What's for Breakfast? Oatmeal Pancakes with Fresh Fruit and Cinnamon

Oatmeal Souffle Pancakes with Greek yogurt, fresh fruit and cinnamon

Rarely do I order pancakes for breakfast.  It’s not because I don’t like them.  In fact, I love pancakes to the point where sometimes I have dreams about them: pancakes dripping in butter and maple syrup, pancakes topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream…Mmmmm!  I don’t order them because at most restaurants, pancakes are basically dessert.  In the morning I need a little bit of protein, something to give me lasting energy for the rest of the day.  Eating a complex carbohydrate and sugar bomb (like most restaurant pancakes) has too many consequences for first thing in the morning.  (If I’m going to completely blow off my healthy eats, I prefer to save it for the end of the day and eat a giant chocolate ice cream sunday at the Farmacy, just down the street from my house in Brooklyn.  It is really worth it!)

Recently, my cousin turned me on to oatmeal pancakes.  The way she makes them, they are chewy and just a little bit sweet.  I love going to brunch at her apartment because she always serves them with a heaping potion of fresh fruit and a side of yogurt.  She says the trick to getting the pancakes moist and chewy is to soak the whole oats in yogurt before mixing them into the batter. 

As I am obsessed with her pancakes, I started looking around for a similar recipe.  I’ve tried a few combining whole-wheat flour and oats.  The cakes were delicious, but very dense.  One pancake would keep me full for hours, but to eat it, I had to saw at it with a steak knife.

I've finally worked out a recipe that is light and delicious.  It is packed with egg whites, making the cakes not only fluffy and soufflé–like, but also packed with needed lean morning protein.  I just learned how to make oat flour and used it here and also in pizza dough to much success.  This recipe is based on one from Stella’s Kitchen (http://www.stellaskitchen.com).

Oatmeal Pancakes

Makes:  5-6 Servings (I store the extras in the fridge and eat     

              them all week)

Time:  30 Minutes

Difficulty:  

Ingredients:

1 cup low fat milk

1 ½ cup whole rolled oats (separated into two ¾ portions)

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

4 large egg whites

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp grated nutmeg

2 tbs honey

Preparation:

Heat milk and add ¾ cup whole rolled oats.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Whole oats and warmed milk

 In a Cuisinart food processor, a regular blender or flourmill, grind ¾ cups whole rolled oats into oat flour.  A minute or two in the Cuisinart or blender on high should be enough time to make fluffy, somewhat fine ground flour.  You may want to grind a bunch of oats at once and store the oat flour for more convenient use in the future.

Making oat flour

 Beat egg whites until stiff.

In a large bowl, stir dry ingredients, including newly made oat flour, together and add milk and oats mixture and honey.

Gently fold in egg whites until batter is uniform. It should be very moist and fluffy.

Pancake batter

 Lightly grease a frying pan.  I have tried all different kinds of oils and nonstick pans and sprays to try to eliminate, or at least decrease, the amount of butter in pancakes, and you know what?  For browning cakes, nothing works or tastes better than butter.  I use very little butter in the pan to stop cakes from sticking and give them a slightly crispy exterior.

Spoon a thin layer of batter in a circular pattern for each cake.  Cake size is chef’s choice.  I like smaller pancakes, but the batter is cohesive enough use for larger pancakes.  Flip when browned.  The pancakes are cooked when each side is golden.

I top them with nonfat Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, honey and cinnamon, but they will be delicious with whatever your favorite topping may be.  Enjoy!