Michigan Cherry Walnut Pancakes

 

No I am not planning on starting a food blog.  I just really love big breakfasts on the weekends and have been in search of a good pancake recipe.  I ran across a basic pancake recipe that works really well and I have been playing and having my way with it each weekend.  It started with changing out the milk and butter for dairy free margarine and Almond milk.  Then I added some orange extract and zest and it was a simple and lovely basic pancake.  But I can never leave anything simple and Steve had bought some traverse city dried cherries, so of course I came up with my version of a cherry walnut pancake.  On the whole I am pretty happy with it.

Here is the original recipe for "Best Ever Homemade Pancakes" by Grace and Good Eats: https://www.graceandgoodeats.com/best-ever-pancake-recipe/

And here is my non dairy Michigan Cherry Walnut Pancake recipe: 

Dry Ingredients:

- 3 Cups All purpose flour,  - 7 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt (I used slightly less than a tsp), -1/2 Cup of sugar

Wet Ingredients:

- 6 TBS margerine (I use earth balance) melted, 2 1/2 Cups of Vanilla Almond Milk, 1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon lemon extract, - 2 eggs 

Fruit and Nuts:

- 1 1/2 Cups dried cherries, 1 Cup of finely chopped walnuts, 2 TBS lemon zest 

Directions:

1. Melt Margarine and set aside to cool.

2.Sift or whisk together all dry ingredients in medium bowl. Create a well in the center.

3.Whisk all wet ingredients together and pour into dry, whisk together but do not over mix.  There will still be some lumps.

4. Stir in dried cherries, ground walnuts and lemon zest.

5. Heat ungreased skillet on medium high heat, when water sprinkled on sizzles it is hot enough.  Pour roughly 1/4 cup of batter and cook till edges are dry and bubbles pop creating holes in top, flip and cook 2-3 min more till other side is golden.  

Now feel free to have your way with this recipe, anyone not allergic to dairy could use buttermilk or whole milk and actual butter instead of margarine.  This recipe does turn out very lemony and the tart cherries are more of an accent, you could use less lemon zest and try cherry extract instead of lemon for more cherry flavor. 

I did try to make a Michigan shaped pancakes and here is my sad result.  

My lack of skills with food photography and the fact  that I rarely write my recipes down, make it unlikely I will start a food blog.  However I hope that someone may enjoy these pancakes as much as Steve and I did this morning.

Cheers!

- Jenna