Sweet & Savory ~~ "Poppy's Pancakes"

Truth be known, I've never been much of a pancake fan no matter where they were prepared or served until my husband fired up the recipe below.  Then I became a believer!  The reason that I disliked pancakes prior to this time is because most of them were too heavy or tasteless.  There is a key ingredient that makes these as light and fluffy as can be in addition to being heart healthy. Perhaps I should qualify that last statement.  The "heart healthy" would probably depend upon how much butter and syrup you applied to each one.  So, please accept my challenge and plan to prepare this recipe for anyone you know who does not order pancakes from the restaurant menu or declines your weekend breakfast invitation.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 extra large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2/3 cup old fashioned oats (not the quick cooking variety)
• 1 1/3 cups buttermilk
• 3/4 cup white whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup blueberries, optional - to be served on top of cooked pancakes
• 1/4 cup walnuts, optional - to be served on top of cooked pancakes

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat griddle to 400 degrees.
• Combine oats with buttermilk and let stand in small bowl for 12 minutes.
• Spoon flour into a measuring cup and level with a butter knife.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon, stirring well.
• Lightly beat extra large egg in small bowl.
• Add the maple syrup and vanilla.
• Stir this into the oat mixture.
• Combine the oat mixture and the flour mixture, stirring until just blended.
• Using 1/4 cup measuring cup, pour batter onto preheated griddle.
• Cook about 3 minutes until bubbles appear on top of the pancakes and the edges look somewhat dried out.  Using pancake turner, flip the pancakes to the other side and cook for about 2 minutes.
• This recipe yields about 6 medium sized pancakes.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

• Serve with other fruits such as bananas, cranberries, peaches, etc.
• I like to butter the pancakes, apply a small amount of pure maple syrup, and then add the blueberries and heart healthy walnuts on top.
• These make great snacks or leftovers.

SECRET INGREDIENT:

• The key to this entire exercise/project is the white, whole-wheat flour.  It is sold as pastry flour in some stores, but please check the label to make sure it reads, "white, whole-wheat flour."  What's in a name? Well, it depends on the name.  And in this case, that's the exact name.

Happy Dining!

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