The Best Cottage Cheese Pancakes

These pancakes are a fantabulous way to start your day! Not only do they serve up some sweetness in your morning, but they also deliver a serious amount of protein for the rest of your day. Let's do this thing!

Step 1: Assemble the Team

To make the best cottage cheese pancakes you will need:

Dry Works:

- 1/2 cup of flour

- 1/4 teaspoon of salt

- 1 teaspoon of baking powder

Wet Works:

- 3 eggs

- 1 cup of small curd cottage cheese

- 1 heaping tablespoon of honey (or agave syrup)

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Other Helpers:

- non-stick cooking spray (the kind without flour in it)

Step 2: The Wet Works

Combine you wet works and beat thoroughly. It's important to make sure that the honey/agave is dissolved and incorporated. (eggs, honey/agave, cottage cheese, vanilla)

Step 3: The Dry Works

Toss all of them in a bowl and whisk. (flour, salt, and baking powder)

Step 4: "The Muffin Method"

We're making pancakes, not muffins! I know, but both pancakes and muffins use the "muffin method" which means that you add the dry ingredients to the wet. (Waffles also use the muffin method) This helps whatever delicious baked-good you're making develop the important bubbles that make them nice and fluffy.

So go ahead mix your dry works into your wet works until just combined.

Step 5: Pro Tip: Oil Is Fantastic!

Before you start cooking your pancakes (on low to medium heat) spray both your pan and your spatula with cooking spray.

One of the most difficult things about cottage cheese pancakes is that they take longer to cook than normal pancakes, and that means whatever you coat the pan with has to be cooked longer too. I find that using oil to coat the pan versus butter is a better choice since the oil doesn't burn as readily.

Step 6: Patience Is a Virtue

Time to begin cooking!

Two critical things to keep in mind

1. use a scoop no bigger than 1/3 cup; any bigger and they a very difficult to cook through

2. don't over-crowd the pan, the pancakes spread a lot

This probably means you can't cook them as fast as you might like to, but trust me, it's worth it in the end.

Step 7: Knowing When to Flip

Knowing when to flip is tricky and took me some time to master. What you are looking for is for the bubbles to stop popping and for a stabilizing "film" to form on the top of the pancake. Once that happens, channel your inner Julia Child and just go for it; don't hesitate, the pancakes can sense your fear. ;)

Step 8: Classic Serving and Modifications

A dollop of butter and drizzle of maple syrup are classic serving options.

Here are some additional ideas:

- Jam or Marmalade

- Make it savory with herbs and bacon bits

- Any kind of fruit (fried apples, strawberries, peaches...)

Be creative, these pancakes are a healthy, high-protein canvas for your culinary dreams. Cheers!