My son-in-law Benjie loves to cook. More than just cook, he loves to experiment . . . to try new recipes and different ingredients. For Christmas each year, Benjie scours recipe sites, looking for something interesting to cook. Most years, Benjie, our daughter Jenna, and our youngest grandchildren Ava and Caleb, are at our house on Christmas morning and we get to sample his experiments. In the past, we’ve enjoyed homemade crepes and made-from-scratch cinnamon rolls. It was all absolutely delicious.
This year, Benjie and his family were not with us on Christmas morning. He still cooked and experimented, but, sadly, we didn’t get to enjoy it. His menu this year was gingerbread pancakes. Because of my daughter’s health issues, he fixed two kinds––regular for the children and gluten-free for her. I heard the pancakes were delicious.
By the time we got to their home in Memphis after Christmas, the pancakes were gone, but we did get to sample his Winter Fruit Salad. It was delicious, too, and a colorful addition to breakfast.
Below, you’ll find two recipes––the gingerbread pancakes with instructions for how to make them gluten-free as well, and the Winter Fruit Salad. Isn’t January a wonderful time to try something new?
Gingerbread Pancakes (with gluten-free option)
Step 1: Mix together dry ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger (Note: if you really like ginger, double this amount. The ginger flavor is subtle with only 1 teaspoon.)
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (for gluten-free, substitute 1/2 cup almond flour and 1/4 cup coconut flour)
- 1/3 cup cornstarch (for gluten-free, substitute tapioca starch)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
Step 2: In a second bowl, mix together wet ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Step 3: Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until well mixed.
Step 4: Cook on pre-heated griddle or frying pan. Note: The batter will be thin, but will set up when it’s poured on the medium-hot griddle.
Winter fruit salad
Salad ingredients:
- 2 red apples cored and diced
- 2 pears cored and diced
- 4 clementine oranges or mandarins peeled and separated into segments
- 3 kiwis peeled and sliced into thin rounds and then silce rounds into quarters
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup pomegranate seeds
For the maple lime dressing, mix together:
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon lime juice freshly squeezed
Mix dressing with salad ingredients just before serving.
