Silver Dollar Pancakes
Photo courtesy of Almond Board of California.
Everyone likes pancakes. So I was quite happy when the Almond Board asked me to create a pancake recipe for them. I do have a couple of other gluten free pancake recipes, though I think this one is the best of the bunch!
Hope you enjoy these high protein, gluten free pancakes made with almond flour as much as we have.
Silver Dollar Pancakes
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons agave nectar
or honey
- 1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- grapeseed oil
, for cooking (or for Paleo use coconut oil
)
- In a large bowl whisk together eggs, water, vanilla and agave
- Add almond flour, salt and baking soda and mix until thoroughly combined
- Heat grapeseed oil on skillet over medium low to medium heat
- Scoop 1 heaping tablespoon of batter at a time onto the skillet
- Pancakes will form little bubbles, when bubbles open, flip pancakes over and cook other side
- Remove from heat to a plate
- Repeat process with remaining batter, add more oil to skillet as needed
Yields 18 pancakes
I'm getting ready to head out to Los Angeles for a book signing on Saturday, June 12th at Erewhon and some other fun little events that I'm doing for the Almond Board. Stay tuned for more information this coming Wednesday.
Posted on June 7, 2010 in breakfasts and pancakes
More breakfasts and pancakes you might enjoy:
Oh my goodness Elana. Those look AMAZING!!! I've had so much fun making recipes out of your cookbook lately! I have to try this version of your pancakes. That dripping syrup and the nuts on top..that's just too much.... i'm supposed to make curry for dinner, but I'm starting to think pancakes is on the menu now! :-)
I made coconut pancakes this past weekend. A recipe from The Primal Blueprint Cookbook. Very similar to your pancakes. Just coconut flour and almond flour swapped along with honey and agave nectar.
If I ever buy almond flour I will have to give these a shot. Nonetheless, I'll pass it around! Definitely primal :)
So glad the new recipe is almond flour. Unfortunately coconut flour gives me tummy pains. I can use the 8-part almond flour to 1-part coconut flour in the Cinnamon Bun Cupcakes.
Are you a type O by chance? I am and I know that this blood type is very sensitive to coconut, so you might want to check into that.
Yes, I totally agree with you! Everyone loves pancakes!! I definitely do. I've actually been making gluten free pancakes for a while now. My favorite are these
Easy Cottage Cheese Pancakes Thanks for sharing yours. I actually needed some new gluten free recipes.
~Sophia
Sophia, This cottage cheese recipe calls for regular flour....what kind do you substitute?
Those are SCREAMING "Sunday brunch deliciousness" :-D
Elana, Your pancakes are the perfect base for PB&J sandwiches. Yummm.
Elana,
I cannot have eggs right now. I miss pancakes! What would you recommend as an egg substitute that is grain-free (sorry--can't have potato starch like in ener-G egg replacer, either)? Or maybe there isn't one...
I would love to see more recipes that are dairy- and egg-free. Just took a batch of the gluten-free breakfast bars out of the oven. The house smells great--yum!
Thanks!
Babette
Oh goodness, do I love using ground flax seed as an egg replacer. I can't eat eggs right now as my (nursing) infant is allergic, but let me tell you I may not go back to eggs in baked goods. That being said, I haven't tried the ground flax seed with Almond flour (he's allergic to nuts as well; I love this site and will be baking from it as soon as he is weaned).
Just add 3 tablespoons of hot water to a tablespoon of ground flax seed and mix for each egg you need to replace. Add when you would normally add the egg.
It is perfect in pancakes, muffins, and other baked goods. And I even made a pretty succesful mayonnaise out of it to use as a base for a coleslaw dressing (I don't think it would work as a straight mayonnaise though. But you could play with it).
Anyway, that and banana. Banana makes a pretty great egg replacer to. 1 small banana = 1 egg. But don't try that in recipes that call for more than 1 egg. And you have to be making something that tastes good with a slight banana flavor.
Hi Elana,
These sound wonerful. What is BLANCHED almond flour? Thanks
Blanched almonds have had their brown skins removed, so the flour made from them doesn't have the dark specks of ground up skins. It acts differently in recipes than unblanched almond flour. It creates a lighter result in color, but often a heavier texture.
Using unblanched almond flour in a recipe is sort of like leaving in the bran (as in using whole wheat). The result comes out darker, but may be lighter in texture.
These look absolutely delicious, Elana!! I suppose you could double the batch and make them larger as well?? It's a must try.
Without referring to any particular recipe, so far I've had greater success with the almond flour than the coconut flour. The coconut flour products seem to be dry and crumbly whereas the almond flour products are moister and definitely more tasty with lots of body.
