Cottage Cheese Pancakes

I woke up today CRAVING the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes from Coast at Shutters Hotel in Santa Monica, CA.

I didn’t have any ricotta or lemon… but I did have cottage cheese. So I made Cottage Cheese Pancakes instead. You have to work with what you’ve got!

Here’s the recipe for Cottage Cheese Pancakes from dramaticpancake.com.

COTTAGE CHEESE PANCAKES

(Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cottage Cheese Pancakes with Lemon)

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Serves: makes 12 small pancakes

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs, separated, yolks lightly beaten
• 1 cup full- or low-fat cottage cheese
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• few dashes cinnamon

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form.
2. In a separate mixing bowl stir together egg yolks, cottage cheese, vanilla, sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter with a rubber spatula.
3. Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium-high heat. Melt a bit of butter in it; heat until a drop of batter sizzles slightly upon contact. Scoop about 1/4 cup of batter onto the skillet for each pancake, working in batches. Cook until surfaces bubble and edges are set, about 1 minute. Flip pancakes, cooking about 3 minutes more until undersides are golden brown. Repeat process until you have worked through all the batter. These pancakes tend to deflate a bit after cooking, so serve immediately for the fluffiest results. Serve with maple syrup, berries, jam, powdered sugar, or just a simple pat of butter.

The only thing I would add is mashing up the cottage cheese so its more ricotta-like, and having it closer to room temperature so it cooks through more quickly. I wouldn’t mind adding a little lemon to it either, but it wasn’t half bad and a little more interesting than my usual Bob’s Redmill/Bisquick mixture.