Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free (Vegan) Apple Pancakes

Today we got a bunch of apples with our Bountiful Basket, so I decided to try making apple pancakes.  They turned out yummy and the kiddos really liked them.  I had to modify them to be gluten, dairy, and egg free to fit our family's needs, so I will put the modified recipe below for you.  The original recipe I used was Veronica's Apple Pancake Recipe found at http://allrecipes.com/recipe/veronicas-apple-pancakes/.  They didn't look beautiful, so don't be turned off by my photo below (and keep in mind I use cast iron, not a non-stick griddle, so it's harder to flip them without mooshing them a bit ;)).  I promise they were yummy.

- 1/4 cup butter, melted (I used a vegan butter, but next time will probably try organic unrefined coconut oil)                                                    

- 1 egg (I used 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed (I store it in the freezer and grind in a coffee grinder dedicated to grinding food products when needed) mixed with 3 tablespoons of water.  I let this sit 5 minutes before adding it).                                                                    

- 1 cup milk (I used coconut milk as a substitute)                                                                     

- 1 cup shredded tart apple (I only had honey crisp apples, so I used that, but squeezed out all of the excess juice after shredding it, before I mixed it in)

- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour  (I used 1/4 cup ground flax seed, ground very fine, 1/2 cup ground gluten-free oats, ground very fine, and 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free flour mix.  You could use any flours you like and are used to using.  If you have celiac's disease, or a big sensitivity, even dedicated gluten-free oats can cause a reaction, so you may not want to use gluten-free oat flour if you do)

- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I added a dash of nutmeg too)

- 1 tablespoon white sugar (I used organic cane sugar, which still isn't amazing, but is a bit better than white sugar)

**I also used a teaspoon of xanathan gum as this helps bind the flours together.  If you are not making gluten free, you wouldn't need the xanathan gum)

 

1. In a large bowl, combine butter, egg, milk and apple. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sugar. Stir flour mixture into apple mixture, just until combined.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake (I used less per pancake, and tried to keep them thinner, so that they would cook faster as my flour blend takes a little longer to cook). Brown on both sides and serve hot.