Edmonds is becoming a wonderful food destination. In the past few years there have been many new restaurants, cafes, bars and bakeries that have opened up around town. One of the most recent additions to open a brick and mortar store (after a few years of operating Pop-Up events) is the Cottage Community Bakery in Perrinville owned by Conor O’Neill.

We are fortunate to have a bakery that serves products using “old world” process and techniques of naturally leavened bread making. Conor says, ” I am fascinated by the concept of bread making, a process that, at its core, utilizes such few ingredients (flour, water and salt), yet provides such a vast variety of flavor and texture.” His beautiful new shop offers a variety of healthy breads as well as pastries and other treats. (His Chocolate Chunk Rye Cookie is a highlight.)

Recently Conor shared his favorite pancake recipe in one of his emails. (I encourage you to sign up for his mailing list.) He freely shared a wonderful treat that’s great for breakfast and even dinner! While the recipe may seem complicated, it comes together quickly and produces a delicious pancake that is worth the effort. I used half whole wheat flour in the recipe and added blueberries when I cooked them on my griddle. This pancakes were a big hit on Sunday morning. Adding fresh fruit, toasted nuts, granola, coconut, etc. provides more nutrition and boosts the flavor. Adding oat bran and ground flax seed as well as substituting whole wheat flour increases the nutrition too. Use whatever you have in your pantry. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand feel free to substitute yogurt that has been thinned with milk or you can also place two tablespoons of vinegar in a measuring cup and add milk to the two cup mark, stir and use as a buttermilk substitute.

Conor’s Cottage Community Bakery Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour (feel free to substitute with half whole wheat flour)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoon butter, melted
4 eggs, separated, yolks/whites
2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Butter or non-stick cooking spray

Instructions:

1) Measure out flour, 3 tablespoons of sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl; whisk together until well combined.
2) Melt butter; let cool.
3) Separate eggs; add whites to a large bowl. Add egg yolks to a medium bowl and set aside. Beat egg whites with whisk or electric hand mixer until fluffy. Stir in buttermilk.
4) Stir egg yolks with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Whisk to incorporate the eggs and sugar to lighten the consistency of the egg yolks.
5) Stir cooled, melted butter slowly into egg yolk mixture. Slowly add this egg yolk/butter mixture to the egg-white mixture and fold in until fully incorporated.
6) Gently and gradually fold in flour mixture. Gently stir to remove any lumps. Be sure not to overmix. Refrigerate for about 10 minutes. Don’t skip this step!
7) Melt butter or use a cooking spray in a large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. With a large spoon or ladle put the pancake batter into the hot skillet. (Don’t press on them as they cook as this will make them tough.) When you see bubbles forming in the middle and a nice browning on the sides then flip the pancake (only do this once). Feel free to add fruits, nuts or granola to the batter as the pancakes are cooking. I love to add blueberries or toasted pecans.
8) Serve with maple syrup, honey or sorghum and fresh fruit.

—  By Deborah Binder

Deborah Binder lives in Edmonds with her family. She is “dancing with N.E.D.” (no evidence of disease) after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2009. She is a foodie who loves to cook from scratch and share her experiments with her family and friends. She attended culinary school on the East Coast and freelances around town for local chefs. Her current interest in food is learning to eat for health and wellness, while at the same time enjoying the pleasures of the table. As Julia Child once said, “Everything in moderation including butter.” Deborah can be contacted atjaideborah@yahoo.com.