I have long been a pancake lover.  I am always trying new recipes, searching for the perfect tasting and textured pancake.  In the past year, since going gluten-free, it has been a new challenge to find that old pancake taste with GF flours.  A few of my family’s old recipes have come close, but…

I was reading the Eric Carle book, Pancakes Pancakes!, to the kids one day and it made me hungry for pancakes, so I came up with this GF Banana Pancake recipe.  And wonder of wonders…it is by far the best pancakes ever tasted in this house!  They retain their fluffy-ness and cook on the inside while still remaining brown (as opposed to burnt) on the outside.  They are just beautiful and delicious!

I thought I would share the recipe.  Though we’ve been trying to stick to a Paleo diet, these are not. You could substitute almond flour and coconut flour for the GF flour – we just didn’t have any of those this morning, so GF was good enough.  We also added peanut butter and a little maple syrup this morning.

GF/Dairy Free Banana Pancakes

Ingredients:

3 cups flour (using Sina’s GF substitution - today it was brown rice flour, sorghum, arrowroot powder and potato starch)
1/2 cup sugar (left this out this morning…bananas are enough sweetener)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon soda
5 eggs
3 very ripe bananas
2 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut oil (or unsalted butter)
2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla

Directions:

1. Sift together the gluten free flour blend along with the baking powder, salt, soda. Whisk in the sugar.
2. Mash the bananas; Set aside.
3. Whisk the eggs, coconut milk and vanilla. Add in the coconut oil and/or butter.
4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together along with the mashed bananas.
5. Cook as you would any other pancake or waffle.

And just for fun, here are some other family favorites.

Hearty Oatmeal Pancakes

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup flour (white or mixture of white and wheat)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg , lightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter, coconut oil or olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
assorted berries, optional
syrup

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In another bowl, combine the egg, buttermilk, oil and vanilla; mix well. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened.
2. Pour batter by 1/4 cupful onto a hot griddle that has been coated with nonstick cooking spray. Turn when bubbles form on top; cook until second side is golden brown. Serve with berries and syrup, if desired.

Coconut Flour Pancakes

Ingredients:

8 eggs, room temperature
2 cups milk, raw or coconut
4 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons honey , (or sugar)
1 cup coconut flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
coconut oil or butter for frying

Directions:

1. Preheat griddle over medium-low heat. In a small bowl, beat eggs until frothy, about two minutes. Mix in milk, vanilla, and honey or sugar.
2. In a medium-sized bowl combine coconut flour, baking soda, and sea salt and whisk together. Stir wet mixture into dry until coconut flour is incorporated.
3. Grease pan with butter or coconut oil. Ladle a few tablespoons of batter into pan for each pancake. Spread out slightly with the back of a spoon. The pancakes should be 2-3 inches in diameter and fairly thick. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until the tops dry out slightly and the bottoms start to brown. Flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.
4. Serve hot with butter, coconut oil, honey, syrup, or fruit.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Recipe By: Nancy C.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup melted butter

Directions:

1. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Mix wet ingredients together and carefully fold into dry ingredients; do not overmix.
3. Pour by the 1/4 cupful onto heated griddle. Turn when bubbles are popping.