Oat Pancakes with Strawberry Syrup

      Many of you know that I try to avoid wheat when possible, partly because of the Beanster and partly because of my own stomach issues. When I saw these oat pancakes I knew I needed to try them...and I'm glad I did! These pancakes come together really quickly. No fussy pancake instructions, just throw everything into a blender or food processor and blend. These pancakes are barely-sweet and make the perfect accompaniment for the strawberry syrup I made to go with them. They are a little hardier than the average pancake and taste a little 'oaty'. If you are not a fan of oatmeal, you should still try these pancakes, they don't taste anything like the bowl of hot mush you might be picturing when I say 'oaty'.        

      Oat pancakes are extremely versatile. I love recipes that can be made and served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. With a few adjustments of toppings these pancakes make a quick meal anytime of day. The pancakes would also be wonderful with fresh yogurt and warm maple syrup, or served as dinner with caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms and greens.

       The strawberry syrup is sweet and fruity. When I think of oats, the next flavor I think of  is fruit. I love fruit in my oatmeal (hot mush), raisins in my oatmeal cookies, and strawberries on pancakes. This strawberry syrup makes a lot and I've used it this week along with my homemade yogurt to make strawberry yogurt for Bean. He loves it! Depending on the sweetness of your berries, you might want to cut back, up to 1/4 cup, on the sugar. I bought the first berries I found and they were a little on the sour side. The strawberries had large white/green parts on the berries that I cut off when I chopped them up, but they gave me the fresh strawberry fix I needed.

     No matter when you make these pancakes or what you serve with them, I'm sure you will agree that they are very tasty.

Oat Pancakes

Note: I used a full cup of old-fashioned oats for my pancakes and excluded the AP Flour. They were a little darker and flatter than the ones pictured above that I made for my husband, recipe follows.

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats (quick cooking will work as well)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 egg

Place oat, flour, sugar baking powder, baking soda, salt, buttermilk, vanilla, oil and egg in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled grill pan or nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup or less for each pancake. Cook and flip pancakes over. When both sides are golden in color and the middle of the pancake is cooked through remove and enjoy.

Strawberry Syrup

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

3 cups roughly chopped fresh strawberries

1 lemon, juiced 

Combine sugar, cornstarch, spices in a saucepan and stir in berries. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until juices look thickened. Blend mixture until syrup reaches desired consistency. Stir in juice from one lemon and serve warm, or refrigerate until cool. This syrup will keep at least 1 week in the refrigerator, we've always used it before the second week.