Fluffy Banana Oat Pancakes

Part of a long holiday weekend always includes good eats!  Labor Day is all about a great BBQ dinner and a lazy Sunday {or Monday in our case} brunch.  I found this recipe for banana oat pancakes and was intrigued...ingredients include Greek yogurt and honey too, which I love.  These are healthy and surprisingly GOOD!  They were a hit with our guests and definitely something we'll make again and again.  They had the perfect hint of sweet with chunks of gooey bananas, but were still light and fluffy.

Recipe from Simple Bites:

• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoon ground flax seed
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups low-fat milk
• 1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt, preferably Greek style
• 3 tablespoons melted butter or canola oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 1/3 cup puréed ripe bananas, about 4 medium bananas
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

1. Place a large skillet or griddle on the stove (you can also use an electric skillet) and preheat over low heat while you make the batter.
2. Add the oats to a food processor and process until the mixture is very fine. In a medium-large sized bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, ground oats, flax seed, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
Note: Alternatively, if you have a large food processor you can add all the dry ingredients at once and process until the oats are very fine. Follow step 3, then add the flour mixture to the bowl containing the liquids and mix. Then, proceed to step 5.
3. In a separate medium-sized bowl, combine the milk, yogurt, butter or canola oil (if using butter, allow it to cool to room temp first), honey, banana, and eggs. Hand whisk until thoroughly combined, but do not beat.
4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour the liquids into the bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until well incorporated. Again, do not beat the mixture. Just stir until moist and combined.
5. Turn the heat on the pan or griddle up to medium-low. Grease with cooking spray, oil, or butter according to your preference. Add the batter 1/4 cup per pancake to the pan. Cook until golden brown on the bottom before flipping.
6. You can usually tell it is ready to flip because the top will start to bubble. Pancakes can be kept warm in a 150 degree oven on an oven-safe plate or cookie sheet while the remaining cook. Serve with your favorite jam, honey, or syrup.

Here's another shot showing off our new place mats from Pier 1.  They were only $1.88 on sale!  Find them here.

Did you cook anything good over the long weekend?  Do share!

xo natasha

Linked to: Tasty Tuesdays