While cooking, listen to this: Them Changes - Thundercat

You know those times when you're having pancakes, and part of the pancake has been drenched in maple syrup, and it kind of falls apart and gets super saturated and squishy in a good and totally not gross way?

Yeah...that is literally all I can think about right now.

How can I be expected to concentrate on anything when pancakes, vegan pancakes! exist in the world? I mean, yes, said world is also falling apart and that makes it even more difficult to concentrate, but the pancake thoughts certainly don't help.

So I'm giving in. Here I am, a grown human, sitting at a desk at 4:26 in the afternoon, daydreaming about pancakes and going all glaze-eyed. I'm leaning in.

I think the first time I made this recipe was when I was having a similar daydream, with the addition of wanting to impress my now-partner. Waking him up with pancakes will make me look domestic and talented and spontaneous! I thought. I also thought, Dear lord pancakes sound crazy good right now. Edgy Veg came to my rescue, and I haven't used another pancake recipe since.

These pancakes are fluffy, not too sweet and SO easy to make. The method for making vegan buttermilk is killer, and I use it in any recipe that calls for buttermilk now. If you're anything like me, you can never finish a carton of buttermilk, no matter how small it is, before it goes all bad and starts mugging people at gunpoint. With this method, you get the exact amount of buttermilk that you want, with none going to waste.

These pancakes are also super versatile because you can throw anything in there that you'd like. For this batch we alternated blueberries and chocolate chips, but go nuts (hey! You could add nuts!). Put blueberries and chocolate chips in at the same time! Splash some bourbon in there when no one is looking! The world is your oyster. Pancake? I don't know. I've never had an oyster and frankly they seem terrifying, so the world will be my pancake.

Anyway, I digress. Make these pancakes, and drown them in as much maple syrup as you want. Then you can join the food daydreamers club. We're very quiet, but boy do we have fun.

Love and meows, Rina

VEGAN PANCAKES

Yield: about 6 medium-small pancakes (this recipe is easy to double, triple or quadruple!)

Inactive Cook Time: 10m | Active Cook Time: 10-15m | Total Cook Time: 20-25m

Category: Breakfast, Vegan

Source: slightly tweaked from Edgy Veg

Special Equipment: griddle (optional), wide-set spatula

Ingredients

1 cup non-dairy milk of choice (we used soy)

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 cup flour

1 Tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

⅛ teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons coconut oil (1 for the batter, 1 for coating the pan)

¼ teaspoon vanilla powder OR ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Toppings of choice, like chocolate chips, bananas, berries, sprinkles etc. (optional)

Instructions

Prepare the vegan buttermilk: in a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, combine the non-dairy milk and white vinegar. Stir well, and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. This will create a vegan buttermilk! How cool is that?

Heat your pan: if you have a griddle, go for it, but we just use a large pan. Place 1 Tablespoon of coconut oil in the pan and heat over a medium flame.

Prepare the batter: in a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk together, then add the buttermilk mixture, vanilla and coconut oil. Whisk until combined.

Cook the pancakes: once your griddle/pan is hot, spoon the pancake batter into it. You have full agency with how big or small you want them, and how thick or thin. Just remember that the thicker the pancake, the more time it'll take to cook totally through. If you're using toppings, now is the time to add them. Sprinkle them on top of the pancakes or make some fancy designs. You'll know it's time to flip when the bubbles that have formed on the pancake have stopped popping. Carefully flip with a wide-set spatula and cook for a couple more minutes until they're done to your liking. When done, place on a plate and cover with a paper towel to keep warm, and continue with the rest of the batter.

To serve: these are awesome plain, but what fun would that be? Bring out the vegan butter, peanut butter, maple syrup or jam and slather away.

To keep: these are crazy good no matter what temperature they're served at. They can be kept in the fridge for a few days and then eaten straight away, after being brought up to room temperature or after reheating. I doubt they'll get to that point, though. Leftover pancakes are mythical creatures.