Oatmeal Pancakes with Strawberries

These are hands down the best pancakes I have ever eaten. The recipe comes from a cookbook I happen to love, Kim Boyces Good To the Grain. I love my pancakes on the denser side to provide some bite, with crispy, buttery edges, salty butter, and real maple syrup. I'm not a huge sweets eater in the morning (trust me, I more than make up for that as the day goes on) so I like my pancakes at night, for dinner. We do this a few times a year and it's always really fun. I don't feel so bad eating pancakes for dinner when you start with oatmeal --a whole grain-- as the base because it's healthier and will keep you fuller and satisfied much longer than white flour alone. Plus, I use almond milk instead of regular milk which helps with the health factor too. This way I can feel way less guilt about slathering an obscene amount of butter on top. I like a salty sweet pancake- one teaming with melty butter and warm maple syrup, like they are each fighting for center stage. We don't use a lot of butter in our household, but pancakes are definitely an exception.



Oatmeal Pancakes with Strawberries

adapted from Good To The Grain, by Kim Boyce, and adapted from smittenkitchen.com

makes 18 pancakes

3/4 cup oat flour (you can make this by pulsing rolled oats into a food processor or vita-mix)
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (plus extra for the pan)
1 1/4 cups whole milk (I used unsweetened Almond milk)
1 cup cooked oatmeal (I used leftover steel cut oats)
1 tablespoon unsulphured (not blackstrap) molasses or 1 tablespoon honey
2 large eggs

Strawberries, for serving

Whisk the oat flour, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk the butter, milk, cooked oatmeal, honey and eggs together until thoroughly combined. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Don't overwork the batter, being gentle with the batter is essential for tender pancakes. The batter should be slightly thick with a holey surface.

Heat a 10-inch cast-iron pan or griddle over medium heat until water sizzles when splashed onto the pan. Lower to medium-low. Rub the pan generously with butter; Boyce says this is the key to crisp, buttery edges. Working quickly, dollop 1/4-cup mounds of batter onto the pan, 2 or 3 at a time. Once bubbles have begun to form on the top side of the pancake, flip the pancake and cook until the bottom is dark golden-brown, about 5 minutes total. Wipe the pan with a cloth before griddling the next pancake. Continue with the rest of the batter.

Serve the pancakes hot, straight from the skillet or keep them warm in a low oven.