As much as I like making my own recipes, I also like bringing you the best from around the web. Sometimes a recipe looks so perfect that I don't really need to mess with it at all. And that's just the case with these Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes from Epicurious.com

I don't make pancakes often because, well, I'm just terrible at it (see photos below). But that's probably a good thing because I love them WAY too much. These pancakes might be my absolute favorite, although your tastes may differ from mine, so read on for the description.

These pancakes have oodles of flavor and even more texture. The cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and oats make the flavor anything but boring, while the whole wheat flour and oats really give you something to chew on. I was really surprised by how fluffy they were right out of the skillet (my favorite way to eat them), but they do condense a little as they cool and the steam settles back in.

After having these pancakes, I really don't ever want plain pancakes again. I want to eat these plain, I want to eat them with syrup, I want to eat them with peanut butter and jelly on top. I just want them any way I can get them.

The original recipe calls for quick oats, but I only had old-fashioned, so I compensated by blending the dry oats a bit to chop them up into smaller pieces,\ and letting them soak for 30 minutes (as opposed to 10). I found that my batter was a tad thick, so I used 2 tablespoons more buttermilk than the original recipe. If you are using low fat buttermilk or quick oats, you may not need quite as much liquid as I have listed here (start with 1 1/2 cups and add more as needed).

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes

Recipe From Epicurious.com


Total Recipe cost: $1.96
Servings Per Recipe: 4 (2 pancakes, approximately 5-6 inches each)
Cost per serving: $0.49
Prep time: 30 min. Cook time: 20 min. Total: 50 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
3/4 cup	quick or old-fashioned oats	$0.13
1.75 cups	buttermilk	$0.95
3/4 cup	whole wheat flour	$0.11
1.5 tsp	baking powder	$0.06
3/4 tsp	baking soda	$0.03
1/2 tsp	cinnamon	$0.03
1/8 tsp	nutmeg	$0.02
1/2 tsp	salt	$0.03
1 large	egg	$0.26
2 Tbsp	butter	$0.24
1 Tbsp	brown sugar	$0.02
2-4 Tbsp	vegetable oil (for cooking)	$0.08
TOTAL		$1.96

STEP 1: If you are using old-fashioned oats, blend them briefly in a blender or food processor to break the oats into smaller pieces. Soak the oats in the buttermilk for 30 minutes. If you are using quick cooking oats, soak the oats in the buttermilk for about 10 minutes.

STEP 2: While the oats are soaking, stir together the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamin, nutmeg, and salt in a separate bowl. Stir until the dry ingredients are evenly combined.

STEP 3: Melt the butter and then whisk it, along with the egg and brown sugar, into the buttermilk and oats. Whisk until the ingredients are smooth and evenly combined.

STEP 4: Pour the bowl of dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir just until everything is combined.

STEP 5: Heat an oiled skillet or griddle over medium heat. When the pan is fully heated, drop the batter onto the surface (about 1/4 cup per pancake) and cook until it puffs up and bubbles start to rise through the batter. Turn the pancake over and continue to cook until it is golden brown on the second side. Serve immediately.

Step By Step Photos

The first thing I did was blend the dry oats a bit so that they'd be in smaller pieces and would soak up the moisture better. If you're using quick cooking oats, they're already in super small pieces and this won't be necessary.


Next, soak the oats in the buttermilk. If you're using old-fashioned oats you'll want to soak for about 30 minutes, quick cooking oats can soak for about 10 minutes.


While the oats are soaking, stir together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt). Make sure to stir well so that everything is evenly combined.


Next, melt the butter. Make sure it's not still sizzling (you don't want to cook the egg), then add the brown sugar and egg. Whisk them together.


Add the buttermilk and oats to the sugar/egg/butter and whisk again until smooth.


Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until everything is moistened. My batter was a tad thick (with the amount of buttermilk suggested in the original recipe), so I added a couple tablespoons more


Heat an oiled skillet over a medium flame. Wait until the skillet is fully heated before adding your pancake batter. Add about 1/4 cup of batter at a time and let it cook until bubbles start coming up through the batter and it looks slightly dry on the edges. Then, flip it.


Pancake flip FAIL. Okay, so I'm super bad at making pancakes because I have a hard time getting the heat in the sweet spot between burning and cooking too slow. A heavy bottomed skillet or griddle makes that easier. If the heat is too low, the pancake won't fluff up properly and it will soak up all of your oil. Anyway, after flipping, cook until it's golden brown on the second side, then serve immediately.


Seriously good pancakes. Seriously.