"Everthing-free" Almond Poppyseed Pancakes

This is still a work in progress, but I've enjoyed them so much that I wanted to get this out there for others to try. These have turned out more thick and fluffy than my pancakes usually are, which has been a nice change.  I have also been experimenting with citrus-poppyseed pancakes, but the results have not yet been quite good enough to share.

I am still tinkering with the type and amount of sweetener. First, I used two tablespoons of coconut sugar, but they were not sweet enough. In the batch I'm making tonight, I used two tablespoons of "Monkfruit" sweetener. I'm sure they would be quite good with refined cane sugar, but I am trying to cut back on that, so I'm working with other options. If sugar is not an issue for you, you could probably use a couple of tablespoons, or maybe even a quarter cup, of regular granulated sugar.

I am writing this post in-between tending pancakes as they cook, and I've just tried the first ones out of the pan. Hmm....the monkfruit sweetener did work, though I think they still need to be just a bit more sweet. They also browned slowly. The type and amount of sweetener used definitely impacts how they brown. Next batch, I may try a little bit of liquid stevia, or maybe some honey or agave nectar, to boost the sweetness. I'll keep you posted. :) Still, they are soft and fluffy and good. :)

On a chilly day, there are few things as comforting as pancakes. Even though they're not quite perfect, these are still tasty, and I hope you enjoy them. :)

"Everthing-free" Almond Poppyseed Pancakes
wheat-free, gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, soy-free, vegan

makes about ten, 3" pancakes

Dry ingredients: whisk together well in a large bowl

1 cup fine millet flour
1 cup tapioca starch
(this is what I use. I'd be interested to hear how these work using 2 cups of other gluten-free flour blends)
(2 to 4 Tablespoons coconut sugar or other sweetener)
1 Tablespoon flaxmeal
1 Tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons poppyseeds 
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

Why I use these flours: millet flour and tapioca starch are almost the only flours/starches that my body will tolerate. Also, I like the texture when they are combined. To me, it resembles unbleached wheat flour.

Wet ingredients:combine in smaller bowl and whisk together well
2 Tablespoons flax gel (see my post from May 4, 2018 for directions on making flax gel)
1/4 cup neutral cooking oil (I used grapeseed oil)
2 teaspoons melted coconut oil (this is important, when not using eggs)
2 teaspoons almond extract (**for the very sensitive, make sure it's gluten-free!)
1 cup coconut milk (the beverage, not the thick kind in a can)

Directions:
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk until very well combined.
Let batter rest before using, anywhere from fifteen to thirty minutes.

Cooking: everyone's kitchen and tools are so different that it is hard to give specific cooking directions. For many years, I have used non-stick electric griddles for cooking pancakes. Now that I live full-time in a travel trailer, there is no room for such gadgets. I am adjusting to cooking pancakes in a skillet, and relearning how to cook on a gas stove, which I have not done in almost thirty years! The gas stove I am using does not have a really low setting for the burners, so what is the lowest mark on the knob for me might actually be medium-low on someone else's stove. When I used the electric griddle, I cooked my pancakes at a little less than 350 degrees, usually at about 335-340. I like a slower bake, so the middle cooks before the outside burns. When I cooked them in a skillet on our electric stove, I would set the heat at medium-low. 

With the griddle, I would always spray the surface with cooking spray between every batch. When cooking them in a skillet, I would use oil. I have a nice new (non-toxic) non-stick skillet, so they actually work fine without oil. I don't love the dry surface when they're cooked without any oil at all. If I add oil, the first few pancakes soak it all up and are just dripping with oil by the time they're done. This time, I tried using a little baking spray in the skillet. It worked okay- not much difference from just the dry skillet. There must be a happy medium, somewhere between bone dry and dripping with grease. :)

After my batter rested for about ten minutes, I started heating my skillet. It takes about five minutes to heat. You know your equipment best, so go with what you know. :) I use a scoop to dollop the batter into the pan. It's quick and the pancakes are all fairly equal in size, so they cook at the same rate. Using my two-tablespoon scoop, I got ten pancakes from this batter.

Cook just until the edges of the pancakes start to firm up, but the batter on top is still shiny. Flip carefully, and cook until they are nicely browned and cooked in the middle. I put mine on a cooling rack as they come out of the pan. If they're stacked on a plate, they get soggy.

One came out slightly heart-shaped, very fitting as today is Valentine's Day. :)

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Reheat briefly in the microwave- about ten seconds per pancake works for me.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Bit Fry-cakes

Really, these are pancakes, but "fry-cakes" is just such a fun word that I had to use it. ;)

Usually, I cook pancakes on our electric griddle, but yesterday I just didn't feel like clearing the space and hauling it out. I fried these up in a ceramic-lined non-stick skillet...and they were so good! <3
Funny that when I cook them on a griddle, they're "pan" cakes, but cooked in a pan, they have other names. Some people call them hotcakes or flapjacks. Because they had that delectable crunch from being fried in oil, "fry-cakes" just fit the best.

The cinnamon bits that I use are from the King Arthur Flour website. There are cinnamon chips available in some grocery stores, but I don't like them. To me, those just taste like Red-Hots candy; all heat and no real cinnamon flavor. They also usually contain trace amounts of dairy. The bits from King Arthur melt into pockets of delicious real cinnamon goodness when they bake, and they are now dairy-free! :)

Here's the link, in case you want to check them out:

 https://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/cinnamon-sweet-bits

They also have these delicious things that they call "jammy bits," which are little gummy nuggets of fruit puree. When they're baked, they really do seem like little bits of real fruit jam. So good! :)

 https://search.kingarthurflour.com/search?p=Q&view=grid&deftab=products&w=jammy+bits

Okay, now to the recipe...

This is a work in progress, like all my recipes, but especially so since I just made them for the first time yesterday. They were so good, though, that I wanted to share them right away.

Cinnamon Bit Fry-Cakes
Makes about 12 - four inch cakes
Dry ingredients:
1 cup millet flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1 Tablespoon baking powder (I may try a little less, next time)
1 Tablespoon coconut sugar (other sugars would work fine; this is what I used and it was good)
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Wet ingredients:
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup oil (I used a mild avocado oil; any mild neutral oil will do)
2 teaspoons melted coconut oil
3/4 cup alternative milk (I use unsweetened original-flavor Coconut Dream coconut milk)

Add-in:
2 Tablespoons cinnamon bits from King Arthur Flour Company  

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Add them to the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in the cinnamon bits, then let the batter rest while you heat your skillet.

I used a ceramic-lined non-stick skillet. On our (glass-top) stove, I set the burner to medium at first, but turned it down about halfway through the batch.

Pour about two tablespoons of oil into your pan and heat on medium (or a little below medium) heat. To check if the pan is ready, drop a little bit of the batter into the oil. If the oil bubbles and sizzles around the edges, it's ready. Drop batter into heated pan carefully- about 1/4 cup batter per pancake. Flatten/spread slightly. Let them cook until the edges look set and the bottom is a nice golden brown. Flip and cook the other side, until it is also nicely browned and the cakes are cooked through. Add a little more oil to the pan for each batch. If the fry-cakes are getting too brown before the middle is cooked, lower the heat. If they take a super long time to brown, raise the heat.

With the "juiciness" from being fried in oil, I did not feel a need to butter these, but my husband liked them better buttered. Also, they were sweet enough that I did not want any syrup on them.

The cakes came out about 3 1/2-4 inches in diameter, and I ended up with about twelve cakes.

My mind is popping with other ideas, such as adding bits of walnut to these. Can't wait!

If you try them, please leave a comment and let me know how they turned out for you. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Pancakes!

Or, more accurately: Pancakes, A Work In Progress. :)

Because I enjoy tinkering with recipes, trying new ideas or aiming for a better result, pretty much all of my recipes are works in progress. This one, though, truly deserves the title as I just started working with it this week.

I really love pancakes. They are a genuine comfort food for me; a guaranteed producer of happiness. Cupcakes are a happy food, but pancakes get bonus points for sheer homey comfort. I think that the recipe I started with came from my mom, which gives it a whole other level of comfort and delight.

These are fairly thin, moist pancakes, which is what I like. I'm not much into the big, thick, heavy, doughy (or dry) kind. Especially as I have gone through a journey of using less and less syrup, finally reaching the point where I skip it altogether, I need my pancakes to not be dry. If you prefer a thicker pancake, feel free to experiment with the amount of liquid. I'd be interested to hear how that works.

This is what I consider to be my basic pancake recipe. It has a hint of apple flavor, but to me it's just a tasty basic pancake.

Pancakes
Makes about 20, 4" pancakes

Dry ingredients:
In a large bowl, combine and whisk together well:
1 cup millet flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon sugar (I tried using Inulin powder instead, and it worked well)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
(optional: 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon)

Wet ingredients:
In a separate bowl, combine and whisk: 
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup oil (I'm currently using a mild avocado oil as my neutral oil)
2 teaspoons melted coconut oil
3/4 - 1 cup alternative milk -start with 3/4 cup, only adding the rest of it's too thick for you
       (I use Coconut Dream unsweetened original shelf-stable milk)

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir or whisk until combined. Let sit while the griddle heats.
 Heat griddle to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

-I use an electric griddle. When I made these yesterday, I had heated the griddle to 375, but they were browning a little too quickly. I was concerned that the middles would not get cooked, so I lowered it to 350 and they did better.

-I have learned, with gluten-free things, to oil or spray the cooking surface for every batch. Sticking is a real issue. There is probably a more ideal option, but I just spray the griddle with standard cooking spray before every batch of pancakes, and it works well for me.

-I use a 2 tablespoon cookie dough scoop (similar to an old-school ice cream scoop) for putting batter on the griddle. That way, they're of a reasonably consistent size. Besides, scooping is fun. :)

Oil or spray the griddle before each batch.
Scoop or pour batter onto the griddle. Cook for a couple of minutes on the first side, until the bubbles around the edges are popping and staying open. Flip, and cook for a few minutes on the other side, until they're a nice golden brown. Enjoy! :)

~This will probably double well. Just don't quite double the salt.

I like these with just a little "butter"- a.k.a. Earth Balance soy-free spread. I do keep real maple syrup on hand for my family. Another favorite pancake topper is apple butter.