Recipe: Hearty Oat 'n' Apple Pancakes (Vegan)

My love of pancakes is legendary among my family and friends, probably because I was lucky enough to have a Mom who made the best pancakes - from scratch! While I have been enjoying her pancakes for longer than I can remember - the former paperboy likes to remind me that the first time he met me I was wearing nothing but a diaper, sitting in a high chair and eating pancakes (I was 17 months old!) - it was only within the last year that I discovered that my "Mom's" pancake recipe is not her own!

You can imagine the shock I felt when I learned that my Mom's amazing pancake recipe came straight from her trusty Betty Crocker Cookbook, circa 1950-something. I felt a bit like I did when I discovered my ex-fiance was cheating on me with his future ex-wife: like a part of my cozy, secure world had just collapsed. Could anyone make my Mom's pancakes? My perfect Mom, whose kitchen skills I idolize, was using a mass-marketed recipe? If this was so........was there hope that maybe I could make her pancakes? 

The answer to that question is a resounding no. Try as I might, I could never exactly copy her recipe because she doesn't measure her ingredients; she "eyeballs" the amount to get a close approximation of the exact amounts the recipe lists. However, knowing that my Mom sometimes leans in gave me the push I needed to go forth and create my own pancake recipe, one that I would enjoy but that could also be enjoyed by my vegan friends and family members. It is my hope that you will enjoy it, too!

Hearty Oat 'n' Apple Pancakes (Vegan)

Ingredients

1 cup white flour

1 cup oat flour*

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda*

1/2 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. sugar or sweetener (can be eliminated if you are using sweetened applesauce or putting syrup on your pancakes)

1/2 cup applesauce

1/4 cup cooking oil

2 cups oat milk

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Directions

Preheat a large, non-stick skillet or grill pan to medium heat.

Measure and add apple cider vinegar to oak milk and set aside for 5 minutes. In the meantime, combine all dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and stir to combine. Making a well in the center of the bowl, add applesauce, cooking oil, and oat milk-vinegar combination. Stir until combined but slightly lumpy (over-stirring will result in tough pancakes).

Pour a ladle-full of batter onto the hot pan and leave it to cook for 5 minutes. If you attempt to flip too soon, it will end badly. Because there is no egg in the recipe, the pancakes must cook through the center in order to bind. Flip pancake and cook for an additional 1 -2 minutes. 

Makes 7 - 8 crepe-style pancakes, 7" - 8" in diameter.

Non-Vegan Substitutions

I realize that not everyone has oat milk and applesauce in their refrigerator and may not wish to purchase it for one recipe. Like all of my vegan recipes, this recipe can be made non-vegan by substituting traditional ingredients:

2 cups oat milk = 2 cups milk

1/2 cup applesauce = 2 eggs; I suggest using 1 egg and 1/4 cup applesauce, or two eggs and serving the pancakes with warm apple compote.

Bonus Recipe: Warm Apple Compote

Peel, core, and slice 5 medium apples and add to a small pan with 1/2 cup water. Sprinkle apple slices with 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, and sugar/sweetener to taste. Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until apples have reached desired tenderness. Serve warm over pancakes.

*For thicker, fluffier pancakes cut baking soda to 1/2 tsp. 

*Oat flour can be made by putting steel cut (not instant) oatmeal in a food processor and processing on HIGH for one minute. 1 cup steel cut oats = 1 cup oat flour. 

KJM

10.08.2019