Recipe: Signature Banana Pancakes

This is my staple pancake recipe, the go-to for late Sunday mornings after F and I finish a bike ride and run, respectively. Plenty of our guests have been privy to these ‘cakes, too.

These pancakes were born during my time as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine. I developed one pancake recipe but then wanted to make it even healthier by cutting out the white flour. After trying out some substitutions, I came up with the following delicious combination — it’s super easy and has a hearty taste and crunchy mouth feel.

The pancakes come out slightly different each time: sometimes I use more oats, sometimes I skip oats and bump up the cornmeal, sometimes I add a dollop of peanut butter to the batter (though usually we just spread it on top of the cooked pancakes), sometimes I add a healthy tablespoon or two of cocoa powder. Think of this recipe as a base for your own great pancake experimentations — although if you make it as-written, I can promise you will be more than satisfied.

Signature Banana Pancakes (makes 8-10 medium-large pancakes, just enough for 3-4 people)

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups cornmeal
• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (or semolina)
• 3/4-1 tsp baking soda
• dash of salt
• to taste: ground cinnamon + ground nutmeg
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 egg
• 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-2.5 cups buttermilk (or kefir)
• optional: 1 tbsp peanut butter; handful of crushed walnuts; 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• Neutral oil (for cooking)

Procedure

• Whisk all the dry ingredients together.
• In a separate bowl, mash the bananas and them mix in the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir until well-combined.
• Stir in peanut butter and/or walnuts, if using.
• Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat and cook pancakes to your preferred doneness. (Flip pancake when bubbles begin to form and pop around the sides.)
• Serve with syrup, jam, yogurt and molasses, and/or more peanut butter.

Смачного!