We first had marzipan pancakes in Chicago many years ago. I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant, but I can’t. It was super cute and they had the most amazing breakfast. What I can remember, is at the time my older son was very much into marzipan. He talked about it incessantly! His entire 5^th grade class knew about it, of course our family and friends, and even our rabbi got in on the action and yada, yada, yada, yes, he loves marzipan too! Imagine our surprise to find they had what they called marzipan pancakes on the menu! They were amazing!

They were sweet, but not too sweet and they tasted like the familiar rainbow cookies – a.k.a. Neapolitan cookies – a.k.a. 7 layer cookies. And, without a doubt they tasted like marzipan! The texture is light and sprinkled throughout with delicious specks of almond paste.

In case you are not familiar, I should probably tell you what marzipan and almond paste is. Marzipan is sweeter and smoother than almond paste. It is roughly 2/3 sugar to 1/3 ground almonds, it’s soft and pliable and can be molded into beautiful realistic looking candy. It is most often made into the shape of fruits or vegetables. Almond paste is less sweet and grainier. It is roughly 50/50 sugar and ground almonds and is used for baked goods like cakes and cookies like the rainbows mentioned above. The reason the restaurant called them marzipan pancakes instead of almond pancakes was because the chef was also a big fan of this delicious confection. Join the club!

Because of my son’s peanut allergy, we always asked for ingredients of foods when at a restaurant – especially breakfast. The waiter told us it was a basic pancake recipe but they added cream cheese to add richness and almond paste for an intense almond flavor. I wrote down what he said and knew I was going to have to try to make them when I got home and of course I did! The restaurant made the batter from scratch and back in the day I did too. Once I found a good box mix I liked, I never looked back! No shame in that especially when you find one that has wholesome organic ingredients and not crazy on the sugar.

So, today in celebration of National Pancake Day, I decided to throw it back to when my boys were little and I made what they proclaimed to be the best pancakes they ever ate in their lives! Enjoy!

ingredients
2 cups pancake mix (I like Annie’s organic)
4 ounces almond paste, grated on a box grater
1 cup fat free milk (or whatever milk you like)
1/4 cup (4 ounces) low-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1 large or extra-large egg
1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted plus additional for the griddle
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon baking powder
Optional: confectioner’s sugar, maple syrup, slivered almonds, strawberries

directions
Preheat a griddle or a large, nonstick skillet over low heat while preparing the batter.

In a large bowl combine the milk, cream cheese, egg, 1 tablespoon of melted butter, almond and vanilla extracts. I use a handheld stick blender but you could also use a food processor to process until smooth. Add the pancake mix and blend until just combined. Then add the almond paste and stir to incorporate.

Check the temperature of the griddle. It should be hot but not so hot that it burns the butter. You can make a little test pancake to see how hot it is by dropping one tablespoon of batter onto the griddle. This is a great nosh while making the rest of the pancakes!

Grease the pan with the remaining butter. Work in batches and pour ¼ cup of batter onto the pan and cook for about 2 minutes a side or until the top starts to bubble and the bottom is golden brown. I like to use my ¼ cup cookie scoop for this, but a measuring cup will be great for this too. Continue with the remaining batter making sure to butter in between.

Serve with strawberries or fruit of your choice. I like it with a little confectioners sugar sprinkled on top and some toasted almonds. Go ahead and dress them up however you like.