Bella Cooks: Blueberry "Cheesecake" Pancakes

Today I have a very different kind of recipe to share. Normally my recipes are savory dishes for lunch or dinner, but when I came across these pancakes on Nourish and Flourish I knew I had to give them a try.  This afternoon my nieces are leaving to go to their dad’s until the 15th, so I decided to invite my sister and them over for breakfast.  I loved the idea of good-for-you indulgent pancakes.  Seriously, look at the nutrition information, especially at the ratio between protein and calories:

Updated: Sara was kind enough to let me know that her original recipe accidentally omitted  1/4 unsweetened almond milk (or milk of your choosing).  This would add about 20 calories (which is nothing), but would also make the batter a bit less dense.  The following photos did not have the milk.

The original recipe is for a single serving, which was perfect because that’s how I’d use it most of the time.  It was also really easy to multiply by 4 for this morning’s breakfast.

Blueberry “Cheesecake Pancakes
1/2 cup oat flour (or oats)
1/2 cup 2% cottage cheese
2-3 egg whites (depending on size)***
1 t. baking powder
1 packet stevia
dash of cinnamon; dash of salt (optional)
blueberries (about 1/4 cup)

***I bought a carton of EggWhites, and I didn’t know exactly how to convert the measurement that Sara had listed on the recipe.  The box of EggWhites said that 3/4 cup = 4 large eggs, Sara’s recipe called for 2-3 egg whites for one serving.  I wasn’t sure that that was the same thing, so I added an additional 1/3 cup of EggWhites (another 2 large eggs).

The original recipe said to “mix everything in a Magic Bullet or blender,” and since I was making 4 servings, I put everything in my blender.

But that didn’t last long because my blender just couldn’t handle mixing everything.

I tried to mix it by hand and then blend again…

The ingredients were all too dense, so it was time to bring in the hand mixer.

Next it was time to fold in the blueberries:

The batter was really thick, and I wasn’t sure how it would do in the pan.  My sister gave me a little tip about greasing the pan.  You know how those first couple of pancakes are always the worst looking?  Well she suggested putting a dab or two of vegetable oil on a paper towel, greasing it over the pan, and then wiping it off with another paper towel.  That way, just a bare minimum of a coating is left in the pan.

Her tip seems to have worked! Look how beautiful those look?  No throwaways here!

Now because this batter was so thick, the outside of the pancake got quite dark before the middle was cooked through.  So I put the pancakes in a pan and put it in the oven on 200 degrees, so that they’d cook a bit more and stay warm while I made the rest of the pancakes.

After several rounds, the batter started to be a bit messy and difficult to work with.  I figured it was time to add a bit more oil to the pan and do my sister’s trick again, and once I did, the pancakes started to “behave” again.

I served the pancakes with some blueberries on the side.  My nieces LOVE blueberries, so the more the better as far as they’re concerned.

A hearty looking plate of pancakes!

My pancakes turned out much darker than in the original recipe, and I’m not sure exactly sure why.  I definitely used more cinnamon, and I used oats rather than oat flour.  Either way, I like the hearty look of the pancakes that I made, and they were a hit with 3 out of 4 of us this morning.  (I had no idea that my oldest niece didn’t like oatmeal ).

The one thing that I was surprised about was that they didn’t taste indulgent or “cheesecake/danish”-like at all.  They just tasted like blueberry pancakes.  I didn’t mind, though, because they were delicious, and I would absolutely make these pancakes again on a weekend!

About these ads