Fun with Apple Pancakes

Last week we got the latest edition of "Relish" magazine, inserted in our local newspaper. I usually browse through it to see what type of recipes they have and this week I was surprised to see gluten-free pancakes right on the cover in an article named "Going without the Grain". They have recipes for gluten-free buttermilk pancakes and chocolate chip cookies listed.

Saturday is pancake day at our house. Our pancake breakfast together is one of the few relaxing meals we eat as a family all week. I like making pancakes but I'm not much for making the same meal every week. So each week I look for ways to make them fun and different. Usually I ask my 3 year old daughter to guess what the "secret ingredient" is, she's a remarkably good guesser! Some of the "secret ingredients" I've used are: bananas, pumpkin, chocolate, strawberries, blueberries, nuts, and apples. I've also made several different types of flavored syrups and even heart shapes pancakes. This week I choose to make apple pancakes, but with a fun twist, I made pancakes in the shape of the first letter of everybody's name, and it was actually pretty easy. I have a great mixing bowl that has a spout for easy pouring that made it much easier to control pouring the batter. I used a spoon dipped lightly in batter to actually trace out each letter before I poured it. Once the batter was poured I was able to use a fork to shape and form the letters. I made the letters nice and big. The only difficult part was flipping the the pancakes without breaking them. I used two spatulas which worked pretty well. I had a few mishaps but was able to get one good letter for everyone, (five of us ate) and the mistakes tasted just as good! I used a recipe I came up with for apple pancakes and added a 1/2 tsp of xanthum gum to give them a bit more binding to hold the letter shapes better. Here is my apple pancake recipe...

Apple Pancakes
Serves 4

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free flour mix
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp arrowroot powder
1/2 tsp GF baking soda
2 tsp GF baking powder
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar
salt to taste

3 large eggs- beaten
1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
1/3 cup applesauce
1/2 of an apple- peeled, skinned and minced
1 cup milk

my 3 year old daughter was thrilled about her "M" pancake!

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• Mix together all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl
• pre-heat a skillet or pan (with a non-stick surface if you have it) to medium heat
• Mix in the eggs, melted butter (or vegetable oil) applesauce, and apple
• Next stir in the milk, mixing by hand until all of the ingredients are well blended
• Make sure the pan is fully heated, then coat lightly with cooking spray (or butter)
• Pour out each pancake to the desired size, flip pancakes when bubbles start to appear
• Once flipped cook for about two more minutes each
• Serve hot. (I like to keep my pancakes warm in a 200 degree oven covered with aluminum foil so they stay warm, and we can all eat together)
• Serve with butter, or syrup, or cinnamon sugar, or honey or however you prefer, enjoy!