Healthy Peanut Butter Pancakes

Confession time: I really really really hate almond butter. Like, all the time. I tried for years to enjoy it, to get on the trendiness of it, but I just plain don’t like it. Well, unless it’s this homemade version. But I’ve decided not to make time for homemade amazing almond butter lately, choosing to enjoy a small spoonful of my true nut butter passion: creamy peanut butter. I just can’t quit it!

 

I feel like this aversion is weird, too, because I love almonds. Love ’em whole, raw, soaked, roasted. Chopped, sliced, slivered, milled into flour – it’s all so good. It’s just the nut butter format that’s not jiving with me. Am I weird? Don’t answer that.

 

The other day I was browsing Facebook when I ran across a post from a long-time friend who has a fabulous healthy eating blog and all but jumped out of my skin to get to the kitchen. The recipe was for her grain-free almond butter pancakes, which are baked instead of cooked in a skillet or on a griddle. If you’re like me one of the biggest factors keeping me from making pancakes all that often are two gigantic stepping stones:

1. I don’t want to drag out a huge griddle to have them all ready at once;
2. BUT I want them all ready at once, which can’t happen with a small skillet.

So baking them. It’s all still happening in a pan, so they’re technically still pan-cakes, but I get ’em all at the same time and clean-up is virtually nonexistent. Sign me up!

 

I made a few adjustments to Alix’s original recipe because I like a little texture in my ‘cakes. My most common method is using old-fashioned rolled oats, but I have used almond flour and it still works great. Another little tip is that I like to use one egg and an egg white, but I save the yolk and usually use it in lieu of the white the next day. You can also check out Christina’s list of recipes that use egg yolks only.

 

You can certainly use almond butter if that lights your heart on fire; but the peanut butter option is pretty fantastic too. I like mine with applesauce on top, or a drizzle of pure maple syrup! Enjoy!

HEALTHY PEANUT BUTTER PANCAKES

Adapted from these grain-free almond butter pancakes

Makes 4 pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (or nut butter of choice)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 whole egg
• 1 egg white
• 2 tablespoons old-fashioned rolled oats OR almond flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
3. In a bowl combine all ingredients and whisk together thoroughly.
4. Allow to sit for 3-4 minutes (this helps soften the oats if that’s what you’re using).
5. Evenly scoop the batter into 4 small pancakes, about 3 inches apart, on the prepared baking sheet.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes until just done (mine take the full 12 minutes).
7. Allow to cool for 1-2 minutes, then plate ’em up and enjoy!