Almond Griddle-Cakes

We’ve been having a cold snap here in Madison. The past several days have only warmed up to a toasty 10 degrees by mid-afternoon. The roads are caked with ice and snow (we got dumped with 15 inches a few nights ago!), which makes it difficult to drive anywhere without fearing your death.

So I’ve been sticking pretty close to home the past week and spending an especially large amount of time in the kitchen. Something about the heat of the oven has called me to draw close to it’s warmth. I made a batch of hearty granola yesterday for a friend’s Christmas present, baked my mom a chocolate birthday cake the day before that, and have been dreaming up new creations to try this weekend. But as the sun rose this morning and temperatures climbed to a blistering 14 degrees, I let the oven rest and turned my attention to the stovetop. On the docket: pancakes.

I was inspired to make pancakes by this recipe. After tweaking a few things to my own preferences and giving the new recipe I whirl, I was quite pleased with the result: thin (but not too thin) cakes with a nice golden brown coloring and a texture that was just right, not too dense but not too spongy either. Drizzled with a bit of honey or some berry jam, these tasty morsels make a great breakfast alongside a big bowl of fruit or a just on their own as a snack.

After a bit of thought and few more bites of this recipe, I decided to call them “griddle-cakes” instead of pancakes since they aren’t exactly a clone of traditional wheat pancakes. While they still have eggs and a dash of baking soda, they do not contain white flour, sugar, or milk—and therefore have a different texture, flavor, and overall look than regular pancakes do. To distinguish these gluten-free cakes from their wheat-containing cousin, I thought it best to give them a separate title, something more fitting for what they actually are. Thus, the term griddle-cakes was born.

Warming comfort foods like pancakes—or, in this case, “griddle-cakes”—seem to taste even better on bitter cold mornings like what we’ve been having lately. So I recommend that you enjoy these when the weather is chilly and the morning is bright with rays of glittering sunshine. It makes for one sweet start to a winter’s day. Enjoy!

Almond Griddle-Cakes – Makes 12

2 eggs

2-3 tbs. honey

1/2 cup water

1 cup almond flour (also called almond meal)

1/2 cup millet flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Butter or coconut oil, for cooking

In a blender, combine eggs, honey, and water. Blend until smooth. Add almond and millet flours, cinnamon, and baking soda. Blend again until smooth and batter-like.

Heat butter or coconut oil in a large skillet until melted. Pour batter into pan (I cooked about 4 pancakes at a time in my skillet). Cook until pancakes begin to bubble and turn golden brown underneath, about 1 minute. Flip and cook another minute or so. Remove griddle-cakes from pan and continue making more cakes until all batter is gone.

Serve topped with jam, pure maple syrup, or fresh fruit.

Note: these cakes cook more quickly than regular wheat pancakes. Cook only about 1 minute per side so that they don’t burn.

 (This post is linked up to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Friday Foodie Fix.)

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