Dandelion Pancakes Take Two

If any of you out there are paying ridiculously close attention to this blog, you will know that I already wrote a post about dandelion pancakes. In fact, I wrote it almost exactly a year ago. The take away: During dandelion season, I truly cannot think of anything better to prepare than dandelion pancakes.

However, the fact that I like something a lot really isn't enough of a reason to write two blog posts on the same topic. If it were, you would be reading a lot more posts from me about scrambled eggs.

This post is about BETTER dandelion pancakes. I am even going to call these Magic Dandelion Pancakes, though I am generally loathe to give my recipes such dorky names.

Here is why they are magic:

First, they make lunch break significantly more
exciting for everyone involved.

They require only three ingredients! Three.
(Thank you Jody for the original recipe - which has only two ingredients.)

Anyone who has ever cooked anything in a frying pan
is capable of making them.

Seda, upon tasting them, said "Mmm, these are delicious. Thank
you Mom for making this yummy food." She is going through a very
formal stage right now.

And the three ingredients are...drum roll...

Magic Dandelion Pancakes

Bananas

Eggs, one for every banana you use

Dandelions - petals only, no green parts

Mash the bananas, use at least one for each person that is eating. A potato masher makes quick work of a bowl full of bananas, but a fork will do. Stir in the eggs and the dandelion petals (I used about a cup and a half of petals for the four banana recipe pictured - just stop when you get tired of plucking petals) until everything is well combined.

Cook them over medium heat in a little butter, or whatever your preferred cooking oil is. They cook just like any pancake, except they don't make bubbles to tell you they're ready to flip (no leavening agents) and they take just slightly longer to cook through.

The final texture is not exactly like a traditional pancake, but surprisingly cake-like nonetheless. I was totally shocked when my sister-in-law first made them (minus the dandelion) that they didn't have any kind of added flour at all. Also, they taste like bananas. Which is awesome.

Dandelion Pancakes

My mother's day request was time to make dandelion pancakes. (It's a little tedious to pluck all those petals...) Last year I made them for lunch all through May, but last year I was tending a greenhouse for 37 CSA members, not 64. And I was doing it with a curious 18 month old, which is a bit challenging, instead of a demanding 2 and a half year old, which is very much more challenging.

So, I didn't get as many chances to make my beloved pancakes this year, or actually any (now you know what your CSA farmer has sacrificed in order to be your farmer) and today I noticed that, thanks to the early spring, if I waited until Sunday to make the pancakes I would be too late. My cheery yellow lawn is starting to go to seed.

So I made them today.

And I thought I would share the recipe here, to appease those of you who are awaiting your first shares of garden fresh veggies and also have some dandelions in the lawn yet this year, and a bit of spare time on your dandelion stained hands.

Whole Wheat Dandelion Pancakes

• 6-8 cups freshly picked dandelion blossoms

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 1/3 cups milk
• 4 eggs
• Additional butter for cooking

Pluck the yellow and white petals from the green portion of the dandelion flowers. It really helps to have some assistance with this step. Is is impossible to remove every last trace of green. Don't try to. It will drive you crazy.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

Melt the quarter cup butter over low heat. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the cold milk (you want to make the butter re-solidify a bit in the milk, it makes delicious buttery bits in the pancakes) and the eggs. Mix until smooth.

Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula. Stir until the batter is smooth. Fold in the dandelion petals. It will look like soggy dandelion mush. That's what you are going for at this point.

This is what the pancakes look like at this stage.
Later they will hover idyllically in the field,
as seen in the above photograph.

Heat butter for cooking the pancakes in a large skillet over medium/low heat. When the butter is melted pour about 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and spread it so it is about a 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick (the batter won't really spread on its own like dandelion free pancake batter). Do this until the skillet is full. Cook until the pancakes are golden brown, flip, then cook until the other side is golden as well.

Repeat until you have used up all of the batter.