Oat-Nut Pancakes

Tired of plain ol’ pancakes? It seems many restaurants have a fascination with thick, heavy pancakes. They’re so thick, they barely get a chance to cook inside, leaving a funny, floury after-taste. They may even go so far as to call them “fluffy.” But as you near the end of your breakfast, you realize you’d rather not see another plate of pancakes any time soon.

There’s really not much to pancakes. It’s basically flour and water or milk. Not exactly the most nutritious by the time it’s drizzled with syrup and butter. But enough preaching. I wanted to try a different take on the regular pancakes. This recipe is said to be a copycat of Ihop’s Harvest Grain & Nut Pancakes. I’ve only eaten at Ihop once so I can’t say if these taste like them or not. But I will say this is a welcome change to Bisquick-style pancakes.

I ground up the oats and mixed all the ingredients together. Once my pan was hot enough I added the batter and waited for the first side to get done. It seemed to take a little longer for these to cook compared to regular pancakes. My pan was lopsided on the bottom so that may have had something to do with it. But I soon found they do indeed cook differently.

Flipping the pancakes was a more delicate process than I’m used to. I had to wait to flip them until the top batter was almost dry. Once I realized how they cook, the rest of the process was easy.  

And the small amount of extra effort paid off. They turned out pillowy, and I mean that in a good way. The syrup didn’t just run off the top, it soaked into every nook and cranny it could, almost like a sponge. The taste was hearty and wholesome from the wheat flour, the oats and walnuts. While the buttermilk helped give it a slight zing.

As for my crappy frying pan? It’s about to be traded in for a nice griddle. That’s the one thing I’ll be after during all these crazy Black Friday sales.

Printable Version

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup Quaker Oats
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Lightly oil a skillet or griddle, and preheat it to medium heat.

2. Grind the oats in a blender or food processor until fine, like flour.

3. Combine ground oats, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

4. In another bowl combine buttermilk, oil, egg and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth.

5. Combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients, add nuts and mix well with mixer.

6. Ladle 1/3 cup of the batter onto the hot skillet and cook the pancakes for 2 to 4 minutes per side or until brown.

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