Pancakes

Please tell me I’m not the only one whose Dad made Mickey Mouse pancakes every Saturday of their childhood.

Though I’ve graduated from Bisquick (and Mickey Mouse shapes), I still love me some Paleo pancakes on a weekend morning. These cakes hold their shape well, and with the addition of gelatin, they stick together without tasting too eggy. Bonus: they won’t make you feel uncomfortably stuffed/sick the way the regular kind does (ever eaten a shortstack at Denny’s? Yeah. That feeling.).

One thing to note: it’s palm shortening, melted butter or bust. Don’t try to make these with coconut oil, as they will stick like glue to the pan. I’m not sure why, but for some reason it only works with butter or shortening. I was getting mighty frustrated with the coconut oil until I tried a different kind of fat.

You may also be wondering why there’s gelatin in these pancakes. First of all, gelatin is amazing for helping heal leaky gut, as well as supporting joints and connective tissue (but buy grass-fed only!). My reasons for using it were more practical: a bit of gelatin performs the same binding function as an egg. I should note, however, that I don’t think you can make the entire recipe egg-free. Subbing a little gelatin just prevents the pancakes from getting too eggy-tasting. Be sure to add the boiling water to a small bowl first, then slowly add the gelatin while stirring. Otherwise, the gelatin will clump up and you’ll have a not-so-delicious blob of goo in your breakfast.

This is a simple recipe, but you could add blueberries, chocolate chips or spices like cinnamon and I’m sure the resulting hotcakes would be extra awesome.