Greek Yogurt Carrot Cake Pancakes with Cream Cheese Maple Syrup

Carrot Cake Pancakes with Maple Cream Cheese Syrup- sure to hurry spring along! Here’s the thing: Why does Spring have to be ruined by weird animal characters. Do any other seasons have bizarre animal lore?

The Groundhog? He exists to either dash your dreams of warm weather from the start or seeks to destroy you with his compulsive lies.

Easter Bunny? Not enough time. Just no.

And why does March have to come in like a lion or a lamb? Am I missing something? Technically we are still in Winter but I am ready for Spring. Once I get a taste of that 40° weather I become an 80 year old woman. I stalk the forecast every night and morning. I complain about the weather to anyone who will listen. I wear short sleeve shirts but I always have a cardigan nearby.

Weird animal ‘lore and inaccurate forecasts aside I do love this time of year. I look forward to packing away the boots and gloves. My scarf becomes an cute accessory not a necessity.   My scheduled runs become less daunting as I begin to put more miles on the pavement and less on the treadmill. And my kids look forward to longer days and more hours of sunlight in which they can torture each other.

Speaking of torture- breakfast. Yes breakfast. It can be torture in our house. My 6 year old just isn’t hungry when he first wakes up. You would think that 6 months of this whole Kindergarten thing would help in that area but he would still rather pass on breakfast and just grab a milk to-go. It’s like he’s a college student and milk is his coffee. But pancakes? Oh he will always line up for pancakes!

My toddler has this thing against eating protein with breakfast; I swear he senses it. I casually try to offer him something remotely filling and he rejects it with a fierce strong will that only toddlers can summon. So that’s why I started sneaking Greek yogurt into their pancakes. It’s packed full of protein! My favorite is Chobani and my refrigerator is never without it these days. At first I just added a container to a standard box mix batch of pancakes. As the winter droned on I got a little bit more creative and these Greek Yogurt Carrot Cake Pancakes were born!

Yield: 12 pancakes

Prep Time: 15 min

Total Time: 30 min

These carrot cake pancakes are easy to whip up and are packed with protein with the addition of Greek Yogurt. BONUS RECIPE: Indulgent Cream Cheese Maple Syrup

For the Pancakes:

6 oz pineapple Greek yogurt (I use Chobani)1 egg1/4 Cup carrots, shredded1/2 Cup flour1 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

For the Syrup:

1/2 Cup cream cheese1/2 Cup maple syrup

For the Pancakes:

Combine yogurt, egg, and carrots and stir until creamy.In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice.Mix together the wet and dry ingredients until combined. You may need to add a tablespoon of water (thin to desired pancake consistency).Preheat griddle or large pan to medium heat. Spray with cooking spray and spoon batter onto griddle. Cook until bubbles form on top (2-3 minutes) and flip. Cook for and additional 1-2 minutes until cooked through.

For the Syrup

Place cream cheese and syrup in a small microwave-safe bowl.Microwave 1 minute (or longer) until cream cheese is melted. Stir and pour over pancakes.Top with shredded coconut and raisins if desired

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