Dear banana-oat pancakes,

It’s not you. It’s me. I love bananas, oats, and ohmigod pancakes. And you’re fine. Better than fine. You’re sweet and oat-nutty and you never leave your dirty socks on the floor. Oh, sure, you might be a bit temperamental about griddle temperatures, but what pancake isn’t?

But you see, you’re too good for me. You’re so busy with those flavors you have going on. I know, I know, they work together! You’d be the perfect pancake for someone who looks for more in a pancake.

Me, however, I can’t help loving the simple pancakes best.

The buttermilk pancakes with their mad guitar skillz and artfully mussed emo hair. With the occasional earrings of blueberries.

The spelt pancakes with their Greenpeace stickers, dark soulful eyes, and selfless desire to change the world.

The buckwheat pancakes with their six-pack abs, skin-tight t-shirts, and the smell of clean sweat, oil, and black dirt.

You’re good, banana-oat pancakes. Really good. Kids would really go for you. You can easily catch yourself another woman, or even another man, if that’s the way you want to swing. The bananas make you sweet and smooth, while the coarse oat flour makes you a bit rugged and hearty.

I’m sure others will love you better than I can. I’ll stick with spelt pancakes, but you’ll always hold a special place in my heart tummy. And that’s why I’m going to share your recipe; so that the world may appreciate you for who you are.

recipe notes

1. When the recipe says, “check to make sure the batter is thin enough for your pancakes; you may need to add a touch of milk or water,” listen. Or, uh, don’t ignore it like I did. Immediately after mixing the batter, it should be thin: whole grain batters thicken up when they sit, and they have to sit in order for the liquids to permeate the bran.

2. The 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg I found a little overbearing. I will cut it to 1/4 teaspoon when I make these again.

3. Griddle temp. 350 degrees was too hot; my first pancakes got dark brown before the insides were cooked. When I put it at 300 degrees, they cooked through much more evenly.

4. If your batter is still a bit thick, manually spread the pancakes a bit with a spatula immediately after pouring onto the hot griddle or skillet. When they’re thick, it’s a tough balancing act to get them cooked through.

banana-oat pancakes

This recipe is from the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking book, aka My Favorite Baking Cookbook Ever. Reprinted with permission.

prep: 15 minutes
rest: 10 minutes
to table: 45 minutes (pancakes always seem slower to me than recipes imply)
servings: 10 pancakes
griddle: 300 degrees

3 small bananas (9-1/2 ounces), mashed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoons brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup (3-1/4 ounces) oat flour
(see how to make your own oat flour here)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Stir together the mashed bananas, butter, lemon juice and sugar in a medium bowl. Beat in the eggs. Whisk together the oat flour, baking soda, salt and spices in another medium bowl.

Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir the batter just until the dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened. Check to be sure the batter is thin enough for your pancakes: you may need to add a touch of milk or water. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes before using.

Heat a nonstick griddle or a heavy skillet. If your surface is not nonstick, brush it lightly with vegetable oil. When the surface of your pan is hot enough that a drop of water sputters across it, give the pan a quick swipe with a paper towel to remove excess oil, and spoon the batter onto the hot surface, 1/4-cupful at a time.

Let the pancakes cook on the first side until bubbles begin to form around the edges of the cakes, 3 to 4 minutes. When the cakes are just beginning to set, flip them and let them finish cooking on the second side, until golden brown on both sides, about 1-1/2 minutes more.

Serve the pancakes immediately, or keep warm in a 200 degree oven.