The first time I had buckwheat pancakes was at a maple syrup festival out in the middle of nowhere PA (or at least, the ride sure felt like it at the time – I was probably 8). My neighbor and I went with the naturalist from our local park. During the long car ride there, she asked us trivia questions and would give us a penny or nickel for each correct question. Compared to that trivia game, the syrup festival seemed pretty uneventful, but I will always remember sitting at the long picnic tables and eating the funny colored pancakes (buckwheat) smothered in local maple syrup.
Nowadays, I would appreciate a syrup festival a whole lot more, and being so close to the Canada border here in Buffalo means that I really should take advantage of that by finding one closeby. In the meantime, I can make my own buckwheat pancakes to remind me of that day, and smother it with some local maple syrup bought from the grocery store.
To mix it up a bit, I added a hefty dose of cinnamon and chopped pecans to this pancake batter. My mom made some candied cinnamon pecans over Christmas, and they were so good that I haven’t yet gotten them out of my head. They’re just as good in pancake form.
These pancakes are healthier than your standard variety, filled with fiber, protein, and healthy fats from the buckwheat and almond flours (and the pecans). The pancakes themselves are sufficiently sweet on their own, but who can have a pancake without drizzling it with maple syrup? I sure can’t.
When did you first try a buckwheat pancake? Have you ever been to some kind of food festival?
- 1 cup buckwheat flour
- 1 cup almond meal (I use Trader Joe's)
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp demerera sugar (unrefined sugar)
- 1/4 tsp liquid stevia (or 1/4 cup more sugar)
- 4 Tbsp (half a stick) butter, melted
- 2 eggs
- 1 3/4 cups milk (I used whole milk)
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
In a large bowl, stir the buckwheat flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and sugar together. Add the liquid stevia, butter, eggs, and milk, stirring until well combined (the batter will be slightly lumpy). Gently fold in the pecans.
Heat a skillet over medium heat, and spray with oil. Scoop 1/4 cup of batter onto the skillet, and cook on one side until bubbles begin to form and the edges appear slightly dry. Flip, and cook on the other side for another minute. Remove to a plate, and repeat with the remaining batter.
To keep the pancakes heated while cooking the remaining batter, turn the oven on warm (about 200ºF) and place a sturdy plate (or oven proof dish) in the oven. Transfer the cooked pancakes in there to stay warm.
Serve immediately with butter and/or maple syrup.
https://cookingalamel.com/2014/02/cinnamon-pecan-buckwheat-pancakes-gluten-free.html