For months now, maybe even a couple of years, I have watched the same recipe appear. Always almond flour and Agave syrup, etc. Never, never, never is there anything new. Always gluten free based on Almond flour and Agave nectar. You're like a good record stuck in repeating the same groove over and over. Its time for you to branch out, if you can. I have been finding gluten free bakeries all over the US and all have more imagination that you have ever shown.
George
George,
If you don't like her recipes then why in the world are you checking her website? Go away and leave us Almond Flour loving people to ourselves. There's no need to be ugly and post rude comments.
Almond flour is far more nutritious than typical gluten free flours that bakeries might use. And if you have issue with agave then leave it out or substitute something else like banana or applesauce. I much prefer baking with almond flour because I know it is good for me whereas baking with typical gluten free mixes is just for the purpose of having something sweet. Be nice or go away.
Oh my goodness. If Elana prefers almond flour, or coconut flour over a mix of much starchier flours then kudos to her! I love that she uses almond flour mostly and that is what draws me here. I am trying to stay away from the starchier combinations. I could never figure out all of these recipes on my own. There are tons of different recipes here. She tries the recipes out and perfects them so we don't have to. Maybe it is time for you to branch out and read elsewhere if you don't enjoy it here.
These look fabulous. I've been loving and relying upon your site for a while now. Your breads, almond mayo, sesame crackers, drinks, muffins, breakfast bars, etc., are all a very important part of our diet now, since turning GF almost a year ago. I have you to thank!
Hi!
Can I prepare the almond flour at home?
In the food processor?
Thaks!
You probably can but only if you used blanched almonds and only if you have a Vitamix or BlendTec blender. I don't think a regular blender would do it.
You can make your own almond flour in your food processor, but it will probably end up being much more coarse than the almond flour Elana recommends, and the recipes won't come out the same. If you sift it, then return the coarse chunks back and process again you will end up with something more like Elana's.
Almond flour has traditionally been made, for centuries, by grinding and pounding. If that can be used, so can the food processor!
I make these all the time however I leave out the agave since I am doing low carb for diabetes. I use coconut oil to fry them. I always double the recipe because they are great leftover and heated in the microwave.
I also make a mixed berry compote with rhubarb in season and some erythritol and a little stevia to sweeten it. I put this over the pancakes with whip cream for a lower carb version.
I forgot to mention that I use the almond meal from Trader Joe's which is only $3.99 per lb as opposed to the blanched almond flour which is much more expensive. It works great.
I just tried these and I didn't like them at all. At least a third of the pancakes burned no matter what I did, if I kept the flame low enough to keep the pancakes from burning then the insides remained raw and gooey, and I was not crazy about the flavor on the few that did cook evenly. My son turned his nose up at them as well and he normally clamors for anything I make from here. Needless to say I won't be making them again.
I've made these a couple of times since she posted them yesterday and they are fabulous. Nobody turned up their nose at the ones I made, they only opened their mouths and asked for more :-)
I loved these pancakes too.
I have made the recipe from the cookbook a couple of times and I to always seems to burn them no matter what I do with the heat? Maybe Elana can tell us what we are doing wrong?
The first time I made these, I made them too big and they burned pretty bad, towards the end of the batch I started making them smaller, at most 2tbls for each pancake. The 2nd batch I made them all small, about 3 1/2 inches wide at most and they cooked beautifully. I keep replacing the oil and make sure that you don't leave your pancakes unattended for very long-they go from brown to burnt fast.
I realise this is a very old comment, but I have the same issue every time I make these; the pancakes burn no matter the temperature I cook them over. So now I cook them (even if they burn a little - you can't taste it) until they are at least "set", then place each one as it's cooked on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet in the oven that's been preheated to 250F. This is how I've always done pancakes, GF rice-based and non-GF. I can never get pancakes to cook thoroughly enough for my tastes, so frying them until they are able to be moved, then "baking" them while the rest of the batch cooks ensures they turn out beautifully every time. As an added bonus, they are all evenly warm so no I can serve everyone at once, and no one has to wait while others eat.
My toddler loves these, and they are the perfect traveling snack (if there are any left after breakfast!) I'm about to try making these with some Ener-G egg replacer since we've run out of eggs - wish me luck! I think a big part of the success of this recipe comes from the high egg to almond flour ratio, so for those who say they don't like the taste, perhaps it's the eggs you're using? Freshness & the chicken's feed play a HUGE role in the taste of your eggs.
