$150 Pancakes!

That's right, this morning I made $150 pancakes! Well, not exactly... I have been pondering getting a large Cuisinart food processor for a little while and I have been wanting to try a pancake recipe out of King Arthur's Whole Grain Baking since I got it for my birthday.... so, I finally decided to use some of the last of our wedding credit at Macy's to get one.

One of my favorites things to do is to have a lazy Saturday morning at home with Russ and Cash. Russ usually sleeps in a little longer than me and I get up and do some fun baking. Lately I have been trying new blueberry muffin recipes, but I decided to try the Orange Cloud Pancakes this morning. They were not too difficult to make, but did require the use of both the new food processor and my Kitchen Aid mixer. While Russ thinks it is ridiculous to use all this equipment to make pancakes when you can add milk to the Bisquick bottle and pour I happen to enjoy it. When I have the time there is nothing I enjoy more than using all my fun kitchen tools.

For this recipe you add all the ingredients except the orange zest and the egg whites to the food processor. You then make the batter and stir in the orange zest. The batter then rests for 10 minutes. I am still new to whole grain baking, but one thing that almost every recipe calls for is a period of rest for the batter or dough. I believe this is to help bring out the flavor. While resting you whip the egg whites until they are stiff and then fold them in the rested batter. I cooked mine on my cast iron griddle which I think adds even more flavor to them.

I really liked the light and fluffy texture that the whipped egg whites added and the orange flavor. Russ, who is not a huge pancake fan, did not find them sweet enough for him and didn't like the orange zest. I don't mind that they are not overly sweet because to me that is what the syrup is for, however, next time I will increase the sugar, decrease the orange zest, and increase the orange juice. Russ didn't want to rate these since he doesn't love pancakes, so I'll rate them an 8.

Orange Cloud Pancakes (King Arthur Whole Grain Baking)

3/4 cup cottage cheese
3 eggs, separated
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon orange juice
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon orange zest

Place the cottage cheese, egg yolks, melted butter, and orange juice in a food processor, and process until the cottage cheese is smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon and process again. Scrape the mixture into a medium bowl and stir in the orange zest. Let this mixture sit for 10 minutes. In the bowl of your electric mixer, whip the egg whites until they're stiff but not dry. Use a rubber spatula to stir in a spoonful of the whites into the batter to loosen it, and then gently fold in the rest of the whites. The batter does not need to rest; cook the pancakes right away as directed below.

Heat a nonstick griddle if you have one, or a heavy skillet, preferably cast iron. If your surface is not nonstick, brush it lightly with vegetable oil. When the surface of your pan is hot enough that a drop of water sputters across it, give the pan a quick swipe with a paper towel to remove excess oil, and spoon the batter onto the hot surface, 1/3-cupful at a time. Cook the cakes, checking them frequently to be sure they're not browning too quickly. When they're beginning to set, and you see small bubbles starting to form around the edges, flip them and finish cooking until both sides are golden brown. Serve immediately. These pancakes are light and fluffy and do not hold well in the oven. We suggest serving them as soon as they come off the griddle.