Egg-free Applesauce Pancakes

I forgot to include the cream of tartar when I first published the recipe, so now I've corrected that. The pancakes turn out much fluffier and more golden in color with the cream of tartar. I've also decreased the amount of oil and water, which makes the batter and pancakes thicker.

I've instituted Saturdays as pancake day at our house. Sabrina likes pancakes so much that she was starting to ask me nearly every morning if we could have pancakes for breakfast. To end the daily requests for pancakes, and to provide Sabrina with a definite pancake breakfast to look forward to every week, I decided to make Saturdays our pancake breakfast day. This was made a bit more challenging by the fact that Sabrina tested positive for a mild egg allergy earlier this year. However, I've discovered that yummy pancakes aren't too hard to make without eggs. Below is my first egg-free pancake recipe, which the girls and I enjoy eating with blueberries and maple syrup. You'll notice that I include flax seed meal, which is supposed to mimic the properties of eggs when you soak it in liquid before using. I prefer using flax seed meal over other egg substitutes because the ones that I've looked at so far may contain corn.

Egg-free Applesauce Pancakes
makes 6 pancakes (enough for me to have 3 and the girls each to have 1 1/2)


Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup almond milk (or Lactaid milk if making for Michael)
• 1 Tbsp. flax seed meal. I buy Bob's Red Mill flax seed meal.
• 1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
  
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. granulated white sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 Tbsp. water

Instructions:

Heat the almond milk in the microwave until warm. Then stir in the flax seed meal and let sit for a couple of minutes. While the flax seed meal is soaking, in a small bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar. In a blender, with the bottom screwed on tightly, pour the applesauce, canola oil, water, and milk with flax seed meal. Blend briefly to combine the ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the blender and blend thoroughly, scraping down the sides of the blender at least once, until there are no traces of dry flour left. Then let the batter sit in the blender for at least five minutes.

While the batter is resting, place a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat to let it heat up. After the batter has rested, use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to pour the batter into the pan to make a pancake. My pan can hold 2 pancakes at a time without them running into each other. Cook the pancakes on one side for 3 minutes. Then flip them over and let them cook for another 3 minutes (or 2 minutes if your stove runs hotter).

I like to serve the pancakes with blueberries and maple syrup. I heat 1 cup of frozen wild blueberries for 2 minutes in the microwave until they are warm and have released their juices. Then I stir in 2 Tbsp. of pure maple syrup.