When he was small, my youngest son had a habit of filling his pockets with treasures he encountered in his daily adventures. I didn't always understand the value he saw in his chosen objects -- really, how many rocks and sticks could one boy keep? In his eyes, though, each one was beautiful and important. Life is just like that on a larger scale, isn't it? We gather up the precious bits of our experiences and save them all to learn from and enjoy later. Perhaps you'll find a little something here that you'd like to keep in your own pockets. Thanks for visiting.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Pancakes, perfected


Will is a real little creature of habit. When he finds something he loves (a book, a game, a food, or anything else), he likes to enjoy it repeatedly, and it is always very difficult to convince him to break a routine. One of the things that Will really loves is having pancakes for breakfast every Saturday morning. Tomorrow I am certain to wake up early to the sight of a cute boy with a big toothless grin beside my bed and the sound of him asking, "Are we having pancakes today?".

Back in January, I posted a couple of pancake recipes, an old family one that used wheat flour, and a gluten-free version made with almond flour, courtesy of Elana Amsterdam. Because we eat pancakes every weekend, I've had lots of opportunity to experiment with the gluten-free version and to come up with a delicious pancake that does not contain eggs (since Will reacts to them) or any sweeteners other than fruit (since my body is much happier when I avoid them). I think I've come up with the perfect recipe. These high protein pancakes cook beautifully and Will always gobbles them up in no time!

Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Egg-free, Sweetener-free Pancakes (that still taste scrumptious!)

7 tbsp water
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tbsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
2 tbsp arrowroot flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
grapeseed oil (for cooking)

In a food processor, combine water, applesauce, and vanilla. Process until completely mixed. Add almond flour, arrowroot flour, cinnamon, sea salt, and baking soda and process again until mixture is well combined.
Heat the grapeseed oil on a griddle set to medium heat (325 F). Spoon two heaping tablespoons of batter onto the griddle for each pancake, and use the back of the spoon to smooth the batter out into a circle that is approximately half an inch thick.
Cook pancakes until small bubbles begin to form on the top of them, then flip each pancake. (The cooked side should be a lovely golden brown.) Continue cooking pancakes until the tops are slightly firm to the touch and both sides are nicely browned. Transfer pancakes to a plate and serve drizzled with real maple syrup or a homemade fruit topping. Mmmmm!


This recipe makes about 6 very filling pancakes. (The fact that they're made with almond flour gives them a lot of staying power.) Whether you have food sensitivities in your family or not, these pancakes make a wonderfully tasty and healthy breakfast and are the perfect way to start off any weekend morning!

7 comments:

  1. Holy cow! Those look delicious. I can't wait to try them.

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  2. I hope you love them as much as we do, Rachel!

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  3. Looks great! I am new to the gluten, dairy, and egg free world and have been looking for a good pancake recipe. Do you know if these reheat well? Thanks!

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  4. Hi Lisa. Welcome to the world of gluten, dairy, and egg-free! It's a tough adjustment at first, I found, but there are so many good recipes out there once you know where to look (and once you feel comfortable getting creative in the kitchen on your own with alternate ingredients!)

    These pancakes reheat wonderfully! We often freeze any leftovers, then warm them up as we need them by placing them in a single layer on a baking sheet in the oven at medium heat, flipping them part way through. Hope you enjoy them!

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  5. HI I live in Toronto, and I follow Lexie's Kitchen and the Spunky Coconut, and Elana's and a few others. When you say blanched almond flour do you mean the flour that works with Elena's recipies? The name is 'initials' they have a shop on the west side of the city that you can get it?
    I'm asking because Bulk Barn has almond flour as well...just not as finely ground as the one I was trying to describe to you. I'm totally gluten free and should not be having dairy or eggs, and I'm getting better at this as I go along.

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  6. Hi, ~inspired~. I'm not familiar with the 'initials' flour, or the store you've mentioned (I live in Waterloo), but I do use a finely ground almond flour in most of my baking and cooking. I usually order it in bulk from nuts.com (they ship to Canada!) because I use a lot of it, and their flour works perfectly in any of Elana's recipes I've tried. The odd time I have used the almond flour from Bulk Barn -- it does work in this particular pancake recipe! :) (But you're right -- it's not as finely ground.) I hope I've answered your question. Glad to hear that eating gluten, dairy, and egg free is getting easier over time. We found that in our family, too. Thanks for stopping by!

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  7. Oh, one more thing -- if you're able to eat gluten-free oats, I've recently posted another pancake recipe that is also gluten, dairy, and egg free. They've become our family's new favourite! Here's the link: http://pocketfulsoftreasure.blogspot.ca/2012/02/hearty-oatmeal-pancakes.html

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