Oatmeal Blueberry Pancakes

We miss our guests! Like so many small businesses right now, we’re temporarily closed in order to do our part for physical distancing to slow the spread of the Covid-19 corona virus. And of course even if we were open, I trust our guests would do the responsible thing and stay home except for essential travel. 

We know this is necessary and temporary, but still we miss sharing our home and property with our guests. And I especially miss breakfast time! I love the satisfaction of preparing good food and feeding hungry people who’ve worked up an appetite with a day or two of adventuring and exploring. But even more, I miss the time that comes after breakfast has been served and Jim and I bring our coffees out to the dining room to chat with our guests. Maybe we’ll hear how they spent their day yesterday, or where they’ve been in their travels, or about the work, hobbies, passions or challenges that make up their day-to-day life at home, wherever that may be. We’re often inspired, entertained, enlightened, or simply feel a little more connected to the world beyond.

In case you’re missing our breakfasts, too, I thought I’d share one of our favourites that you can make at home. You likely have the ingredients in your pantry and fridge, and if not, I’m providing some substitutions and variations. I’ll also include gluten-free and vegan options as well.

These are always popular with our guests and are a great way to fuel your day. If you do make them, drop us a note and let us how you’re doing and help us all feel a little more connected in this strange time.

Oatmeal Blueberry Pancakes

These pancakes are hearty, delicious and versatile. The recipe calls for some extra time to let the oats soak in the liquid ingredients. This makes for a more consistent batter but feel free to skip the wait if you’ve got a hungry crew to feed, or mix it up after dinner and let it soak overnight for an easy breakfast the next morning. I like to hold back some of the oats and add them with the rest of the dry ingredients in order to add more texture to the pancakes but you can soak all the oats if you prefer.

I sprinkle the blueberries directly onto each pancake but you can stir them directly into the batter if you don’t mind a streaky blue pancake.

1 1/3 cups rolled oats, divided

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 cups buttermilk*

2 eggs

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

approximately 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries* (do not thaw if using frozen)

unsalted butter or spray oil for cooking

In a large bowl, mix 1 cup of the oats with the brown sugar, breaking up any lumps. Whisk in the buttermilk, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Let rest for 20 minutes to let the oats absorb some milk, or cover and let rest in the fridge overnight.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and remaining 1/3 cup of oats.

When you’re ready to cook, add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined and a few lumps remain. Do not over-mix or your pancakes will be rubbery. Allow batter to sit while your griddle heats up.

Heat an electric griddle to 350°F or a non-stick skillet on medium heat. Check to see that the griddle or skillet is ready by dribbling a few drops of water on the surface. The drops should bounce and roll for a few seconds. If they evaporate immediately on contact, the surface is too hot and you should turn the heat down and wait a few minutes before continuing. If the water just sits on the surface before evaporating, it's not quite hot enough.

Rub the griddle or skillet with butter to coat or spray with oil. Drop the batter onto the surface using a 1/4 cup for each pancake. Leave an inch of space between pancakes and nudge them into circles with a silicone spatula if necessary. Working quickly, sprinkle a rounded tablespoon of blueberries onto each pancake. With the spatula, press them down into the batter slightly.

Cook until the bottom of the pancakes are golden brown, bubbles appear on the top and are beginning to burst around the edges, about 3 minutes. Flip the pancakes over and cook until the bottoms are lightly golden and the pancakes are puffy, about 3 minutes more.

Wipe the griddle or skillet with a clean paper towel, apply more butter or oil, and continue cooking the rest of the batter. If serving all at once, keep the cooked pancakes warm in a 200°F oven until ready to eat.

I often serve these topped with blueberry sauce and a dusting of powdered sugar. Today I simply topped with sliced bananas, toasted almonds and pure maple syrup.

Makes about 14 pancakes.

Recipe can be halved — but why would you? These pancakes make great leftovers for an afternoon snack and are sturdy enough to reheat in a toaster until warm through.

* No buttermilk? Replace it like this: Measure 2 tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar into a glass measure and add regular milk to make 2 cups; let stand for 10 minutes to curdle. Or mix 1 cup plain natural yogurt with 1 cup milk.

* No blueberries? Replace with sliced or diced apples, pears, peaches, bananas, raisins, dried or frozen chopped cranberries or cherries, or see my variations below. Use your favourite fruit or leave the fruit out altogether.

Variations

Oatmeal Apple Cinnamon Pancakes: Omit blueberries. Stir one peeled, cored, diced apple and 1 teaspoon cinnamon into the batter before cooking.  Top with warm applesauce sweetened with brown sugar and dusted with cinnamon.

Oatmeal Banana Pancakes: Whisk 1 mashed, very ripe banana into the wet ingredients. Replace the blueberries with thinly sliced firm-ripe banana. For a topping, toast pecans or walnuts in a pan just until fragrant, then pour in some pure maple syrup and simmer briefly.

Gluten-Free: Use gluten-free oats (such as Only Oats brand) and all-purpose gluten-free flour (use a brand with xantham gum for best results).

Vegan: Replace the buttermilk with your favourite plant milk (for best results: measure 2 Tbsp lemon juice or vinegar into a glass measure and add soy milk to make 2 cups and let stand for 10 minutes to curdle). Replace the eggs with flax (stir 2 Tbsp ground flax seed into 1/3 cup water and let stand for 10 minutes to gel) or 1 mashed very ripe banana. To make an oil-free batter, replace the oil with applesauce.

Enjoy!