I’ll never forget these pancakes, partly because I cut off part of my thumb trying to make them.

Before I go any further, I’ll stop because I realize there are some among us who are queasy and don’t like the grisly details, myself included. Let’s just say that it involved a mandoline peeler and a momentarily lapse of judgment.

ANYWAY. Now that we’re past that, onward and outward.

These pancakes are delicious. They tasted that much sweeter after making I made them with a maimed hand. I’ve read horrors stories about chefs who continue to cook through the extremes, burned hands and broken fingers be damned. I’m not going to say that I rank among these chefs, but I guess, in a way, I am.

Because by making these pancakes, I realized that anything is possible. I wanted to eat them so badly that I didn’t stop making them, even when I knew that I should. I don’t know how I did it, in retrospect. But I have the picture to prove it.

I used an old pancake recipe and combined it with one I saw for caramelized peaches. Mascarpone was on sale at the grocery store so I bought some and put a dollop on top. The cool cream pairs well with the sweet peaches, and adding a little maple syrup at the end doesn’t hurt.

Here’s a song to get you through life’s little crises, whether it’s a botched peeling job or something more serious.

Caramelized Peach Pancakes (from me, to you)

Ingredients

1 cup almond milk
2 eggs
2 tbsp canola oil
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
4 tsp light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 peach, sliced
mascarpone cheese and maple syrup for serving

Directions

Whisk together milk, eggs and canola oil in a medium bowl, then whisk in the butter.

Stir together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in another medium bowl. Whisk in egg mixture until combined.

Grease a skillet with butter. Pour a couple tablespoons of batter onto the skillet and place a few peach slices on top. Cook until little bubbles appear on the surface of the cake. Flip pancakes with a spatula and cook until undersides are golden, about 1 minute more. Lower heat if pancakes brown too quickly. Serve with a dollop of mascarpone cheese and maple syrup.