Yeah....Ener-G didn't work. Maybe it would if I used the same kind of almond flour Elana recommends, but I just use what I can get locally. Again, this may be the cause of many commenters' problems. The almond flour I use causes the batter to come out very thick every time, so I can only get 10 pancakes out of this, but then I'm also using a very healthy tablespoon when I measure them.
Back to the Ener-G: I had to add a lot of almond milk to improve the moisture content, and then they didn't set very well. I cooked them on the stove as long as I thought they needed, then in the oven. Even after a longer spell at 250F they needed to set up more, so I upped the heat to 350F for a good 20 minutes (too long). However, they satisfied the craving and kept me moving at work without wanting to eat my own arm off. :)
Thanks for the awesome recipes!
My husband loves pancake nights at our house. :) I do too, but I let him think I do it just for him. I've been using a light drizzle of sorghum syrup on our pancakes - earthy and perfectly sweet.
Have fun in L.A., Elana! I love hearing about all the great work you're doing.
These look wonderful! I think pancakes will be on tomorrow night's dinner plans. Thank you so much for sharing
Hi Elana,
I have been baking from your website and cookbook for awhile now and my gluten-free, sugar-free family has been thrilled. Thank you so much for making our life sweet again!
Now I have a conundrum: My daughter wants a birthday cake made in a special shape. Do you have a sturdy sheet cake recipe?
Thanks again!
Waw!! The thick & fluffy pancakes look stunning!!
Very appetizing too!
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM,..lovely food!
These look amazing and rich and beautiful and healthy! Wow :) I would love to try them using Kamut Wheat! Thanks so much for the recipe :)
I made these this morning, as had made another version of Elana's
pancakes previously posted, and they didn't come out that great.
These, too, came out very dry (I ended up throwing out the
second half of batter) and I found, like some others
posted, that they burned on outside if let them cook fully on inside.
Now, I have to say that almost all other recipes I have tried from Elana, both the website and her cookbook, have been excellent (and easy, which
I love), but so far have not had the pancakes come out good in any of
recipes posted on website. I think I will just skip pancakes for now
until she comes up with a new one that comes out lighter and cooks well.
I love the zucchini bread, blueberry muffins, lemon-poppyseed muffins,
and hazelnut spread, to name a few I've had great success with and make
over and over again.
Any idea how to make these awesome pancakes into: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin pancakes? I sort tried to do this on my own and had terrible results. Any ideas and tips would be much appreciated.
Do you have a substitution for baking soda in this recipe? My son is on the GAPS diet and it doesn't allow baking powder or baking soda. He loves pancakes and these look delicious!
these sound great and so far from what everyone has said seems like they are!! I cant wait to try them
These didn't really work for me either. I made them as written and they were waaaay too dry (super thick batter). I added a fair amount of liquid after the first pan full of dry lumps were done and they were much better. Still though w/about 1/4 cup of liquid the batter was too thick to let bubbles through. However, the flavor was good with a nice balance of sweet and vanilla.
These are nice and easy pancakes. I didn't have any problems turning mine. The one necessary change I made was to use 1/2 c of almond meal (TJ brand, non-blanched) since I ran out of blanched almond flour. No problems with the substitution.
I think the only issue I had with these was that they were a bit dry. I've made the pancake recipe from the cookbook and I really like them, mostly because of a mistake I made early on that I've kept repeating: I add the grapeseed (vegetable in my case) oil to the batter. I think the oil maintains more moisture in the pancakes. At least 1 T. does the trick for me.
That said, these are great and hats off to Elana for not being afraid to kick up the vanilla, which really flavors these pancakes well.
Hi Elana,
From this morning:
Son-with-despair: "oh no, not gluten free pancakes!"
Me: "This is a new recipe. I think you'll like them"
Son-with-doubt: "gluten free tastes like concrete mush"
Later....
Son/Daughter/Spouse: "These are soooo good! More please!"
Thanks Elana, it's a whole new world for us.
SW
Since my mom can't have gluten, I have been eating gluten-free with her to help her to stay strong and not get tempted to eat grains or sugar. I have been wanting to make pancakes lately and I didn't want my mom to be left out so these look like a great alternative to pancakes with grains. I think that they would be fun to make also.
I looked through a variety of your pancake recipes, and landed on this one to be my favorite (although the variations of the others are minimal). They were really delicious, and I made a few modifications.
-instead of agave I used Brown Rice Syrup (I'm limited, temporarily, from most sweeteners) which has the consistency of honey and is a little less sweet (I'm becoming quite fond of it)
-I fried them in coconut oil.
