Almond Pancakes with Dried Cherries and Chocolate Chips

For over a year I have wanted to stop drinking diet Dr. Pepper and diet Coke.  They have been a guilty pleasures for years.  I started drinking them regularly in graduate school.  I was a full time student, and I worked part time.  I didn't manage my time particularly well, so I was often tired. 

I would buy diet Dr. Pepper at work to have an excuse to get away from my desk, and I found I my sleep deprived body functioned better with a stimulant coursing through my veins.  I also would spend hours in the computer lab working on statistics and mapping homework.  I would take a break from the lab and treat myself with a cold diet Coke. 

I am cutting it out of my diet, and I'm surprised how hard it has been.  The first few days I got a head aches.  I no longer get head aches, but I miss that it is no longer part of my routine.  It's a good thing I never started using cocaine because I would never be able to quit.

These pancakes are packed full of almonds and almond flavor.  I used almond extract and added chopped almonds.  Almonds are native to the Middle East and South Asia.  Almonds are not a true nut.  They are considered a drupe.  Drupes have hulls and a hard shell.

The word almond comes from an old French word almande .  The United States produces 1.8 tons of almonds a year.  Most of the almonds in the United States are grown in California.

The base pancake recipe came from all recipes.com.  I added almond extract, almonds, dried cherries, and mini chocolate chips.

The ingredients are 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon white sugar, 1 1/4 cups milk, 1 egg, 3 tablespoon melted butter, 1 teaspoon almond extract, 1/3 cup chopped almonds, 1/3 cup mini chocolate chip morsels, and 1/3 cup dried cherries.

I combined the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.

In another bowl, I mixed together the melted butter, milk, egg, and almond extract.

I whisked the flour mixture and liquid ingredients together until incorporated.

I added the chopped almonds, mini chocolate chips, and dried cherries.

I scooped a third to a fourth of a cup of batter onto a warm and greased skillet.  I flipped the pancakes when bubbles started to form in the center of the pancakes and the edges were a little dry.

As is my tradition, I served these pancakes with greek yogurt.  

The texture of the pancakes was light and tender.

The edges were golden and brown.

The almond flavor was pronounced and inviting.  The almonds were crunchy and nutty.

The chocolate was creamy and gooey, and the cherries were chewy and sweet,

These were delicious pancakes.  The flavor was excellent.  Cherries, chocolate, and almonds go well together.  They were a scrumptious and welcome breakfast.