This is a recipe from the excellent blog Elana's Pantry. Since giving up gluten, I've been mining her extensive recipe database, feeling inspired and thrilled. Elana is an expert at baking with almond flour, a delicious and nutritious substitute for wheat flour (unlike other gluten-free flour concoctions, which are fine once in awhile, but are for the most part highly refined starch and fillers).
I tend to enjoy savory breakfasts (eggs, eggs, eggs!), but once in awhile pancakes are exactly what I'm hungry for, usually on Sundays. Not only are these pancakes gluten-free, they're also naturally low-carbohydrate and deliver a nice serving of protein. I found them to be incredibly adaptable - add water to create the consistency you like.
I made fluffly silver-dollar pancakes, and then thinned the batter to make a few crepes. Both versions turned out beautifully.
Elana's recipes call for blanched almond flour, which I ordered online (here are her recommended resources). The Bob's Redmill almond meal you can find at grocery stores will not work for her recipes. The bag I ordered, from Honeyville, is large and will be lasting me for many months!
In the spirit of the holiday season, leave your name in the comments below, and next Sunday I'll draw a name to give away a bag of Honeyville's blanched almond flour. If you have no interested in gluten-free baking, leave your name on my Fresh Tart Facebook page, where I'm giving away Dorie Greenspan's latest cookbook, Around My French Table!
On a non-food-related note - a huge thank you to the kind person who nominated me as a Twin Cities Top Ten Titan in Social Media 2010. I feel like the cutest boy in high school just asked me on a date, squee!
Oh, and one more - if you blog about food (a little or a lot, for yourself or for others) and you live in the land of Uff Da, check out (and add yourself to!) the Minnesota Food Bloggers Facebook page. And be sure to pencil in a networking event at 128 Cafe on February 7, 2011! Follow on Twitter #MNFoodBloggers.
And yet one more! I used the same Honeyville blanched almond flour to make these decadent (gluten-free) Almond Triangle Christmas cookies for the LoveFeast Table cookie exchange. Buttery caramel almond-crunch heaven. Yeah.
Almond Flour Pancakes
From Elana's Pantry
Makes 16 silver dollar-size pancakes
3 large eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. agave nectar (optional)
1 1/2 c. blanched almond flour (see note above)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
water
oil for cooking (grapeseed or almond)
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and agave nectar (if using). Add almond flour, salt, and baking soda and mix until thoroughly combined. Add enough water to thin batter to desired consistency (I started with 1/4 c. and kept adding until I achieved pancake batter consistency).
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add a little oil and when it's hot, cook pancakes (2-3 Tbsp. of batter each) until browned on both sides. Serve hot. (Cover and chill remaining pancakes. Reheat in the microwave, or use cold for sandwiches.)
Great to hear from you, recipe sounds fab.
