A Fast and Healthy Pancake Recipe

Weekend Breakfast Treat

The weekend approaches and here at my home that means something special for breakfast. Throughout the week we usually eat oatmeal, and sometimes a piece of toast or fruit with it, but on the weekend it’s time for kicking it up. Sometimes it’s egg and cheese sandwiches, and other times it’s pancakes. When it’s pancakes I always like to do them up in a special way like making a fruit topping from scratch or with strawberries and bananas cut up and mixed together.

I really outdid myself when I thought up Drunken Cherry Spelt Pancakes! I tried these four times over the last three weeks and proclaim them a winner. If you haven’t heard about spelt you should check it out. Spelt is an ancient grain that is higher in fiber than modern wheat which is tweaked for its use in high production baking products. You can learn more about spelt, and spelt products at Nature’s Legacy:

https://www.natureslegacyforlife.com/faqs/what-is-spelt/.

They sent me a box of their products to try out and I have thoroughly enjoyed everything in the box so far.

You can make this pancake recipe with an apple topping, or just pour hot maple syrup over them and watched the butter(Smart Balance) melt. Either way they are great! This is a very easy recipe to make and you could even replace the alcohol with vanilla extract and water if needed.

I have also cooked up the last couple of pancakes, (instead of saving the batter for another day) and put them in the fridge for a day or two, cut them in half to reheat in the toaster with good results. Not your average toast for sure. So give these a try and maybe add your own twist like whipped cream, or a bit of powdered sugar, and as always please leave feedback.

In my latest newsletter I had a giveaway , and the lucky winners for the restaurant gift certificate were:

Pam V  The Melting Pot

Lauren O   Maggie’s

Johanna M   Baldwin Station

I hope you all enjoy a good night out at these Maryland restaurants. In the near future I hope to have a box of spelt products from Nature’s Legacy so look for that as is’t great, and healthy stuff.

Even though Nature’s Legacy gave me a box of their spelt products my opinion was not affected by their generous gift.

Drunken Cherry Spelt Pancakes

2 cups spelt flour

1 cup dried cherries

1/3 cup Grand Marnier

2 Tablespoons rum or vodka

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups buttermilk

2 eggs beaten

In a small bowl combine cherries, Grand Marnier and rum. Let the cherries soften in the liquid while you prepare the batter. Cherries will need a minimum of 10 minutes to soak, and 20 minutes is even better to rehydrate and flavor them properly.

In a medium mixing bowl combine spelt flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix in egg and 3/4 or so of the buttermilk and mix just until batter is moistened. Depending on how thick, or thin you like your pancake batter you can adjust at this point. Adding the rest of the buttermilk will give you a slightly thinner pancake, leaving it out will give you a thick pancake.

Drain the liquid off the cherries and reserve. Fold cherries into batter and cook on a oiled griddle or cast iron pan as you would any other pancakes. On medium heat these take about 4-5 minutes on the first side and 2-3 minutes on the other side.

Serves 4-6.

Notes:

A pinch of nutmeg or a teaspoon of cinnamon would be a nice addition.

Saute a cored and sliced granny smith apple with a teaspoon of canola oil, and a bit of water. Cook on medium heat for about 8-10 minutes, then add the liquid the cherries soaked in and cook until most of the liquid is gone. Serve as a side or on top of pancakes.

I sometimes use three parts buttermilk to one part water for a thinner pancake.