Oatmeal Pancakes

Another good recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe! You can find the recipe here.


I love pancakes! I posted this recipe for pancakes about three years ago. It's a good recipe, but these oatmeal pancakes are healthier, especially if you use all whole wheat flour. :)

Believe it or not, in the picture below, that is a bowl of oats!--oats that have been put in the blender and turned into a flour. I've never blended oats to make flour before, so it was fun!


Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups rolled (quick) oats
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour (OR 5 cups total whole wheat flour)
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup vegetable or canola oil

Directions:
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixer with a paddle (or by hand). If desired, grind the oats in a blender or food processor before adding to the other dry ingredients for a smoother mix. With mixer on slow speed (or gently by hand), drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of mix in your hand. If it stays together, it is just right. If it is still crumbly, add another tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct (I’ve never had to add additional oil). Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.

Below is a picture of the finished pancake mix. I love that you can make a bunch of it and keep it in the fridge, then pull it out and use some to quickly make a batch of pancakes. It's so quick and easy!


To make the pancakes: whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1 cup buttermilk (a combination of half plain yogurt and half milk will also work), and 1 egg. The mixture may seem thin at first but the oats will soak up the milk as it stands while the griddle preheats. Heat a griddle and drop the batter onto it. When the edges look dry and bubbles come to the surface and don’t break, turn the pancake over to finish cooking on the second side. As a sidenote, buttermilk can be frozen indefinitely for future batches of pancakes, so it’s worth keeping it around!

I actually used a little more than 1 cup of the mix since the directions said it would be thin. I love thicker pancakes (but not too thick), so adding a little more than 1 cup of mix was perfect! (Maybe about 1 1/3 or 1 1/2 cups of the mix.) Also, if you don't have buttermilk, the solution is simple! ... that's if you happen to have vinegar or lemon juice on hand. To make a substitute for buttermilk, put 1 Tbsp. of either vinegar or lemon juice in a cup, then fill the cup up with regular milk. Mix it together and let it sit for 5 minutes. I didn't have vinegar, but I did have lemon juice! It worked perfectly! My favorite way to eat these pancakes is with maple syrup and fresh strawberries on top. It's delicious!

ENJOY!