I won a bet this weekend, and it was that vegan applesauce pancakes are not only easy to make, but also damn delicious. Someone (of the boyfriend variety) tut tutted me when I wanted pancakes, "No eggs! No pancakes!" he cried. "Ah, but you're wrong," I said, slyly bringing the cinnamon applesauce out of the fridge. He turned up his nose in disbelief and 30 minutes later he was gobbling up mouthwatering, dairy free pancakes like they were going out of style. No fear of that though, like a strand of pearls, this breakfast is a classy staple that will always be in fashion.
Before you get out that sweet sweet maple syrup, make sure you have these few necessities:
- whole wheat pastry flour
- baking powder (aluminum-free recommended)
- salt
- soy, rice, or almond milk (I think soy tastes the best, esp. if you're going with flavored applesauce)
- applesauce (I highly endorse using a cinnamon applesauce for the most unique and distinct flavor)
- real maple sryup
- hand or stand alone mixer + large bowl
- cast iron pan (the best option, but a regular pan would work also)
- ladle
- spatula
- dry and liquid measuring cups
Dry Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Liquids
3/4 cup of the dairy free milk of your choosing
1/4 cup cinnamon applesauce
Combine the dry ingredients in the large mixin' bowl and in the liquid measuring cup combine the applesauce and dairy free milk. Pour the liquids into the dry ingredients and use your mixer to combine the ingredients into a thick paste consistency.
Once your batter is ready it's time to oil and heat up your pan and start makin' the pancakes! This next part can be done in the way you prefer, as different cooks have different styles. I am still working on my pancake making technique, but what worked well for me this time was using a ladle to scoop up the batter and pour it into a perfect pancake circle on the pan. This takes some practice for sure, as you wanna make sure they are not too thick, and doughy in the center. Sometimes using a spatula to help spread the batter out in the pan helps. If you have any other suggestions for this part, feel free to leave them in the comments! Also, you have to have patience for pancakes, don't try to be a hero and cook more than one in the pan, it never works out well for anybody. One at a time, and have a plate handy to stack the done ones on. You can always heat the oven up just a smidge and put the plate in there to keep your flapjacks firey warm. Make as many as the batter will allow (I made 6 with this recipe, well, technically 7, but one was too burnt for mouths and got tossed), and then top them off with some Earth Balance Vegetable Oil Butter (also dairy free), and real maple sryrup.
This is a great recipe to show off to your anti-vegan friends who think any food made w/o eggs and cow milk will taste like shit.
