Gluten Free Apple Pancakes

This weekend I decided to just take some time off from frantically trying to check things off my ever-growing to-do list and just be at home with my kids before we go back to school. That can mean only one thing at our house: Apple Pancakes.

My mother in law has this great recipe for Apple Pancakes that uses the Krusteaz Wheat and Honey pancake mix. Before I was diagnosed this was one of our favorites. Now we only eat it if we go to Grandma's, and I just have scrambled eggs. I am happy to say, I have finally figured out a substitute batter to reintroduce Apple Pancakes into my lazy-day breakfast repertoire. These pancakes are supposed to have a whole-grain texture to them, so I settled on buckwheat and brown rice flour. I also added an extra teaspoon of baking powder to help them rise. And I used buttermilk because I had some in my refrigerator, but you could use regular milk if you don't have any. I also used potato starch in the batter. This is a good ingredient to keep on hand. Potato Starch makes baked goods moist. I always try to add a little especially when I work with brown rice flour, which is a little crumbly and dry sometimes.

Grandma's Apple Pancakes

makes 7-8 large pancakes

2 apples

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup brown rice flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 T cinnamon
1 T potato starch

1 T honey

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

2 T applesauce

Apple Syrup

makes 3 cups syrup

1 cup sugar

2 T cornstarch

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 cups Apple Cider or Apple Juice

2 T lemon juice

1/4 cup butter

Pancakes: Peel and grate 2 apples of your choice. (I used Gala because they're my favorite, but you could use any kind. Golden Delicious is also yummy in this recipe.) In a large mixing bowl, mix flours, baking powder,salt, cinnamon, and potato starch. Make a well in the center. Add honey, egg, buttermilk, and pplesauce. Mix well. Fold in grated apples. Pour onto hot griddle using a 1/4 cup measuring cup. Cook on each side 2-3 minutes or until browned. Serve with apple syrup.

Syrup: Mix all ingredients except butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add butter. Stir to melt. Leftover syrup can be stored in the refrigerator. Butter will separate when cold but reconstitutes when warmed.

Happy eating!