Blueberry-Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes

As with most Sundays, I made pancakes for breakfast yesterday. These blueberry-lemon-ricotta pancakes had been on my "to do" list for a while so I was happy to finally give them a try. They were extremely light and sweet, almost like angel food cake. In my opinion, syrup would have distracted from the blueberries so I enjoyed mine with butter only - perfection!

I must admit I was cursing these pancakes as they were cooking and vowed this was the first and last time I would make this recipe but looking back, I think I was simply too impatient (I was starving!) and I flipped them before the batter was properly set so they fell apart. Once I had a bit of food in my belly, I was able to stop messing with them and let them cook longer and wouldn't you know, no more broken pancakes! Also, I recommend smaller pancakes (about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake) as anything more is difficult to manage since the batter is so light.

Blueberry-Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes
Adapted from Judy's recipe at Judy in Her Natural Habitat: The Kitchen and Williams-Sonoma.

1 cup ricotta cheese (I used light ricotta cheese)
1 cup milk
3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries (I used frozen blueberries)

Whisk together the ricotta, milk, egg yolks, sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Sift together the flour, baking powder and 1/8 tsp. of the salt over the ricotta mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.

Using a whisk (or, if you're feeling lazy like me, a stand-mixer) beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the remaining 1/8 tsp. salt and continue beating until soft peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold one-third of the egg whites into the ricotta mixture, then gently fold in the remaining whites and the blueberries.

Wipe a bit of oil on griddle and heat to medium/high. Ladle 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook until bubbles form on top and the pancakes are golden underneath, approximately 4 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook for about 3 minutes more. Top with butter and enjoy!

Yield: 24 pancakes.

Pumpkin Pancakes

I've been a tad pumpkin obsessed these days. I can't help it, fall = pumpkins! My latest pumpkin recipe has been delicious pumpkin pancakes as showcased on Joy the Baker's Blog. Joy knows her stuff - if you haven't already, you need to check out her blog.



The only snafu I encountered as I made these was that my pancakes didn't seem to cook all the way through, no matter how long I left them on the griddle. Seriously, I left them on for a really long time so they had to be cooked but the middle still seemed doughy. I chalked it up to the pumpkin purée. Whatever, they were delicious and moist.

Pumpkin Pancakes
Inspired by Joy the Baker and Martha Stewart

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of ground ginger
pinch of ground cloves
1 cup milk
1/2 cup pumpkin purée
1 egg
2 tablespoons canola oil

Whisk together flours, salt, spices, sugar and baking powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, egg, pumpkin and oil.

Pour the wet ingredients in the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined.

Let the batter sit for 10 minutes while you heat the griddle. Once griddle is hot, pour about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake into the griddle. When pancake starts to bubble slightly, carefully flip over.

Once browned and cooked through butter pancakes and serve with your preferred topping. Brown sugar/cinnamon combo is yummy as are maple syrup or applesauce.

Yield: 6-8 pancakes

The Pioneer Woman's Pumpkin Spice Muffins

As you all know by now, I'm a big fan of The Pioneer Woman. I've been following her blog for about two years now and I can't get enough of her witty writing and yummy recipes.

I recently purchased her cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks. As part of my 101 in 1001 list, I will attempt to cook all the recipes in her cookbook. Yes, I am aware that represents a lot of butter. But I figure one or two recipes a week won't kill me.



I kicked it off tonight with a steak and Pioneer Woman's Whiskey Cream Sauce. No pictures but you'll have to take my word for it that it was tasty! In an attempt to make it "healthier", I used fat-free sour cream instead of light cream and it was still delicious. Still not an every day treat but perfect for a special occasion.

But back to the muffins. This is another Pioneer Woman recipe I recently made though not one featured in her cookbook, this one is straight from the web. Here actually.

I made them sans frosting to make them more healthy and more breakfast-like (as opposed to dessert-like). These little gems were comforting, filling and yummy! I like their somewhat dense texture - hate when muffins crumble everywhere! Will definitely make again and at 3 points each, a reasonable indulgence.

Before baking. See... the tops are sprinkled with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg... You know that's gonna be good!



Fresh out of the oven!



Hope you give these a try!

Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

1 cup flour
1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, cut in pieces
1 cup (heaping) pumpkin purée
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Topping

2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prep muffin tins with liners. Sift dry ingredients. Cut in butter until fully incorporated and mixture is crumbly. In a separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture. Fold gently until just combined. Pour into lined muffin tins. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar-nutmeg topping over the top of each unbaked muffin. Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove and allow to cool.

Strawberry Yogurt Pancakes

These pancakes were inspired by the Birthday Pancakes from Maple N' Cornbread featured a few weeks back on Stars of the Week. I omitted the sprinkles, doubled the yogurt but the rest of the recipe is the same. The yogurt gave a slight tart taste and the texture was extremely smooth - YUM! My hubby declared them to be his second favourites (after the Chai Spiced Buttermilk Pancakes), which says a lot considering I've experimented with over half a dozen pancake recipes in the last couple of months.

Definitely give these a try!



1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp sugar

1 cup of milk
1 large egg
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 tsp quality vanilla extract

In a large bowl sift together the dry ingredients. In a seperate bowl beat the egg and butter. Stir in the yogurt, vanilla and milk until well blended. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until smooth. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes while you preheat your griddle to medium heat.

Pour batter in desired amounts onto griddle. When the pancake begins to form bubbles in the center and golden on the bottom, flip. Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve with strawberry yogurt, strawberry jam or maple syrup.

Chai Spiced Buttermilk Pancakes

I recently instigated a "new tradition" (whoa, oxymoron) in our household - Sunday morning pancakes. I've been trying to keep things varied and so far we've discovered a couple of great new pancake recipes. One of my go-to sources for new pancake recipes is Joy the Baker. She is fun to read and her pancake recipes are oh-so-delicious! The latest hit is Chai Spiced Buttermilk Pancakes... that does sound delicious and comforting doesn't it? Well they totally are! And you know what else is great about that recipe? It makes use of Zhena's Gypsy Tea. I've tried the recipe with Fireside Chai and it was great but next time I'll use Coconut Chai... Yum! So without further ado, the recipe...



Inspired by Joy the Baker

2 eggs
2 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (omitted because I didn't have any)
healthy pinch of ground cloves
scant 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger (omitted because I didn't have any)
1/8 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns (or a dash of freshly ground black pepper)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or 1.5 tbsp white vinegar and remaining amount milk)
1/2 cup brewed chai tea
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled (omitted, didn't need it)
½ teaspoons vanilla extract

In a large bowl beat eggs. Add buttermilk, chai tea, butter and vanilla and mix well. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Mix well until mostly smooth. Let batter set for a few minutes.

Heat non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Pour one ladle of batter onto the pan, make sure it's not too thick as I've had issues with the pancakes not cooking properly in the middle. Cook on the first side until bubbles that form start to pop. Flip the pancake over with a spatula and cook until golden brown. Repeat as required.

Dress with butter and lots of maple syrup... DELICIOUS!!!

Orange Coconut Silver Dollar Pancakes

I love lazy Sunday mornings - no alarm, no rush. The kitchen is quiet and I have time to make something other than my usual weekday breakfast fare (egg whites and sprouted grain toast). As a kid, Sunday morning meant big, hearty breakfast and I can't help but crave these every once in a while. Sometimes it's latkes, sometimes it's huevos rancheros, today was typical French Canadian fare - bacon and pancakes with lots of maple syrup! Only these pancakes have a twist - orange and coconut! I stumbled upon this recipe last week and was quick to bookmark it. I knew the tropical combo of citrus and coconut would be a winner and I was right! The flavourscape is definite yet not overwhelming. These two-bite pillows are fluffy but not cakey (my pet peeve when it comes to pancakes). I topped mine with maple syrup though thinned marmalade would also be wicked! Next time, I will sub the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour, I think the nutty flavour would be complimentary.



Inspired by Food Loves Writing and Eat Make Read.

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup coconut
3/4 cup whole milk
1 egg
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, plus more for skillet
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and coconut. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the milk, egg, butter, vanilla and orange juice. Add these wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir to combine. Fold in the orange zest.

Heat a little butter in a skillet over medium heat. Once melted, drop as many small, one-tablespoon-sized dollops onto the skillet as will fit.

Let cook for about two minutes or until they start bubble, then flip and let cook for another minute or two. Top as per your preference.

Yield: 24 small pancakes