Whole Wheat Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes with Lemony Glaze

I may be getting a little bit ahead of myself, but the nicer weather here in Utah
makes me long for Spring and Summertime!

And nothing seems to bring in the freshness of Spring like lemons!
So, in honor and celebration of the upcoming Springtime weather, I made some
Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes!

These pancakes have the perfect hint of lemon and are super fluffy.
Plus, they made my little apartment smell like lemons, which reminds me of Spring!

Love it!

I don't have any pictures of it, but I topped these fluffy cakes with some
lemony glaze to take them to a whole new level of lemony-sweet goodness.

So, I've got to know, what is your favorite springtime breakfast? :)

Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes
          with a Lemony Glaze

Total Time: 25-30 minutes
Servings: about 24 (3-4" diameter) pancakes
Nutrition (per pancake):
Calories (80), Fat (2.1g), Protein (1.9g), Carbs (13.6g), Sugars (3.4g), Fiber (1.5g)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour (can use regular whole wheat or all-purpose flour) **See Notes
• 3 Tbsp. poppy seeds
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 c. raw honey, melted (if you like sweeter pancakes, add 2 extra Tbsp. honey)
• zest of 2 lemons
• juice of 2 lemons
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 1 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 2 medium eggs, well beaten
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. melted coconut oil

Lemony Glaze:

• 1/3 c. raw honey
• 1/4 c. raw organic cane sugar
• 1/4 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 4 tsp. lemon juice
• 3 pinches baking soda

Directions for Lemony Glaze:

1. In small saucepan, stir honey, sugar, almond milk, and lemon juice constantly over medium heat until it comes to a simmer. 
2. Allow to simmer for 1 minute without stirring, then remove from heat and whisk in the 3 pinches of baking soda for about 10 seconds until mixture becomes frothy. 
3. Return mixture to low heat and cook for about 30 more seconds.
4. Serve syrup warm over lemon poppyseed pancakes. Leftover syrup needs to be warmed to drizzle on pancakes because it will become sticky (like honey) as it cools. 

Directions for Pancakes:

1. Preheat griddle to medium-high heat (about 250 degrees F on a griddle).
2. Combine the flour, poppyseeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the melted raw honey and the lemon zest. Then add the buttermilk, almond milk, eggs, vanilla, and melted coconut oil. Make sure you stir the coconut oil into the mixture as you are pouring it in to make sure it gets distributed evenly and doesn't clump. 
4. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. The batter will be lumpy. 
5. Lightly spray pre-heated griddle with non-stick cooking spray, if needed. Pour batter onto griddle  a scant 1/4 c. at a time. Cook on first side until the bottom is golden brown and the edges are set. Flip pancake and cook until other side is golden brown as well. Repeat with the remaining batter.
6. Serve pancakes warm with the lemony glaze and enjoy with a handful of blueberries or sliced strawberries.

**Notes: If you use regular whole wheat flour, the pancakes will be more hardy than fluffy. However, if you use half whole wheat flour, half all-purpose flour it should act similarly to whole wheat pastry flour! :)

These pancakes are great as leftovers (if you have any!) as well. Just store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and reheat in the microwave. 

Lemony Ricotta Pancakes

So, I've been experimenting with recipes lately and decided
to try making some lemon ricotta pancakes! I had never used ricotta in
pancakes before but heard they were super good!

Naturally, I had to try them, and since I've been on a lemony kick recently
(I made lemon poppyseed pancakes earlier this week),
I thought lemon ricotta pancakes would be perfect!

I have to admit I was a little nervous to experiment and create my own
recipe but these pancakes turned out amazing!

My pictures do them no justice.

They had a delicious, light, lemony flavor
and were thick, fluffy, and very filling!

You must try these. I promise you won't regret it!
They are a definite winner in my book.
And there are 20g of protein packed into the entire batch!
(Thanks to the ricotta cheese).

So I would say they are healthy... ;)

Plus, my husband and 18-month-old gobbled them up like
there was no tomorrow! Double thumbs up. :)

Lemony Ricotta Pancakes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 8-10 pancakes
Nutrition at a glance (per pancake):
Calories (156), Fat (5.3g), Carbs (20.9g), Fiber (1.5g), Sugars (4.4g), Protein (7.1g)
Inspired by: Two Peas and Their Pod & A Hint of Honey

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 c. flour (1/2 white all-purpose, 1/2 whole wheat)
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 large eggs, yolks and whites separated into two small bowls
• 1/4 cup organic cane sugar (or regular, white sugar)
• 1 c. ricotta cheese
• 1/2 c. lemon juice (freshly squeezed is awesome!)
• 1/2 Tbsp. lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. melted coconut oil
• Optional toppings: maple syrup, fruit syrup (strawberry is my favorite!), fresh berries, greek yogurt, powdered sugar, and/or any other toppings you desire!

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the ricotta, egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla, and coconut oil. Add to flour mixture until well combined. The batter will be very thick! Don't worry, it'll all work out in the end.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites and sugar to form soft peaks. I used a electric hand mixer to do this and it took about 3-5 minutes of beating. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the egg whites into the batter until combined. The batter will be a little more pancake-like, but it will still be thick. 
4. Heat a large, non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. 
5. Drop about 1/4 cup batter onto hot skillet or griddle and use the measuring cup or a spoon to help shape the pancakes into a thinner, more circular form (since the batter is so thick, it will go on in a glob and won't cook as well unless it is patted down a bit). 
6. Cook pancakes until browned on bottom (See picture below) and slightly bubbly on top, about 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook on other side for about 2 more minutes. 
   
7. Repeat with remaining batter and serve with the optional toppings! Enjoy these fluffy, filling pancakes! 

If you try 'em out, let me know how you liked them! :)

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 Serving

Per Serving% Daily Value*

Calories 156

Calories from Fat 48

Total Fat 5.3g8%

Saturated Fat 3g15%

Cholesterol 50mg17%

Sodium 175mg7%

Carbohydrates 20.9g7%

Dietary Fiber 1.5g6%

Sugars 4.4g

Protein 7.1g

Vitamin A 3% · Vitamin C 8%

Calcium 9% · Iron 5%

*Based on a 2000 calorie diet