet irresistible treat. As O & I tasted the warm, gooey, rich monkey bars and licked chocolate from our fingers, we looked at each other and agreed, "These would make an awesome pancake." So, here we have them . . .

Monkey Bar Pancakes
serves 4

1/2 t salt
2 t baking powder
1.5 T date sugar (sugar of choice)
3/4 c oat flour (or flour of choice)
3/4 c all-purpose flour
2 T ground flaxseeds
2 T wheat germ
1/3 c unsweetened shredded coconut
1 large elderly banana, mashed up
1 t pure vanilla extract
3 T softened organic coconut oil or butter, plus more for greasing griddle
2 eggs
1 1/2 c milk of choice (if you like a thinner, less-cakey pancake- add more milk)
1/3 c dark chocolate chips

(We had leftover fresh coconut flesh, so we added that to the wet ingredients, too.)



Combine banana, vanilla, oil, eggs & milk in a medium bowl. Mix flours, baking powder, salt, sugar, wheat germ, flaxseeds & shredded coconut in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in wet ingredients, mixing until smooth. Be careful not to overmix.


Heat oiled griddle and pour batter, using about 1/4 cup for each pancake. Drop a few chocolate chips on each pancake (a little goes a long way). When you see bubbles throughout, flip and cook for another two minutes or so.



They are like little breakfast cookies, but really, the only questionable ingredients are a little white flour and a few dark chocolate chips. Definitely worth making for a birthday or overnight guests.


Monkey bars for all!



And Happy Father's Day to all the daddies, grandaddies and daddy's-to-be!
Some fave daddy's photographed below . . .
 My Pop Pop and I. How I loved playing with his cane!

What a shock it was- discovering how much fun my dad could be during 
Parent's Weekends at Florida State!


How incredible it is to watch your once college-lifeguard-boyfriend transform 
into a hands on, caring, intelligent father! 





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