Whole Wheat, Oatmeal, and Banana Pancakes

One of our good friends posted this recipe on her Facebook wall and said we had try it. These were probably the best pancakes I (Aaron) have ever had. They were remarkably light and fluffy for being whole wheat, and tasted like banana bread. The secret is letting the batter rest for 5 minutes (enough time to whip up the syrup recipe below) before you put the batter on the griddle.

1 cup uncooked rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons dry milk powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 cups milk
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 banana, mashed

1. Place the rolled oats into the jar of a blender and blend until the texture resembles coarse flour. Whisk together the blended oats, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, dry mlk powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl; set aside.

*2. Whisk together the egg, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Stir in the mashed banana. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until moistened. Let the batter stand for 5 minutes.

3. Heat a lightly oiled griddle over medium-high heat. Drop batter by large spoonfuls onto the griddle, and cook until bubbles form and the edges are dry, about 2 minutes. Flip, and cook until brown on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter.

*TIP: (saves a few dirty dishes) After blending the oatmeal and adding it to the dry ingredients, I just dumped the whole banana, egg, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla into the blender, pulsed it a few times on low to mash the banana and blend the wet ingredients, then added it to the dry ingredients.

Source: Allrecipes.com