CopyCat McDonald's McGriddles Sandwiches

A wonderful copy of the McDonald's McGriddle Sandwich! With a whole grain twist it makes them a bit healthier. You control the ingredients so you control your calories and fat. They can be made with sausage patties, bacon, ham or a soy or veggie alternative!

Maple Crystals.....VERY important, the "secret" ingredient of the McGriddle !! You can buy these or you can make them*** easy recipe at the bottom





Pancake:
2 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
2 TB butter, melted
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 TB brown or maple sugar
2 TB baking powder
1 tsp maple flavoring(can be omitted, but I highly recommend it!)

Mix dry ingredients in a big bowl, make a well in the center,











in a smaller bowl blend milk, butter and eggs,
pour into well and mix carefully until ingredients are just moistened. Batter will be a little lumpy.

Heat Griddle to medium high(a drop of water will sizzle on it when it is hot enough) Drop batter by 3 TB full (about 3/4 full on 1/4 measuring cup)onto hot griddle( you want them about 3 inches or so) Sprinkle on a few Maple Crystals immediately.  I found it perfect to drop them into my english muffin rings(sprayed well with cooking spray) They turned out perfect size!! Of course this is not necessary but the spread wider if you dont have a form..

Cook until it bubbles and flip.
.You should get about 20 pancakes.












Assembly:
10 eggs(or less, see note below)
10 slices of cheddar cheese(again you choose how much or little in the cheese department, less cheese = less fat and calories)
meat of your choice.....bacon, ham, Canadian bacon, sausage patties, or vegetarian patties


You can do your eggs individually in forms to make them pretty,
or you can just make a BIG batch of scrambled eggs and divide them up if you are running short on time(I find you can actually use 6 -7 eggs instead of 10 when making scrambled eggs because they seem "fluffier", dividing them up with a little less egg per sandwich will cut down calories too)
Edit-9/16/10- Also doing 6-7 eggs with a little milk to make a little over 1.5 cups...pour into the form about 2.5 TB each!









Edit 10/10 I found a MUCH easier way to do the eggs....MUFFIN TINS and bake them!(I used jumbo tins) One egg per muffin cup or you can do a batch and split them for less egg.
Bake for 20 minutes at 350







take one pancake place your meat, place your egg, place your cheese and top with another pancake... and DONE












Enjoy immediately or Allow them to cool, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and pop them in the freezer
to reheat: Microwave 2 minute on defrost, then 45-60 seconds on 75% power.

Here are Sausage and Ham ones:

I cut the Ham into Circles too just to make it look pretty. LOL

When assembling for immediate freezing, I just place the frozen sausage patty. They are precooked so just toss it on and continue with assembling!

***Maple Crystals

1/2 cup of 100% maple Syrup VERY IMPORTANT----- MUST BE REAL 100% MAPLE SYRUP NOT PANCAKE SYRUP

Heat Syrup over medium heat until boiling, stir and boil until just before hard crack stage(300 degrees, remove from heat about 290)

Pour onto Silicone Baking sheet  and allow to cool slightly.
(I use silicone because it is easy to "peel" it off. If you dont have silicone, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place in a plastic ziplock bag and crush into tiny chunks (I used a rolling pin)