The (Mostly) Make-Ahead Pancakes Anna Jones Eats on Christmas Morning

Holidays and celebrations have always been about pancakes in our house. Growing up in California I developed an obsession with diner stacks of pancakes, and ever since, I’ve been creating different off-beat versions. I always come up with something special for Christmas, riffing with ingredients like candied kumquats, toasted hazelnuts, or poached pears. But somehow, it’s always the old favorites I come back to—and you just can’t beat a banana pancake.

And the reason I became an expert on banana pancakes in particular? During an enthusiastic surfing lesson on the first day of a holiday in Bali, I got burnt to a crisp; in order to stay out
of the sun, I spent the rest of the holiday inside, perfecting banana pancakes.

Now they're something I often make during the holidays for a break from the over-indulgence of Christmas. This recipe is vegan and gluten-free—thanks to using pecans and oats instead of flour and mashed bananas in place of butter—and the batter can be made ahead so it's just a case of cooking them up last minute.