The coconut oil is SO tasty! They were definitely too thick (after I fried them I had to cook them in the microwave for 15 seconds), even with the 2 TB of water, so I would definitely up the water content (or maybe a variety of milk?) to at least 1/4 cup. I cooked them on slightly higher than medium. Really tasty! Between these and Wrightfood's buckwheat pancakes (http://mattikaarts.com/blog/baking-recipes/gluten-free-buckwheat-pancakes/) I'm all set for my breakfast splurges!
I just made these and I love them! Oh my goodness! They are hearty, delicious and easy to make. They have a wonderful nuttiness to them (makes sense since they are made with almond flour!) that adds to how delicious they are.
I read through the comments first and that really helped. I started off with a little extra vanilla and watched them carefully, being sure to make them small, as directed.
They turned out perfectly. I will definitely be making these on a regular basis.
One thing I noticed was that the grapeseed oil seemed to thin out quite a bit when heated, so when you start out, you may want to use just a tiny amount (much less than you think you need) and add more if you need it.
5 Star Recipe, in my humble opinion.
Thank you so much Elana, for these great recipes and all your hard work. I appreciate it more than words can express.
Can this recipe be used for waffles as well?
Oooh! That sounds like a great idea... I wonder if anyone over at the forums has any suggestions?
What do you do if your allergic to eggs but you love pancakes? I can't seem to find a recipe for pancakes that is GF / Paleo and doesn't have eggs. HELP!
have you tried using 1 Tbs of ground flax with 2-3 Tbs water per one egg?
not per one egg... but in place of :)
Mmmmmmm..... just made half portion because i was craving some "healthy comfort" food. Used lessed agave, stevia and more water and topped with a lil unsalted btr and cinnamon :)
Thanks!
I look forward to trying these, they look delicious, but Agave Syrup, is not the health food it is being marketed as, check out this link to learn a little bit about it.
With best wishes, and I can't wait to make these, but thought you should know the back story of Agave syrup.
http://www.foodrenegade.com/agave-nectar-good-or-bad/
Beautiful photography......makes the food look even more delicious!
These look good, but why so much agave nectar?
Elana, amazing! Thank you! These pancakes are divine! My husband (who loves all things gluten) said they were too dense...not fluffy enough. So I added about a 1/4 tsp (maybe a little more) of baking powder. That did the trick!!! Much more fluffy!! My girls no longer ask for Daddy's bisquick pancakes, but now it's, " I want Mama's pancakes!" I love it!!!
Have you made a pancake syrup using agave? I would like to do so but I'm not sure where to start.
Great recipe!! I wasnt sure what to expect but they were awsome! Will be making these again and again! I wonder if they would do good for waffles. hmmm
These are to die for! My fiancé & I went on a 3 weeks holiday and we had these every day for breakfast as we couldn't get enough. We added blueberries and sometimes strawberries to the batter, rest as per recipe, and everyday they turned out soo lovely. We always had a beautiful start of the day this way! Highly recommended :-)
My son is sensitive to gluten, dairy, and soy and we have tried a number of pancake recipes over the past 4 years. I made these silver dollar pancakes for the first time this morning and he raved about them the entire time he was eating them. He said they were absolutely his favorite pancakes ever. I feel good about serving them because they are more nutritious and have a decent fiber content when compared to most gluten free pancake recipes out there.
Personally, I found the flavor to be a little strong but when I added blueberries it helped tone down the intense flavor of the almond flour and I was able to enjoy them. My son loved them both ways - with and without blueberries.
These were pretty good! I burned many of them for some reason (think I messed up my cast iron and need to reseason) but they were still tasty. I only got 8 3 inch pancakes though. I made my own BA flour so if I were to use the "real" stuff maybe it would come out thinner? The best thing is that these are pretty filling too, so at least my 10 pancakes will last a couple servings (2-3 is plenty along with some blackberries and chicken sage sausage- yum!) Thanks for sharing!
Have you ever considered soaking your almond flour, to reduce the phytic acid and make the recipes more digestible? I love many of your recipes that use almond flour, but would love it even more if you posted some recipes that involved soaked almond flour!
I thought blanched almond flour removes the phytic acid, because of the process it goes through? Can someone advise on this?
For all the "pancake" and "flapjack" recipes...how long will they store in the refrigerator? I cook for only me and am looking for things that I can make and store a few days.
Thanks!
Marnie
I just went gluten free and found your blog:) I purchased blanched almond flour from Honeyville (like you recommended) and made these pancakes this morning! They are amazing and no crazy ingredient list. Yay! My daughter, who is a little dismayed by the new diet change, said, "you can't even tell they are gluten free!" Thank you infinitely for the delicious recipe!!! I will make it again and again:)
These really just weren't very good. They had a crumbly texture, were super oily, and tasted way to strongly of vanilla and burnt.
