Oatmeal Pancakes for Shrove Tuesday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Shrove Tuesday, also known as Fat Tuesday, precedes the first day of Lent. In more secular countries, particularly those that are English speaking, it is also known as Pancake Day. The tradition of serving pancakes on the eve of Lent is centuries old and it came about because there was a need to consume rich and restricted ingredients such as sugar, fat, flour and eggs before the 40 day Lenten fast began. Pancakes were an easy way to do that. While fast requirements are considerably easier these days, it is still fun to observe the pancake ritual. While I'm including links to the pancake recipes already posted on One Perfect Bite, I also wanted to add another for those of you who might be looking for something new. These oatmeal pancakes were originally developed by Kim Broyce and her recipe has appeared on way too many blogs to mention here. I decided to post it again on the odd chance that you have not yet seen or tried it. These pancakes are simply too good to miss. They are very easy to make, though you will need a blender to make the oat flour needed to prepare them. One cup of uncooked oatmeal will yield 3/4 cup of flour. You will also need to have cooked oatmeal on hand. Save for the double dose of oatmeal, the recipe comes together easily. I must admit to one "cheat" when I make these. I am constitutionally incapable of making pancakes in a cast iron skillet. Mine take on odd shapes and burn at the edges. I long ago admitted my failure and plugged in an electric griddle which solved the problem nicely. I like to serve these hot from the griddle with good butter and pure maple syrup. I hope you will try these. They really are delicious. Here's the recipe.

Oatmeal Pancakes...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Kim Broyce's Good to the Grain

Ingredients:

1 cup of all-purpose flour

3/4 cup of oat flour

2 tablespoons of sugar

2 teaspoons of baking powder

3/4 teaspoon of sea salt

3 tablespoons of butter

about 1-1/4 cup of milk (more if needed to thin out the batter)

1 cup of cooked oatmeal (not quick-cook or steel-cut)

1 tablespoon honey

2 large eggs

Directions:

1) Whisk together all-purpose and oat flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

2) Melt butter and allow it to cool slightly before whisking it with milk, eggs, oatmeal and honey in a separate bowl.

3) Fold in milk and oatmeal mixture into dry ingredients, gently mixing until combined (don’t use a heavy hand if you’re aiming for tender pancakes).

4) If the batter is too thick, thin out with a little bit more milk.

5) Heat about a tablespoon of butter in a heavy cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and ladle 1/4 cupfuls of batter into skillet once it’s hot (no more than 3 at one time).

6) Once pancake batter starts to bubble, flip and cook for another minute or two before transferring to a plate.

7) Continue to scoop in 1/4 cupfuls of batter (re-butter skillet as necessary) until you have used up all of the batter. Adjust the skillet temperature if you feel that the pancakes are burning or not browning evenly. Serve hot, directly from skillet. Yield: 18 pancakes.