Vegan Maple Pecan Muffin Pancakes

I saw on a local news show, a segment about muffin tin pancakes and apparently they are all the rage lately on social media.  I must be out of the loop, because I had not heard about them until that point.  Whoever invented them though is genius, because they are so much easier to make than flipping pancakes.  They may not be as pretty, but they certainly are functional.  I remember going to these pancake breakfasts as a kid for fund raisers, and they would be stacking loads and loads of pancakes off of the ginormous grills and serving them up to the long lines of hungry people.  I kind of loved those, because the pancakes were always fluffy and delicious and I could have as many as I wanted.  I used to be a huge pancake lover and I could eat a lot.   They had to have butter though, and actually whipped cream and strawberries were my favorite topper, even over the classic maple syrup.  So, imagine having these muffin pancakes at a big event to serve, they might look a little different and be a little smaller, but hey, you could serve a crowd fast with no flipping.  I shared them with Eric, who always seems to have trouble wrangling up breakfast when it gets busy in the morning. Maybe you are like that too, if so read on!

I a modified version of my usual pancake batter, adding in pecan butter, chopped pecans and maple to make them extra delicious!  To be honest, when I was making these I did not know if they would turn out like the non-vegan ones that inspired them, but I prayed about it and crossed my fingers.  When I took a peak in the oven after a few minutes, they looked promising!  They were done fast, like in about 12 minutes, and they popped out of the muffin tins beautifully!  But did they taste like pancakes was the question.  I made a maple pecan syrup for them, because it just sounded good at the time, to echo the pecan maple theme of these.  They were delicious!  They tasted just like pancakes, and of course they are, they are just presented a little differently.

I hated to eat breakfast when I was a kid, so my Mom would give me portable things like bars to bring to school.  But I could see these being a good portable breakfast with the syrup in a container on the side, or even if you stuffed them with jam instead of using syrup so the stickiness was on the inside.  I would have loved these for breakfast, and even been excited about eating them.  Because I have always loved cute little unconventional things.  So, if you are looking for an easier way to make pancakes, give these guys a go!

Vegan Maple Pecan Muffin Pancakes
Makes 14

Pancakes:

• 1 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp pecan butter
• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp filtered water
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp maple extract
• 3 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 cup chopped, toasted pecans

Syrup

• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup pecan butter

Instructions:

1. In a food processor, combine all pancake ingredients (except the pecans) and process until just blended, stir in the pecans, then pour into a bowl with a pour spout and set aside.
2. To cook pancakes, preheat oven to 375F degrees. Oil a 14 hole muffin pan with coconut oil.  Pour the pancake batter into the muffin tins, and place in the oven.  Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the pancakes are set in the center.  Remove from oven.
3. To make syrup, whisk together the maple syrup and pecan butter. Top the pancakes with it!

*Note: If you do not have a non-stick pan, and don't mind these not being oil free, go ahead and use a little coconut oil when cooking them to prevent sticking.