Gluten-free Pumpkin Nut Pancakes

Note: this recipe is pre-Paleo.  If you’d like to find more Paleo dishes, look here.

A few years ago, when I first stopped eating gluten and dairy and was trying to figure out what to eat, I found a soy-nut pancake recipe that sounded interesting.  I’d never cooked pancakes with nut flour or tofu before and I wasn’t quite sold on the tofu, so I came up with my own version.

Fast forward.  Today, my pancake recipe is the result of a dozen different ingredient experiments – apple sauce, other fruits, flax meal, buckwheat, different spices – and improvement iterations when I felt like I had the ingredients right.  Now, I think I’ve got the recipe down pat and when I’m not drinking my pumpkin, putting it in a soup, or making a curry or some other concoction out of it, this is where it goes.  What it includes: pumpkin puree, almond meal/flour, a bit of buckwheat flour or pureed cooked buckwheat for cohesion, eggs, liquid, and spices.  No gums, starches, or extras like baking powder or salt.

There are two ways to get almond meal – make it or buy it.

Make:  to make almond meal, you will need a food processor, coffee grinder, or high-powered blender that can grind the almonds finely.  Grind the almonds, run them through a flour sifter, and then re-grind the large chunks that remain.  The key is to grind until they are just right – if you go too long, the almond meal turns into almond butter.  Still good, but not the same.

Buy:  I have found affordable 1-pound bags of Almond Meal at Trader Joe’s when visiting other cities or have had relatives bring it back for me when they go on vacation. You can also order gluten-free, kosher almond meal online in 1- and 5-pound bags from Honeyville Mill here in Utah that is a key source of almond meal for several of the big gluten-free baking bloggers.  Because you may not use that much almond meal quickly, it is best to freeze it or keep it in an air-tight container in a cool, dry place.

The easiest way to make the batter is to throw everything in the blender and puree it, but I typically just mix it all up with a fork until it’s smooth.

The best way to cook them is on medium heat.  Preheat your pan and make sure it is hot – you remember the water droplet trick? – before adding a touch of oil and then the batter to it.

When the top of the pancake is covered in bubbles and begins to lose it’s shine, it’s time to flip it.  If your pan was heated properly, this should be a snap.  Cook it briefly and voila!

I love mine with fresh fruit puree – apricots, strawberries or even apple sauce are just sweet enough and complement the pumpkin well.