Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes

Happy Sunday! Can you believe it is almost Thanksgiving? We're finding it hard to imagine as we enjoy a lazy Sunday morning at home, before delving into some baking and pumpkin roasting this afternoon. But knowing that there are only two more days left to work this week (including a preliminary Thanksgiving at Will's office tomorrow) before we can hit the road with the monsters (the kitties) to relax and catch up on some sleep. And of course the second I type we're having a lazy Sunday, Emma decides to throw my cup of espresso on the floor. Le sigh. This cat. Anywho, quiet Sunday mornings call for tasty breakfasts! We had some ricotta leftover in the fridge with no intended purpose, so Will went to The Kitchn to see what he could find. Oddly enough, he found a link to "what to do with leftover ricotta" and he hit the jackpot with these pancakes. We don't often make pancakes (why not, I don't know) but these were super fluffy and delicious. We would definitely make them again.


Cooking Notes: Will halved the recipe so we wouldn't be stuck with pancakes for days, especially because these probably wouldn't have frozen very well. Otherwise, since the recipe was so straightforward, he followed it pretty closely.

Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes (serves 2 with 2-3 pancakes each; adapted from The Kitchn)
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tbsp sugar
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup whole milk
1 egg, separated into yolks and whites
1/4 tsp vanilla

Take inventory of your ricotta - if it's liquidy, set it in a fine mesh strainer to drain off excess liquid. If it looks normal, then go ahead with the rest of the recipe!

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a small bowl. Combine the ricotta, milk, egg yolks and vanilla in a separate large mixing bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the ricotta mixture, stirring gently until combined. Beat the egg white with a handheld electric mixer until stiff (it takes a few minutes). Stir a small scoop of egg white into the pancake batter to lighten the batter, then fold in the remaining white with a spatula, in sections.

Heat a griddle or medium frying pan over medium-high heat. Melt a small bit of butter in the pan. Use 1/3 cup measuring cup to pour the batter onto the pan/griddle. Cook the pancakes for about 3-4 minutes or until golden with small bubbles forming. Flip the pancakes and cook another 2-3 minutes until golden. Do this in batches until the pancakes are complete! Serves immediately with maple syrup and enjoy.

Recipe: The Kitchn: Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes