Coconut Flapjacks

     I had leftover toasted coconut, coconut milk and coconut topping from the sticky rice with mango recipe.  Then I had a brilliant idea: why not make coconut pancakes and use the coconut topping on the top instead of syrup?  Looking around in my cookbooks, I found a recipe for Coconut Flapjacks from Mark Bittman's Food Matters.  Well, why not?

Coconut Flapjacks from Mark Bittman's The Food Matters Cookbook

Notes from the author: "Coconut and its milk provide so much richness that you can make these pancakes without any eggs or dairy at all.  Fresh or dried fruit is a great topping here, but I like the slight crunch of sugar crystals combined with a few drops of lime juice.  Or if you want to take these the savory route, add a tablespoon of curry powder to the batter"

Ingredients: 

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

1/2 tsp salt

One 14 oz can coconut milk (light is fine)

1 1/4 cups warm water, or more as needed

Vegetable oil, for frying

Raw (turbinado) sugar, for serving

Lime wedges, optional

Procedure:

1) Heat the oven to 200 F.  Combine the flour, coconut, and salt in a large bowl.  Stir in the coconut milk and warm water.  The batter should be fairly thin but not watery; add a little more water if it seems to thick.

2) Put a large skillet or griddle over medium heat.  When a few drops of water dance on its surface, add a thin film of vegetable oil and let it get hot.  Working in batches, spoon the batter onto the griddle or skillet, making any size pancakes you like.  Cook until bubbles form on the top and pop, 2 to 3 minutes; you may have to rotate the cakes to cook them evenly, depending on your heat source and pan.  Flip the flapjacks and cook until they're browned on the other side, a minute or 2 more.  As they finish, transfer them to a platter in the oven while you cook the remaining batter.  While they're hot, sprinkle the tops with a little sugar and serve with lime wedges.

     These made a really dense pancake that surprisingly fills one up quickly.  Of course, I didn't do the keep them warm in the oven or top with turbinado sugar and serve with lime wedges.  Instead, I just put them on a plate (they kept warm enough) and topped with the coconut topping and, eventually, the toasted coconut (I forgot about the toasted coconut the first time I served them).  Very good.  Filling.  And pretty darn healthy for you!

Coconut Flapjacks

With the coconut topping leftover from Sticky rice with mango

Look, it made a heart!