Buttermilk Pancakes

smiley faced pancakes

Nothing is better than waking up on a weekend morning and enjoying a delicious plate of warm pancakes.  I know it always puts a smile on my kids' faces and they are happy to wait longer than usual for their morning meal because dad is cooking three dozen pancakes, four at a time. I always make an extra large batch because I want to make sure there are plenty of leftovers to save for another day.  I like to have them in the freezer for school mornings: just pop a few in the toaster oven and they taste almost as fresh as the day we made them.

I have to admit that I do sometimes resort to using a boxed pancake mix since I have found a few great whole grain ones in the organic section of my local grocery store. But this recipe is a basic, simple, buttermilk pancake recipe that is almost as easy to whip up as pouring a box of mix into a bowl and adding some eggs and oil.  I have amended this recipe many times to make the pancakes either chocolate, banana, pumpkin, etc... and have added different types of fruit and nuts as well. I hope this weekend you surprise your kids with a delicious batch of healthy buttermilk pancakes!!


 Buttermilk Pancakes

1 C. organic whole wheat pastry flour
1 T. ground flax seed, optional
1 T. wheat germ, optional
1 T. organic white sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon, optional
1 organic egg
1 C. buttermilk (or soy milk + 1 T. vinegar)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 T. organic butter, melted (or organic canola oil)

Preheat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan.  Combine the flour, flax seed, wheat germ, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon in a small bowl.  In a large bowl, beat the egg and then blend in the buttermilk and the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, beating until smooth; blend in melted butter.  Adjust consistency as required to maintain a pourable pancake batter by adding additional flour or buttermilk. Cook on a lightly oiled griddle, turning pancakes when surface bubbles begin to break.  Serve immediately. Makes 14 - 16 three-inch pancakes.

*for chocolate pancakes add 2 tablespoons of dark cocoa powder and 1/3 cup of sugar for each cup of flour.

*for pumpkin or banana pancakes, just add about 1/2 cup of each to the batter and adjust the flour and spices (add 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 1/4 tsp. cloves, 1/4 tsp. ginger and 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar for pumpkin) to get the right consistency and flavor.

Giant Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancake with
Bananas, Walnuts and Chia Seeds
(and a side of turkey bacon)

a batch of small chocolate pancakes
and one giant chocolate pancake face

chocolate pancake food art