Recommended Recipes: Apple Ginger Pancakes

I found a new recipe online by Adrianna Adarme at the Fresh Tastes blog. It was fun to make and I was able to adjust it to make it into a vegan-friendly recipe.  In addition to making it vegan, the other divergence I made from the recipe was that instead of using an iron skillet, I used a saute pan to prepare the apples, then I used a stove top griddle to cook the pancakes.

Apple Ginger Pancakes

Yield: 8 pancakes

Photo from Fresh Tastes blog

Ingredients

For the Apples: 

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 honey crisp apple, diced (about ¾  cup)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• ¼  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½  teaspoon grated fresh ginger

 For the Dry Mix: 

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼  teaspoon salt

 For the Wet Mix: 

• 1 ¼  cups buttermilk, shaken
• 1 large egg

 Other:

• Butter or vegetable oil, for the skillet

Directions

1. In a cast iron skillet (we’ll use the same one later), melt the butter over medium heat. When melted, add the diced apple, brown sugar, cinnamon and fresh ginger; mix until coated. Cook until fragrant and apples have cooked slightly, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
2. To a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a measuring cup or small bowl, measure out the buttermilk. Add the egg and beat until thoroughly combined.
3. All at once, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. The batter should have some small to medium lumps. Gently fold in the sautéed apples and allow the batter to stand for 5 minutes.
4. Preheat your skillet over medium heat and brush with a teaspoon of butter or a teaspoon of oil. Using a 1/4-cup measure, scoop the batter onto the warm skillet. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until small bubbles form on the surface, and then flip. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook on the opposite sides for about 1 minute, or until golden brown.
5. Transfer the cooked pancakes to a baking sheet and place in a preheated 200 F oven to keep warm. Repeat the process with the remaining batter, adding more butter or vegetable oil to the skillet when needed. Serve immediately with maple syrup and a pat of butter.

Making it Vegan 

• Substitute the 1 ¼ cups buttermilk with ONE CUP of almond milk (I used Silk Vanilla Almondmilk)
• Substitute the egg with Egg Replacer, following the directions on the package for the equivalent of one egg.
• Substitute the butter with Earth Balance Original Buttery Spread (I do not recommend vegetable margarine due to its hydrogenated oil which is not healthy for the body).

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