I thought they were great! I make them all the time. Maybe you just burnt them. I don't know why else they would taste burnt. Another solution would be to use less vanilla in yours and less oil in the pan to cook them. I don't use oil to cook them as I use non-stick pans. I don't know what happened with yours but everyone I have made them for just loves them!
Hey Elana,
I can't wait to try the Honeyville's Blanched Almond Flour to make these pancakes. I called Honeyville today to see which stores on the east coast carry it but the lady who I spoke to didn't have a list on hand. I also asked her if she knew of you and she said no. I told her that she needs to send you some FREE Honeyville's Blanched Almond Flour b/c you have been a big promoter of their Almond Flour.. :)
She said she was going to reach out to you and thank you for the referrals.
These are the best pancakes I have ever had - regular and gluten free.
I made these this morning and they are delicious! Thanks Elana for the always yummy recipes!
I'm a calorie counter - This entire recipe yelds: Calories-1293, Fat-99 grams, protein-54 grams. Divide these totals by the number of pancakes you make, and presto, you've got caloric values per serving!
This does not include the value of the oil you'll use for the pan. I'm using olive oil spray to keep the fat calories down. I sprayed the pan 1 time for each batch that hit the non-stick ikea pan.
TEXTURE - I agreed with some comments that it was challenging to get these to cook through without burning. I added quite a bit of water to the final batter. Thinned it significantly and make tasty, sweet, and easy to cook small, medium, and large pancakes. I love the brown crunch on the outside and sturdy almond colored fluff on the inside. The large thin ones were bendy enough to make a peanut butter roll up sandwich. I kept the batter in the fridge 3 days, worked great.
CARBS - I'm not counting carbs right now, but that's easy to estimate in case you're counting carbs. Look at the total protein. The ratio of carbs to protein is equal in almond flour - so the total carbs in this recipe is close to the total grams of protein, 54. Now add the 32 carbs in the total recipe from 2 TB agave, and there's 86 total carbs in the recipe. Divide by number of pancakes you make. I hope to save you from ever having to add it up.
Elana! Thank you... Your recipes/ book are the only recipes I follow- I appreciate you so much you have no idea! I always get so excited to come home and try your latest post whenever i get the email.
These are delicious!
Any ideas about how to modify them to make them pumpkin pancakes? I am a big fall lover ;)
Can you please share any tips to prevent burning! i made these this morning and the
taste is very good - just need to figure out how to prevent the burning...is it the almond flour that burns them more easily? I will try another batch - any tips?
Love these! Just made them for my 12-month old twins as a way to introduce almonds into their diet in a texture-friendly way and diversify their breakfasts from the usual carb-heavy options.
They'll eat anything in a pancake form!
Thanks for the great recipe. Will spread the good word on my blog sometime soon.
These turned out delicious. I poured the batter in small quantities and it didn't burn at all.
I made these this morning for my NON gluten-free children, ages 5, 3, and 2, and they all LOVED them. I made the recipe exactly as written, using honey instead of agave, and I might have accidentally used a smidge more water than called for (kids were helping mix).
I've been trying out a bunch of different, healthier breakfast recipes on my kids lately, to the point that when I told them I was making pancakes my oldest asked in skepticism, "Are these REGULAR pancakes?" In spite of their doubt, the pancakes went over really well.
Definitely keep to the small size called for, and go for heat a little lower than you usually cook pancakes on. These came out perfectly!
Thanks so much Elana for this recipe! Since I've gone Paleo/primal I've been searching for a gluten free pancake recipe that would satisfy my bisquick pancake cravings and this recipe definitely did it for me. I only used 1 tbsp honey to cut a little bit of the sweetness. I also added 2-3 tbsps light coconut milk to get a smoother texture. Amazing! Thanks again.
My family loved these pancakes! I made sure to keep them small like the recipe said. They turned out dark brown,but not burnt. Next time, I'll omit the agave for a drop of stevia. Thank you
I'm ready to make these in the morning! It's great when a recipe comes up and the ingredients are all in my pantry staples! My blog is about feeding a gluten free, dairy free teen and making all his old favorites in a new way - Pancakes are a the top of his list, but none have really hit the mark, so can't wait to try these!
We tried these for breakfast this morning and they were outstanding. I used half the honey called for and coconut milk for the water (just because it was sitting on the counter), needed extra to thin the batter out after it sat for idle for awhile, and they were just perfect. The vanilla flavor stands out and makes you feel like you're getting a special treat. Can't thank you enough for sharing this! =o)