I have had a subscription to Bon Appetit for a year (after they shuttered Gourmet) and read it every month… but none of the recipes ever looked very good to me. So imagine my surprise when I was leafing through the January issue and I saw a COUPLE of recipes that looked good. This is the only one I’ve tried so far, but we really liked it. Of course, it is actually Mark Bittman’s recipe, not BA’s, but they printed it, right?

Now, remember how I told you not to buy light coconut milk because it is just regular coconut milk with more water? This recipe calls for light coconut milk. And I don’t know the conversion. Sorry. I used a can of light that I had in the back of my cupboard. (Even if you’re not worried about fat, you shouldn’t use a can of regular with no added water — the batter will be too thick)

Even if you follow the recipe properly, the batter will be pretty thick. You can use the back of a spoon to quickly smooth the batter out on the pan and make thinner pancakes if you want, but I didn’t do that and we liked the way they turned out.

You could just eat these with maple syrup, but I definitely recommend putting tropical fruit on it if you can. It really makes it.

Coconut pancakes (By Mark Bittman, in the January 2011 issue of Bon Appetit) Serves about 4
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 13 1/2-ounce can light unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/4 cups warm water
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Canola/vegetable oil
Pineapple, mango and banana to serve

Turn oven on warm. Whisk together flour, shredded coconut, baking powder, nutmeg, allspice, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Whisk coconut milk, warm water, maple syrup and vanilla in a medium bowl. Pour wet mixture into dry ingredients and whisk until batter is pourable.

Brush griddle or skillet with oil and heat over medium-high heat. Pour batter into skillet (roughly 1/4 cup at a time) and spread with back of a spoon if desired.

Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until small bubbles begin to appear on the surface, then flip and cook until golden. (If you don’t spread the pancakes out, you will probably have to cook them a little longer to get them cooked through). Transfer pancakes to a baking sheet and keep warm in oven until ready to eat.

Chop about 1 cup mango, 1 cup pineapple and 1-2 bananas and combine. Serve pancakes with a little maple syrup and plenty of fruit.