Argh, it’s one of those days! Those days when I don’t know what to write in a post besides “this is delicious” and “I wish I had a plate of these pancakes in front of me right now”. While both of these statements are very true, they hardly make a post. I guess I have food blogger’s writer’s block? Is that even a thing? I’m sure it is, because I’m suffering from it right now. That, and pancake cravings!
But you know what, I’m going to give it a go anyway. If I can write a thesis, I guess I should be able to write a blog post, right?
So um, let’s see. I first made these whole wheat pancakes for the Rocking Rebel, when he was really hungry after working out and, naturally, wanted pancakes. Who doesn’t, after working out, right? Anyway, as the two of us were kind of fantasizing about a perfect world while we were rummaging in the kitchen, we decided to try and make healthy pancakes, using whole wheat flour and oat flour. Because perfect world = pancakes you can eat all day long without ever feeling guilty.
So yeah, this is kind of a healthy recipe. And don’t worry, I haven’t gone over to the dark health-freak side, I’ll be back with a recipe for buttercream soon 😉
Besides, the resulting healthier pancakes were delicious! And yes, I wish I had a plate of these in front of me right now! And while they are not Gwyneth Paltrow kind of healthy, they’re healthy enough for the Rocking Rebel and me: no added sugar (unless you’re like me and top the pancakes with powdered sugar), no white flour, good buttery fats (because butter ain’t all bad!) and less gluten because of the oats.
So, what do you need to make them?
For starters, you’re going to need some familiar pancake making ingredients, like milk and eggs. And a bowl and a whisk. No mixer involved. You don’t need to rest the batter. You just throw stuff together in a bowl, whisk, whisk, whisk, and bake.
This is an easy recipe guys!
This is where is gets interesting, by the way. Like I said, I don’t use all-purpose flour in this recipe, but whole wheat and oat flour. You can order oat flour online, but if you happen to have a food processor, you can also just buy regular oat meal and blitz it into a fine flour.
Everyone knows that whole wheat flour is better for you than all-purpose flour, but oats are really good for you, too. Not only are they naturally gluten free, they also contain plenty of fiber, zinc, iron, potassium (whatever that is) and protein. I love oats! In fact, I have a delicious recipe for a power breakfast containing oats coming up in a few weeks? days? not sure about the date-of-posting yet…
Anyway, I don’t care much for healthy-ish food if it isn’t damn delicious, too. So to make these pancakes really yummy, I add a teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter before baking and then I bake the pancakes in butter. Butter isn’t all bad, you know. In fact, you’re body needs fat to function properly and butter is actually better for you than shortening. If you’re a health freak like Gwyneth, you could bake these pancakes in oil instead of butter (which is even better), but I happen to love pancakes baked in butter, so that’s where I draw the line. The combination of the hearty, nutty oat flour, brown butter and cinnamon is the best!
By the way, you may have noticed that these are not what I’d like to call ‘American pancakes’. You know, the fluffy, thick variety. These pancakes are big and relatively thin. Not as thin as crepes, but kind of the same size. It’s best to bake these pancakes in a medium-sized skillet. I wouldn’t recommend a griddle…
Oh, and wait for the butter to brown a little before pouring in the batter. Yum!
And here it is again, my writer’s block. What more is there to say?
Right. If you like to keep thinking of these pancakes as healthy, you can top them with mashed strawberries or almond butter, banana slices and maybe a few chocolate sprinkles (chocolate can be healthy, right?).
Oooor…. if you want to make these pancakes really sinfully scrumptious, fill them with strawberry jam (like I did) or Nutella (which I didn’t have in the pantry when I was taking these photos but which is really good on these) and top them with powdered sugar. Or syrup. Or just fill them with brown sugar.
Or if you’re in a hurry to go to work or school, don’t bother topping or filling them at all. Just eat them plain, running out of the door. They’re really good on their own 🙂
Enjoy this recipe guys!
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- 60g (or ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoons) whole-wheat flour
- 60g (or ½ cup + 2 teaspoons) oat flour
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 large eggs
- 250ml (or 1 cup + 2 teaspoons) milk
- 20g (about 4 teaspoons) unsalted butter
- topping of your choice
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flours and cinnamon. Add the eggs and milk and whisk to a smooth batter. The batter should be the thickness of double cream.
- Add one fifth of the butter to a medium-sized skillet and heat over medium-high heat until the butter is hot and sizzling.
- Add one fifth of the batter (about one medium-sized soup ladle) to the hot pan. Lift the pan and swirl the batter from the center of the pan to the sides, coating the bottom of the pan with a layer of batter. If necessary, add more batter to coat the bottom of the skillet.
- Place the pan back on the heat and cook the pancake until the top is just slightly moist (not wet!) and the bottom has turned a nice golden color (lift a side of the pancake with a spatula to check the color if you like).
- Once you’re happy with the color of the cooked side of the pancake, use a spatula to flip the pancake and cook the other side until golden brown.
- Transfer the pancakes to a plate and serve immediately or allow them to cool to room temperature first. Cooled pancakes can be kept in the fridge for up to five days, covered in plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container.
- These pancakes are delicious filled with jam or Nutella and topped with powdered sugar, but they also make a great snack topped with almond butter, banana slices and a few chocolate chips, or filled with mashed strawberries!
New favorite food quote:
These pancakes look delicious. I have been experimenting a bit with oat flour and i love the nutty flavour it adds. And yes, I agree, there’s always a place for butter in a healthy diet.
P.S. For someone with writer’s block, you wrote a great post!