It’s National Pancake Day!

Clearly I love this holiday, as I’ve celebrated it on the blog for the last two years (oh my gosh I’ve had the blog for two years?!) It should be noted, there are a couple of Pancake Days… pretty anticlimactic. Shrove Tuesday is the day before lent begins, and apparently the Irish used to use up all of their eggs and fat, since you couldn’t eat those during lent. The 2nd NPD is IHOP’s celebration (March 8th) of free pancakes and donations to Children’s Miracle Network. I think that is great cause for celebration, but just to be safe, I’ll get this post out on the early side to benefit both holidays.

It’s also Girl Scout season! All the social media posts are loaded with tagalongs, samoas, and of course, the all famous Thin Mints! As I pass the kids booths, selling their cookies, I once again give a smile and “good work girls, but no thank you!” It used to be that I could say they didn’t have any gluten free options, but now — I am so excited for the celiac community because the petitions and polls we all did years ago turned into what is now at least 3 flavors (toffee, trios, and raisin), made in a dedicated gf facility, with consideration to ingredients – honestly impressive and my gluten-related disorders advocate heart just grins from ear to ear. HUGE big deal.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t exactly translate into something I can eat, and just as they produced the cookies, I began my sugar and dairy free journey. I’m not writing this as I wallow in self-pity because I can’t have the cookies! No, it’s much more about the sense of tradition and culture surrounding the cookies. Maybe I should be purchasing a box of cookies every time I see those young girls and donate it to a good cause… maybe… if they weren’t so darn expensive! But sometimes when I see snapchats pictures of my friends buying their Girl Scout cookies, I have a little bit of FOMO.

This year though, I’ve seen the increasing trend of making other foods into the flavor of Girl Scout cookies, especially Thin Mints. I mean, who doesn’t love mint and chocolate together – Andes has been doing it for years and I grew up with what we called “creme de menthe brownies” – the combination is irresistible. My noticing of this trend and sudden desire to create something awesome just happened to occur at the same time as National Pancake Day. So began my adventure to cultivate a gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, THIN MINT PANCAKE. I’m not kidding you guys. And guess what… It’s really good!

GF, DF, SF, Paleo, Vegetarian

Ingredients:

Pancakes:

• 1/2 C GF Oat Flour (sub for almond flour for paleo)
• 2 Tblsp Coconut Flour
• 2 Eggs
• 1/3 C Almond Milk (I use the unsweetened vanilla)
• 2 Tblsp Cacao Powder
• 3 Tblsp Maple Syrup
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice (apple cider vinegar should work too)
• 1 tsp Mint/peppermint Extract
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• pinch of Salt
• Coconut Oil for pan

Chocolate topping (optional – this is more for dessert pancakes):

• 2 Tblsp Almond milk
• 1 Tblsp Maple Syrup
• 1 Tblsp Cacao powder

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and lemon juice and let sit for ~5 minutes. It’s okay if it separates a bit. (This creates a sort-of dairy free buttermilk.)
2. In a separate, medium size bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add maple syrup, eggs, and mint extract to the milk/lemon juice mixture and whisk. Finally, add wet ingredients to dry and thoroughly whisk to mix all ingredients.
3. Heat a tablespoon of coconut oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
4. Once pan is warm, drop a small amount of pancake batter into the pan (less than 1/4 cup). Heat until bottom forms a somewhat cake-y looking substance and when able to put a spatula under and it holds shape (~3 mins), it may or may not form bubbles, and flip with a spatula. Heat another minute or so until it looks cake-y as well.
5. Repeat with remaining batter.
6. For optional chocolate topping – combine all ingredients with a fork and serve immediately on top of pancakes. If too thin, let sit in refrigerator for a few minutes to thicken, or add a pinch of cornstarch.
7. Serve with bananas, unsweetened coconut flakes, sliced almonds, walnuts, the traditional maple syrup, or simply on their own!

*This stores great in the refrigerator or freezer in mason jars, but may need a splash of milk when you’re ready to make more!

Enjoy! I hope these help you embrace Girl Scout cookies season if you’re faced with food challenges, or just helps you get even more excited about it even if you can eat the cookies!