Accidental Low-Allergy Cooking: Banana Pancakes and Two Eggless Biscuits

Pancakes that are outrageously simple and also nutritious, dairy- and gluten-free?  These are a breakfast staple in our household, for The Daddy and I as well as the children.

For these Banana Pancakes, per person (approximately three small pancakes), mash a large, ripe banana and beat in one egg.  Add a tablespoon of buckwheat flour, mix to combine.

We usually also add a scant teaspoon of LSA meal, and a good shake of cinnamon as well.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat, and cook for a few minutes on both sides until cooked through.  I recommend sticking with small pancakes (around 12cm diameter or smaller), as they are easier to flip that way.  You can also make them with just egg and banana, but the buckwheat adds flavour, body and makes for easier flipping.

I love Bob's Red Mill organic buckwheat flour.  I get it at my local independent supermarket - they carry a dizzying array of specialty flours - but Bob's Red Mill products are also available from lots of healthfood stores and online retailers.

Tabitha and Zachary have their banana pancakes with fresh strawberries or blueberries.  The Daddy and I love them with maple syrup, and bacon on weekends!

The other day, I made two batches of biscuits which were both, by pure coincidence, egg free.  So I thought I'd post the recipes here.  I am not normally a good 'something-free' cook, as most of my recipes contain lots of butter, milk, eggs, flour or all of the aforementioned, but it is handy to have a few such recipes up one's sleeve, as more and more children are allergic to various things these days.

The first recipe is for homemade arrowroot biscuits.  Similar in texture to a shortbread, but much lighter in flavour, these are an incredibly versatile biscuit, perfect for icing and decorating, or for an 'everyday treat' sort of biscuit for small people.  They are also delicious served alongside a cup of tea - three or four small biscuits is just about right.

Little Arrowroot Biscuits

150g plain flour

60g arrowroot flour or tapioca flour

70g icing sugar

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

50g thickened cream

60g or a little more canola oil

Sift the dry ingredients together into a bowl.  Using a fork to mix, slowly add the cream, then the oil.  You will need to mix very firmly and for a reasonably long time.  The mixture should be very crumbly, and only come together when you pinch some together with your fingers.  You may need a little more cream or oil, but first try mixing for longer to make sure the liquids are thoroughly worked through.

Using your hands on a sheet of baking paper, press out about 1/3 of the mixture at a time, to a uniform thickness of around 3-4mm.  Use a small cookie cutter, and cut out shapes, re-pressing down the remaining mixture as required.  You will get around 50 small cookies - my cutters are around 3cm across.  Place the cookies on a baking tray lined with baking paper (you can put them close together, as they will not really spread) and bake at 180 degrees for around 8 minutes, or until they are just slightly changing colour.

Let them cool on a wire rack, then store in an airtight tin.  They will happily keep for a good week or so.  They are a good little biscuit to ice, as well.

The second biscuit recipe is one I have posted here before - here - but I am posting the recipe again, for the purposes of having both eggless biscuit recipes together in one place.  These are delicious little chocolate chip cookies made with condensed milk.  They are most delicious when fresh from the oven, but perfectly acceptable for a day or two afterwards as well.

Highlander Biscuits

Cream together 115g softened butter with 55g caster sugar, until light and fluffy.

Beat in 2 tablespoons of condensed milk (note - these are NZ metric tablespoons, so only 15ml each), and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Sift together 170g plain flour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and work into the creamed mixture, along with 60g of milk or dark chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate).  Once you have a crumbly mass of dough, tip it onto the bench and lightly knead it together into a rough ball.

Roll teaspoonsful of the dough into balls, and place them, spread apart, onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.  Press each ball down to flatten somewhat with a fork.

Bake for 12 - 15 minutes at 180 degrees.  They should be lightly golden on the bottoms, and barely coloured on the tops.

Cool in a rack, and store in an airtight tin.  This makes around 25 - 30 small cookies for me.

One final sweet dish, which contains egg and dairy and gluten, and is incredibly quick and delicious - my golden syrup Hasty Pudding.  Recipe here.  We've been eating it quite often lately, in the cold evenings of Melbourne winter, and it really hits the spot, with plenty of cream or ice cream.  Make it tonight - it's a one-bowl, melt-and-mix kind of affair, perfectly manageable to throw together after dinner on a chilly night.

A new pair of Baby Legs leggings for Zach - these are really handy for babywearing, as you can slip them on and off according the temperature (for example, if you are going in and out of air conditioned places on a hot day) without disturbing or unwrapping baby.  We're off overseas next week (more about that soon) and I think Baby Legs will be brilliant for all the on-off-on plane action.

Also a few mini pots of CJ's Butter - truly the best and most delicious smelling range of nappy cream / all purpose moisturising balm.  I am never without a little pot of it - current favourite scents include Narwhales and Unicorns, Warm Vanilla Cake and Blueberry Crumble.  The little sample pots are the perfect size to throw into a handbag or nappy bag.