Cappuccino Pancakes with Mocha Syrup

My mother received a latte maker for Christmas. Though this sounds relatively unassuming, it was a big step for my family. You see, my parents were never coffee drinkers when I was growing up. We had a coffee maker hidden under the steps for when company came calling, but it rarely made an appearance. The coffee maker was aged and yellowed, perhaps even older than myself. Because my family was never part of the coffee culture, I thought people only began their day with a steaming mug on sitcoms and morning talk shows.

It's funny to look back now and see how very wrong I was.

My first taste of coffee was in my second year at university. As a late bloomer in many aspects of my life, it was hardly surprising I had stayed away from coffee for so long. To be honest, after my first sip, I vowed to myself I would never drink that horrible liquid again. Though I've always had a fondness for the coffee's wafting scent, my first taste wasn't terribly different from drinking a cup of gasoline.

Nevertheless, it grew on me. To begin, I could only stomach coffee if it resembled chocolate milk more than its bitter counterpart. With so much sugar and milk, the only way to distinguish it as coffee was the noticeable caffeine hit. Yet, somewhere over the last few years, coffee and I have become friends. I can drink it straight and black, without so much as a flinch.

Yet, with the advent of my mother's latte maker, coffee has become nearly a regular occurrence in my mornings. Without needing to fork over half an hour's pay for a drink at a coffee house, it feels like an elicit treat every single day. It's the frothy milk that gets to me.

Thus, it should come as no surprise that when I was dreaming up new brunch ideas, I looked to the empty bottom of my mug drained of my homespun mocha cappuccino for inspiration.

If you love coffee, caffeine, and Sunday brunch, these Cappuccino Pancakes with Mocha Syrup are destined for you. I spruced up my "old faithful" of pancake recipes with a good measure of espresso powder to give it a well-rounded coffee flavor. Then, like any proper cappuccino, the pancakes are topped with whipped cream and a homemade mocha syrup. Serve these with your next morning cup of coffee and you'll start your day off just right.

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Coconut Pancakes

Sunday brunch is my favorite meal of the week. It's not much of a secret to many of you either. If you head over to the recipe index, you'll find that breakfast is one of the few meals where I'll gladly stray from the land of sweet treats into the world of savory cuisine (well, if you count it as "savory" before drizzling it with a cup of maple syrup).

Sunday brunch has always meant a big, sit-down dinner with my family. No one is rushing off to the gym or heading out to meet up with friends, like it happens so often on weeknights. Sunday is family day. No one is allowed to leave the house until the plates have been scraped clean and the dishes put away—mother's orders. And trust me, no one would want to miss this meal in my house.

During the summer months, my mother and I like to cook up a healthy batch of something we can drown in syrup. My dad is the king of the eggs, making the best scrambled eggs I have ever eaten (or will probably ever eat). I've tried to replicate them, but never with as much success. Even though I've watched him make them hundreds of times, I don't seem to have the scrambled egg magic like he does (perhaps the scrambled egg gene skips a generation?).

But brunch does not stop here. Oh no, it's not my favorite meal of the week for anything. There are hash browns and fresh fruit. A batch of sausage hot from the grill. And then, if you haven't managed to get your fill, dessert. It's sinful, really, but I wouldn't want to have it any other way.

If I could invite you all over for a Sunday meal, you know I would. Instead, sharing my love for brunch and these Coconut Pancakes will have to do. Share these pancakes with people you love; make Sunday brunch a family tradition, if you haven't already.

These Coconut Pancakes are hearty and softly sweet. The whole wheat pancakes are infused with coconut milk and have flaked coconut in the batter for stronger flavor. These pancakes are a healthy and successful spin on the traditional buttermilk hot cake. Drizzle with maple syrup and top with coconut flakes or fresh fruit for a unique touch.

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Strawberry Pancakes

This is a public service announcement brought to you by the National Highway Traffic Safety Council. Well, kinda.

It was a typical Wednesday afternoon. I went to the grocery store like I do every Wednesday afternoon, picking up the usual fare with one exception—a watermelon. Spring was in the air, it was 50 degrees outside, and it seemed like a good decision. Especially since it was on sale.

After making my purchases, I packed the groceries in the backseat of the car and headed home. I like to drive slow with a car full of groceries because I don't want them to roll around and make a big mess of the backseat—it's a very big pet peeve of mine. As I was driving down a steep hill, the car in front of me stopped suddenly which meant that I stopped suddenly. It's a real shame my groceries didn't get the memo. They flew about the backseat like birds just released from a cage. And that precious watermelon of mine, the one that seemed like such a good idea only moments before, bounced out of the bag, off the seat, and managed to hit me straight in the side.

I was hit by a watermelon. In a car.

Explain the physics of that one to me.

After the initial shock of did-I-really-just-get-walloped-by-a-watermelon? wore off, I realized I had managed to puncture it with my elbow and it was now releasing watermelon juice at an alarming rate. As in getting-sticky-watermelon-juice-all-over-the-front-seat-of-my-car alarming. The orderly nature of my groceries had been shot to hell and my front seat was beginning to look like a gory crime scene.

I was peeved.

By the time I made it home, my only goal was to get that watermelon to the kitchen sink as fast as possible. It was a perfect plan except for one caveat—I'm clumsy. Yes, I managed to drop the wounded watermelon in the garage. Yes, it cracked open and shot watermelon juice everywhere. Yes, I had a second crime scene on my hands.

By the time I finally got it to the sink, it was in shambles—a shell of its former delicious self. So I did what any self-respecting person would do, I dug into the remains with a fork and cried over spilled watermelon. You would have too.

The moral of the story is to wear your seatbelt. You never know when you'll be hit by a flying watermelon. It's probably a good idea to buckle your watermelon in too.

Better yet, next time save yourself the trauma and buy strawberries instead.

These strawberry pancakes are light, fluffy, and thick. Packed with strawberries, you'll have a burst of berry flavor in every bite (which is a welcome sight when you're desperate for spring). The pancakes are not overly sweet, so you have the power to control how sweet you'd like your breakfast. I enjoyed these drizzled with a little honey and maple syrup. These pancakes make for a lovely spring brunch.

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