Pancakes are back on the breakfast menu

By Susan Baldani

When Josie Johnson was diagnosed with a gluten allergy many years ago, one of the foods she missed the most were pancakes. So, she started making her own mixes in her kitchen in Bend. Today, Josie’s Best Gluten Free Mixes are being sold throughout the U.S.

“When my husband and I were first dating, I really become obsessed with making a gluten-free pancake that we both could enjoy,” she says. (Marty, unlike Josie, doesn’t have a gluten allergy.) “So, I came up with one we really liked it and started giving it to family and friends. They loved them.”

The company’s warehouse is based in Sisters. All products are made with minimal ingredients, and can be enjoyed by people with many different food allergies. They contain no peanuts, no tree nuts, no dairy, and no gluten. In addition to pancake mixes, which are their number one seller, the company also offers mixes for waffles, muffins, and crepes.

Josie finds her work extremely rewarding. Many of her customers tell her that they had given up on pancakes until her mixes came along.

“For me, it feels like warmth and family and all the good  things about being a kid, with sticky syrupy fingers,” she says. “I’m grateful to know that I can insert some of that happiness back into people’s lives.”

To learn more, go to https://www.josiesbestgf.com/.

Gluten Free Pancake Berry Bake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cup batch of Josie’s Best GF Pancake batter (per instructions, you will need an egg, oil of choice, milk of choice)
• 2 cups frozen berries (or any fruit)
• ½ a lemon
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 2-4 tsps.  sugar of choice (Josie uses coconut sugar )

Instructions:

• Line a square 8×8 baking dish with parchment and preheat oven to 350°.
• Mix up pancake batter following instructions on the back of the bag.
• Add the juice of ½ of lemon to batter. 
• Toss frozen berries with 1-2 tsps. sugar and pour into baking dish.
• Pour batter on top. Sprinkle with remaining sugar.
• Bake for about one hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with only a few moist crumbs. 
  
• Allow to cool slightly and enjoy!  

Written for Bend Lifestyle magazine in Bend, Oregon.