Apple Ring Pancakes

I spend just a little too much time on Pinterest these days.

And that’s kind of like saying the summers here get just a little too hot.

But that’s another issue entirely. This post is about something I saw on Pinterest that I actually did…instead of just re-pinning it.

At first glance they seem like cute little pancakes…but hidden inside is

an apple ring!  Genius.

The boys loved them. Well, let me clarify that. Lincoln loved them…Whitman loved the idea of them, but then was offended by the actual presence of an apple inside his pancake.  (His gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free pancakes…remember those?)

Apple rings, dipped in pancake batter…a super fun way to jazz up the Saturday morning stack of cakes.

Thanks Pinterest!

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Pancakes – reformed

I’ve posted about pancakes before. How I like to make big batches of them and keep them in the freezer for quick breakfasts.

But I’m a little food challenged these days because of this guy’s temporary (hopefully) restrictions. So pancakes sounded nearly impossible when they couldn’t have gluten, wheat, soy, milk or eggs in them. But, of course, they weren’t.

In the grocery store I found this:

Gluten and wheat-free, soy-free, nut-free, no additives, no preservatives. Sounds  easy enough, right? Except for the “mix in two EGGS and BUTTER and MILK” part. I almost put it back. But then I thought, “Wait…I can substitute oil for the butter…and almond milk for the milk…and I seem to remember a trick about eggs that I learned from my friend Christy who can’t eat eggs.”

Flaxseed!

I TB ground flaxseed with 3 TB water replaces one egg.

And look what happens:

They get all puffy and brown just like they are supposed to. Yay!

I made the whole batch so I could freeze some.

And it makes plenty…this stack is the leftovers after everyone tried them…and liked them! Really, I couldn’t tell the difference.

So I slipped some squares of parchment between them and into the freezer they went. Nothing like having part of some future breakfast on reserve in the freezer.

Reformed pancakes easily get classified in the “success” category on this little food adventure of ours. Now on to Day#6…

PS: Christy has also used the flaxseed trick on these little cakes with reported success. Just in case you were wanting another experiment option.

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Pancakes…from the freezer

My four-year-old loves pancakes. Loves.

I, however, am not a huge fan. And I don’t usually feel like making them – you know, almost every single morning when he asks for them. He would like to eat them as if they were a piece of pie…with chocolate chips and whipped cream and syrup and any other form of sugar he could possibly request. I would like it if he ate more protein for breakfast. But what do I know?

Since I don’t like to say “no” every single morning and so I don’t have to stand at the griddle at 7AM more than once a month, I do this:

Keep them in the freezer. It makes me very happy to have a stash of pancakes stored away. Not as happy as if my freezer actually looked like this, but almost.

When I do have to stand at the griddle, I make a double or triple batch…then let them cool.

Once they are all cooled off, I stack them with parchment paper and toss them in my freezer.

So this morning when he asked for pancakes, I didn’t have to groan and whine about mixing batter before I was even awake. I just grabbed a couple out of the freezer and zapped them (you can use a toaster, too) and then focused my energy on trying to get him to include a protein bar or shake along with his pie, er, pancakes.

For the record, my husband is the better pancake maker in our family. He likes them really thin – almost like crepes – and can be found making them on the weekends. Lately he seems to be smitten with some sour cream pancakes from the Pioneer Woman‘s cookbook which I think are pretty good, for pancakes anyway. This is one of the few recipes that is only in the cookbook and not on her website…but thanks to her ridiculous popularity, one doesn’t have to look far for another blog with PW recipes on it! So, if for some strange reason you don’t have her cookbook, you can check out The Noshery to see Edna Mae’s Sour Cream Pancakes from The Pioneer Woman. You won’t be sorry. (And yes, we freeze these too…although, there usually aren’t any left over!)

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