Tia Karen's Pancakes

As a child, my sister, Karen, was the pickiest eater to ever walk the face of the earth. I've yet to hear of a pickier eater. She spent the better part of the 80's eating little else but Yoplait Custard Style Yogurt. When she did branch out into eating other foods, these pancakes were on her short list.

Nana calls these cottage cheese pancakes, but since Tom hates cottage cheese we have to pretend that there isn't any cottage cheese in them. Luckily, you can't detect the cottage cheese at all. They are light and buttery with a mild flavor that lends itself well to a wide variety of toppings.

After talking to my friend Cecily about how challenging it can be to feed toddlers, I wanted to post this recipe. Among the top reasons why I like it:

1. They're super fast to assemble. I can make them for a weekday breakfast or an afternoon snack. 
2. They're high in protein. I ate a lot of these when I was pregnant and my midwife was always on my case about eating more protein. 
3. My kids love them. 

Nana always serves them with apple sauce. I like mine with apple sauce and sour cream. The girls like theirs with apple sauce and vanilla yogurt. Tom likes his with melted butter. A few weeks ago I topped them with some fancy blueberry preserves Nana and Papa brought us from their trip to Maine and some homemade creme fraiche. 

So let's get started. You'll need:

• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil

Put the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula as necessary. The batter will be thin. 

I like to cook these on an electric griddle but a skillet would work just as well. I like to make little pancakes so the girls can pick them up with their hands. Cook over medium to medium-high heat until pancakes appear bubbly and slightly dry, then flip and cook until slightly puffed in the middle. 

I tried to take a few pictures of the finished plate, but Eevory busted in on my little photo session. The girl has priorities.