Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a non-stick cookie sheet, first line it with parchment paper, and then spray the paper with cooking spray, and set to the side.
Combine cheese, eggs, sugar, oil, flour, baking powder and vanilla in a medium bowl and mix all the ingredients with a hand mixer for approximately 2-3 minutes until you get a sticky batter.
Dust your work surface with a bit of white flour. Using a large wooden spoon or small paddle, begin to scoop out the pancake batter into portions a little larger than a golfball, and plop the balls onto the floured work surface. Roll each ball in a bit of flour, and flatten them with the palm of your hand to form a patty about 1 inch thick. You should have been 14-18 patties.
Place each patty on your prepared cooking pan. When the pan is full, place it in the oven for approximately 5 minutes, or until you begin to see the bottom edges brown.
Remove the pan and quickly spray the exposed (uncooked) tops of the patties with cooking spray, and then flip each patty gently to cook the raw side. The flour will have crisped on the underside, and the patty will puff a bit.
Bake a second time for another 5-7 minutes until you can see the puffed pancakes are golden brown on top and bottom.
Top the patties with a dollop of plain, non-fat Greek Yogurt -or- light sour cream, and, a spoonful of all-fruit no-sugar-added jam of your choice, and perhaps a few berries.
Spa Index Kitchen Notes
While you can substitute cottage cheese or ricotta, you'll find those lack the notable tang in this dish, and is a little too "wet." Try to find Farmer's Cheese -- which is a litter drier and tangier than cottage cheese - at better markets with more international cuisine, or even find an International Market in your city. If you do use cottage cheese, find the driest version you can, and perhaps even drain it a bit.By baking these patties, we've saved using between 3-4 tablespoons of oil in a heavy pan, which makes for a much fattier pancake.
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