Cinnamon-Oat Pancakes

I like pancakes. I mean, I love pancakes. I probably think about them at least once a week. But I rarely make them. Pancakes always seem such a chore to me. They are one of those foods that just when I think I've got the process down pat I have a disastrous go round with them. And that happened this time around too, but luckily I was able to work through my frustration and had a delightful breakfast when all was said and done. The biggest problem this time around was the electric griddle that I typically use for making pancakes. I have just about decided to give that thing the heave-ho after this last experience, and get one of those griddles that goes on the stove burners instead. Once I switched over to a frying pan things went much smoother, although slower since I could only fit 2 pancakes in the pan at a time. I was intrigued with this pancake recipe when I saw it in the May issue of Everyday Food, but my general pancake apprehension caused me to repeatedly put off making them. I finally got to it on July 4th, and I'm glad that I did. Cause as I've mentioned, I love pancakes and these were good pancakes. They cooked up fluffy with a great flavor and texture from the oats. If you, like me, like pancakes, give these a flip.

Cinnamon-Oat Pancakes
Recipe from Everyday Food; Makes 20














2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups milk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more for skillet

• In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and 1 cup oats and pulse a few times to coarsely grind oats. In a large bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, and oil. Add dry ingredients and 1 cup oats and whisk just until moistened.
• Heat a large skillet (nonstick or cast-iron) or griddle over medium. Lightly oil skillet. Using 2 to 3 tablespoons for each pancake, drop batter in skillet and cook until a few bubbles have burst, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook until browned on undersides, 1 to 2 minutes more. Repeat with more oil and batter.

My notes: I substituted half the all-purpose flour with some white whole wheat for a little bit of a healthier version. I also used soy milk for these. I came out with several more than they claim the recipe yields, but that was no problem since I now have another weekend breakfast awaiting us in the freezer. We had our pancakes with syrup, and EF suggested powdered sugar and bananas, but I think the cinnamon lends itself to lots of fruit options. I think peaches or apples, fresh or preserves, would both be quite nice with these.