Having grown up making waffles and pancakes from scratch using recipes from the classic cookbook, Joy of Cooking, messing with the main ingredients seemed strange.

Messing with them to the point of adding a massive amount of yogurt to the mix was a great way to wreck a perfectly decent waffle or pancake.

But I was wrong. Very wrong. My family and I loved yogurt pancakes and were converted. (Click the link to see the recipe.)

As an aside, Joy of Cooking has separate recipes (as well as many variations) for waffles and pancakes. I’m too lazy to bother and usually make pancakes and waffles together. The best recipe for this approach is the basic waffle recipe. Depending on how I feel, I may or may not whip the egg whites.

The yogurt-based recipe works well for both pancakes and waffles.

Let’s mess things up some more!

Why stop with switching to a yogurt-based recipe?

Let’s knock out the eggs, too.

This happy accident came about when I thought we’d run out of eggs in the middle of making pancakes and waffles.

An online search came up with a few ideas for substituting eggs in baking and one suggested unsweetened apple sauce.

Done!

Things to remember when switching to apple sauce

Extra grease on both the waffle iron and non-stick frying pan (or whatever you use for pancakes) is a must. Otherwise, they will stick, guaranteed.

The waffles don’t need much more care. The biggest difference is a softer inside with a wetter consistency just off the iron. They tend to firm up a little after sitting on a rack to cool a bit.

The pancakes need more care. The pan may need to be heated to a lower temperature to prevent burning. On an electric stove, aim for medium low heat, say 3.5 or 4 at the most. And keep a close eye on the pancakes.

Like with the egg version of the recipe, bubbles will likely not form on the surface of the pancakes to help you know when to flip them. Use a timer and flip at three minutes or two and a half minutes to be on the safe side.

The recipe for eggless whole wheat yogurt pancakes

Makes two large waffles and two large pancakes (or 3-4 pancakes or waffles)

Time – about half an hour from start to finish

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/3 cups whole wheat flour (can substitute 1/3 cup with white flour)
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• optional: 3 tbsp ground flax
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce (A single serving cup is 100ml and can be used as well.)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 and 1/4 cups full fat plain yogurt
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup milk (any fat content)
• vegetable oil or cooking spray to grease the waffle iron and/or non-stick pancake pan

Steps

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl
2. Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl except for the milk.
3. Grease the waffle iron and non-stick pan with cooking spray or vegetable oil and preheat. The pan should be at medium-low.
4. Pour the wet into the dry ingredients and mix gently.
5. Add milk a few tablespoons at a time until the mix can just be poured by tipping the bowl gently to one side. If you use flax and whole wheat flour, you will need more milk. Sticking with white flour or a mix of white and whole wheat and skipping the flax will mean less milk.
6. Spoon about 1/4 of the batter onto the waffle iron and 1/4 onto the non-stick pan in either small pancakes or one large pancake. Set a timer for 3 minutes.
7. Flip the pancake(s) at 3 minutes and adjust the heat if necessary. Set the timer again for another three minutes. Our waffle iron takes about 5-6 minutes for a full cooking cycle but check the waffle and the instruction manual to see how yours cooks.
8. Once the waffle and pancake(s) are done, lay them on a cooling rack until ready to eat. You can stick them on a plate if you plan to eat them right away. If not, the cooling rack will keep the waffles and pancakes from getting soggy.
9. Repeat steps 6-8 until the batter is used up.
10. Enjoy with any toppings you like! Some ideas are maple syrup, corn syrup, peanut butter, Nutella, honey, fruit sauces, jam, fresh fruit, whipped cream with or without berries whipped inside or some other fun combination.

If you give this a try, I’d love to hear how it turns out (or doesn’t). If you have a variation you’d like me to try, let me know. My family is always ready to taste experiments.