Cottage Cheese Pancakes

I'm not really a pancakes sort of girl.

In fact, the only time I was actively eating pancakes for brekkie was that one summer when I was travelling around USA. Fun fact: Most hostels there offer free breakfast by way of self-serve/make pancakes.

However, despite not being a frequent eater of pancakes, my memories of them are fondly and irrevocably tied with traveling and home, as each time I'm back, me and my friends would head over to Maccas for hotcake breakfast and a catch-up session.

The problem for me in making pancakes is that I'm just too impatient for it. I'll always try to flip them before they're done, making them winkled, odd-shaped and messy. Either that or I'll get bored waiting, wander off for a bit / turn the heat waaaaay too high and end up with one burnt side.

Needless to say, I rarely make them.

But after coming across a recipe for cottage cheese pancakes and watching the recent episode of Masterchef, I knew i had to make some. So here's my version of Smitten Kitchen's adaption of the Joy of Cooking's cottage cheese pancakes.



Cottage Cheese Pancakes

1 1/3 cups whole-wheat flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk
1 cup full-fat or low-fat cottage cheese
2 large egg yolks

2 large egg whites

Lightly butter a non-stick pan and place over medium heat.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon or nutmeg and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, cottage cheese and egg yolks.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently whisk them together, mixing just until combined.

Beat the two egg whites until they are stiff but not dry and fold them into the batter. (As it was just me, I only whisked the egg white till fluffy before mixing into the batter.)

Spoon batter onto the pan. (As these are a bit thick, they might take a little longer to cook, or if you're like me, impatient, gently spread out the batter so it forms a thinner pancake)

Cook until the top of each pancake is starting to dry around the edges – you will get a few bubbles here and there – then turn and cook until the underside is lightly browned.

Smother with maple syrup and enjoy!

Notes:

I halved the recipe and made around 7-ish. If you like, you can probably throw in some nuts or even choc chips into the batter. I had mine the old fashion way; plain with some butter and maple syrup.

Smitten suggests keeping these in a preheated the oven (200 degrees F) if you're not planning to eat them right away.