Can You Guess What These Masa Pancakes Are Missing?

Plate of pancakes with a side of bacon and coffee

We're constantly honing our perfect masa pancake recipe: we've made them with a mix of corn and wheat flour, we've whipped egg whites, we've made them with olive oil. Our platonic pancake ideal, it turns out, has no wheat at all (making them gluten-free), and is practically a one-bowl recipe — so easy, you can throw them together on a bleary-eyed weekday morning. We've based the recipe on one from Kate Ramos at Hola Jalapeño (thanks, Kate!).

They also happen to be free of refined sugar (that bit of sweetness comes from honey), and can be made dairy free (use coconut oil in place of butter, and your choice of alt milk for the homemade buttermilk). Our yellow masa harina lends them a sunny golden hue, but white, blue, and red work just as well. However you make them, they'll cook up fluffy and tender, with perfectly crisp edges. The only question is: are they breakfast? Or breakfast-for-dinner?

 

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