Almond Pancakes

If you like the flavor of almonds, you'll love these delicious pancakes.  If you are not sure who in your family is a fan of almond and who is not, serving these for breakfast will settle the matter quickly.  I made these one Sunday morning and my teenage daughter loved them, as did all her friends, but my seven-year old did not care for them at all.

I've made these gluten-free by using a gluten free pancake mix, but Giada's original recipe called for a conventional buttermilk pancake mix.


Almond Pancakes
Adapted from Weeknights with Giada
Makes about 20 small pancakes

1 1/2 cups Pamela's Products Baking and Pancake Mix (Gluten-free, but does contain nuts)
1 egg
1 1/4 cup water
1 Tblsp oil
1 Tblsp sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup almond paste (I use Solo brand which is gluten-free)
1/4 cup cream cheese, at room temperature

Combine the pancake mix, egg, water, oil, sugar and extracts in a medium mixing bowl.  Add the cream cheese and almond paste in small pieces.  Let the batter sit for five minutes then stir well with a wire whisk.  If this not enough to break up the cream cheese and almond paste, use an immersion blender to create a fairly smooth batter.

Using 1/8 cup of batter per pancake, cook on a pancake griddle or electric skillet set to 325 degrees.