Almond Pancakes

The pancake, through archaeological evidence, has been shown to be perhaps the oldest and most ubiquitous method for eating cereal grains.  They have been a staple of the Neolithic diet and culture for as long as mankind has actually been raising crops.  They have as many names as there are dialects in some countries – crêpes, pannenkoeken, flapjacks, hotcakes, pikelets, johnnycakes, Pooda…  There are subtle variations in the ingredients, the way they are cooked, and the way they are served, but they all share a common trait; they are made from a dry grain or seed flour mixed with some kind of protein-rich liquid and then cooked to form a flat “cake.”

Here in the west, pancakes are a breakfast food.  They are as much a part of breakfast as bacon, eggs, hashbrowns and black coffee.  There are entire restaurant chains devoted to serving them in as many ways and with as many toppings as you can imagine.  From campers stirring out of their tents on a summer morning to 6-year-olds snuggled on the couch to watch cartoons, everyone loves pancakes for breakfast.  And so did we…until, of course, we changed things up – and that pesky ingredient grain flour had to be eliminated from the pantry.  So we sought out to find an alternative.
Gather Up:

• 2 eggs
• 1/8 cup honey
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup water
• 1-1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp arrowroot powder

Start out by adding the eggs, honey, vanilla, and water to a blender.  Blend on high for about 1 to 1-1/2 minutes.  This is important…if you don’t go a full minute, you’ll end up with very thin, runny pancakes.  Mix the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl to ensure they are blended well.  Once the liquid has blended for a minute, add the dry ingredients and pulse enough to fully combine everything.

Heat up your griddle on medium-low heat…even a little closer to low.  Melt a little butter or pastured bacon grease on the pan.  Pour the batter onto the griddle into roughly “silver dollar” sized cakes (about 3″ around).  You can spread them out a little with the back of a spoon if like your pancakes a little thinner.  Cook them until they firm up enough to flip, which should be about 2 minutes (check with your spatula under the edge and when you can lift it without it just falling apart, it’s ready).

The tricky part is that if the pan is too hot, you’ll end up burning the surface of the pancakes before the inside firms up enough to flip.  If the pan isn’t hot enough, you’ll never get the nice slightly-crispy brown either.  So start out with just one cake to check and adjust your pan temperature before committing to the rest of the batch.  That’s also the reason to keep them at silver dollar size – so you can fully get the spatula under them to turn them.

Flip, then cook another minute or so on the other side before transferring to a plate.  Forgo the traditional butter and syrup, and instead serve just like they are or try slicing up a few fresh strawberries, or mashing a few raspberries or blackberries on top.  Maybe even try some whipped “cream” using the thick stuff from a can of coconut milk!  With a couple of strips of bacon and an egg or two on the side, you’ve got an incredible start on your day.  Enjoy!