Gluten-Free Vegan Pancakes

Oh my sweetness, I've been meaning to type this up, but then my kids had time off school/in my face and then I was also having computer issues, but I'm back on track, baby!

I scored this bag of Bob's Red Mill almond flour in order to try to make some Valentines Day macarons last month (FAILED) and I love that it's superfine and delicious.  So, I thought I'd make pancakes with it.  I've made this recipe a few times now, and they also freeze/reheat really well without drying out (thank you for that, almond flour).  

So this recipe uses two gadgets- the blender and my griddle.  The griddle is optional, but you do need a blender or food processor for this.  I used my little Nutri-Ninja and it does a perfect job.

With a lot of gluten-free cooking, eggs are used as a binder, so gluten-free and vegan can be a challenge.  Think of how a bowl of oatmeal congeals together- perfect!  That's my binder!  Oats are also a great binder in veggie burgers or meatless meatloaves as well.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c oats (Bob's Red Mill are certified gluten free, make sure you check if you have allergies or want to be extra careful)
• 1 cup soy (or other plant-based) milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp- 1 Tbsp maple syrup (I like to make them sweet, then you don't need syrup on top)
• 1 c almond flour (I really really recommend this Bob's Red Mill Superfine kind)
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• optional: a dash of cinnamon and/or 1/4 tsp almond extract
• Earth Balance butter or coconut oil for the pan you cook on

Now for the super easy part: If you are using an electric griddle, turn on and set it to 300 degrees. If you are using a pan, you can wait until the batter is done to set it to med-hi heat. Put the oats, plant milk, vanilla, and maple syrup in the blender and blend until creamy. It tastes amazing at that point. Just stop and drink it. No no no, just kidding, don't do that. Add the almond flour, baking powder, and salt and just pulse a few times until everything is mixed. I like to use Earth Balance on my griddle when making pancakes for that familiar buttery crispy outside, but you could use coconut oil or probably just omit the oil all together if you have a good seasoned cast iron or non-stick pan. Pour into 3in diameter rounds and you'll get about 8 pancakes. Once there are bubbles coming up all the way through the pancake, flip and cook for another minute or less.

I've had these with marmalade on top, which I thought brought out the almond flavor nicely, or just with maple syrup or plain. They are lovely no matter how you top them. I love almond and blueberry together too, so I bet they would be great with some fresh blueberries mixed in!