When you have kids, the request for pancakes in the morning is a frequent request...at least in our house. Not everyone in my family has food sensitivities, but my oldest daughter does. When I changed her diet to gluten and dairy free, everything changed - from her skin (she had bad eczema) to her seasonal allergies (they used to be much more severe). Sometimes gluten free foods can taste...well, gluten free. So when I made these blueberry pancakes (the best I've made), they needed to be fluffy and delicious...and not taste like something concocted in a lab.
Fluffy & Delish: Dairy and Gluten Free Blueberry Pancakes
First things first, there are two types of people - those who like fluffy pancakes, and those who prefer their much flatter (crepe-ish) counterpart - the latter being my husband. He grew up eating pancakes that were more like crepes, loaded with eggs and sprinkled with lemon juice. I don't know where the lemon juice comes from or why he thinks it's such a complementary flavor, but he's all for it. In fact, when he takes over in the kitchen, he only makes his variety (also gluten/dairy free), which my kids have become accustomed to drizzling a fair share of lemon juice over the top.
Naturally, I expected my husband to be critical of the fluffy pancakes because they're not like what he's used to. I made stacks and stacks of pancakes, playing around with the right ratio of baking soda to baking powder, the appropriate number of eggs and the perfect touch of vanilla...and finally came up with a pancake everyone liked...including my husband. Hurray for me!
Of course, I think part of the reason everyone liked these pancakes is because of the blueberries. I used fresh, sweet blueberries for this recipe. You can always use frozen if fresh (and preferably organic) are not available - which is usually what I use. I got lucky with this recipe as the fresh blueberries added some extra sweetness, which resulted in less syrup in the end.
Balancing Ingredients
Gluten free cooking can be tricky. It's not necessarily hard to get a recipe to turn out, but it's more challenging for it not to have that gummy, gluten free texture. I can't stand this! I can always tell when a recipe has too much of an ingredient called xanthan gum added to it. After the food hits my palette, it becomes almost slimy. For this recipe, I used Bob's Red Mill One-to-One Baking Flour. It's good stuff, makes gluten free cooking easy, and has no noticeable gummy texture. Keep in mind, it's not Paleo - so if you're looking for a grain-free Paleo pancake mix, stay tuned...I'll be posting one soon.
Eggs can also make or break a good baked good, like pancakes. Too many eggs and the binding power of the protein in eggs can make a  pancake tough and heavy. There is nothing worse than a thick, heavy pancake. Talk about a brick in your stomach!
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Ingredients
- 2 c Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 c coconut sugar
- 2 eggs, lightly whisked
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1 c coconut milk
- 1 c + 2 tbsp water, room temp
- 1 1/4 c blueberries
Instructions
- Combine all wet ingredients in a medium-size bowl (reserve blueberries).
- Combine all dry ingredients into a large bowl.
- Heat a pan over low/medium heat.
- Use coconut oil to grease pan.
- After ingredients are added and mixed into both bowls, add the wet ingredients to dry, mix thoroughly.
- Finally, fold in blueberries.
- Ladle about 1/4 cup of mixture (per pancake) on pan.
- Wait until the pancake bubbles through the middle of the pancake before flipping (about 90 seconds).
- Flip to the opposite side and allow to cook for another 45 - 60 seconds.
- Repeat until mixture is gone. Enjoy!
Notes
I used fresh blueberries for this recipe, but have used frozen in the past. Use whatever you have on hand. If you use frozen, you may need to cook slightly longer. Resist from turning the heat up too high when cooking your pancakes. These are really fluffy. You'll get undercooked pancakes in the middle and burnt on the outside if you turn the heat up too high.
