Almond Milk Pancakes

I can't remember the last time I had pancakes.  It's been years - probably sometime in college - so naturally I was really excited about this recipe.  I copied most of this recipe from Tasty 101's perfect pancake video, but subbed out the buttermilk for almond milk and the butter for vegan butter.  Ryan was so excited about pancakes, so we had to make sure they were dairy free so he could enjoy them.  Oh, and of course we couldn't just make regular pancakes, we had to fill them with tasty treats.  We made some with blueberries, some with chocolate chips, and some with both.  I think my favorite ones were both because you get some tang from the blueberries and sweet creaminess from the chocolate.

These pancakes were so delicious, but did take quite some time to make.  I started off with just one cast iron pan going and then switched to two about half way through.  There are 2 key tips to making these beautifully cooked pancakes.  The first is cooking them in a cast iron pan.  This will give you a great crust on the outside of the pancakes.  The second tip is cooking them in butter, not oil.  You get a salty buttery flavor in the pancakes when you cook them in butter.  I used a fresh nob of butter between pancakes so make sure they don't stick.

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: Yields 12-15 medium pancakes

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour

3 tbs sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt 

2 1/2 cups almond milk

2 eggs, separated

1 stick butter, melted (we used vegan butter)

Fillings:

Blueberries

Chocolate Chips

Instructions:

1. Add the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir until combined.
2. Add the almond milk, egg yolks and butter in a bowl and stir until combined.
3. Gently mix the wet ingredients into the dry.  Once mostly mixed, ad the 2 egg whites and fold just until the egg is incorporated.
4. Allow the batter to rest for 15-30 minutes to let the ingredients get to know each other.
5. Add butter to a cast iron pan on medium heat and add about 2/3 cup (or however much) batter into the pan.
6. Cook for bout 2-3 minutes until you see bubbles form throughout the dough.  It should be golden brown at this point.  Flip and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes.

When you cook the pancakes, you want to make sure you are patient and don't fiddle with it or flip it too early  You want to see bubbles form throughout the pancake and see some cooked dough all the way around the pancake.  Once you get to this point, you're safe to pick up the edge and see if it's ready to flip.

Here was my second attempt - the perfect golden brown pancake.  Not all of them turned out this well, but this is what you should aim for.

The stack.

Top with all the fixings: blueberries, maple syrup, powdered sugar, strawberries, and add a side of bacon.  2 pancakes was enough for me, but I'll be honest, we ate 2 pancakes while we were cooking the rest of them.

Nutrition Facts:

Calories: 590

Protein: 11g

Carbs: 122g

Fat: 8g

*Based off 1 serving of 2 pancakes.  Does not include side of bacon.