Magazine Mondays: Breakfast

I haven't exactly been on a "quest" for the perfect pancake, but I do like to keep my eyes open for recipes that look good. They have to be fairly easy to make, take well to fruit, and make enough that I don't have to double the batch just to feed the four of us breakfast. Reheating well is a plus. As is freezing. And eating cold. (My children like to take little pancakes in their lunches, cold, along with apple sauce for dipping.)

Of all the pancakes I've tried, this is my favorite so far. I found it on one of my regular reads, Stephanie's A Whisk and a Spoon and it grabbed me from the first picture.

The recipe, as Stephanie posted it, calls for raspberries, not blueberries, but I am much more likely to have blueberries on hand than I am raspberries. They are a fruit I try to keep in the freezer at all times, so they are my usual choice for throwing into a muffin, a cake or a pancake. I do want to try these with raspberries, though, but it is March and what raspberries I see in the stores are very, very expensive and not very tasty. (I did manage to find a reasonably priced bag of frozen raspberries, so I am going to try these again with the frozen berries, soon. Note: I tried them with raspberries and liked it better with blueberries - the raspberries want to fall apart, the blueberries do not.)

I am submitting this to Creampuff for her Magazine Monday, even though it doesn't come from a magazine I own. It does come from one that Stephanie has read, though, and that counts, doesn't it?

Oatmeal-Raspberry Pancakes
adapted from a recipe in Sunset Magazine (May 2002), found at A Whisk and a Spoon

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup fresh or frozen (but not thawed) raspberries (or blueberries)
oil or butter for the pan or griddle

In a bowl, mix oats and buttermilk. Let stand for 15-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, beat eggs, milk, and vanilla to blend. Stir in flour and oat mixtures just until evenly moistened, then gently stir in raspberries (or blueberries). (Or do what I did the last time I made it - throw everything into the bowl with the soaked oatmeal and buttermilk, then mix. It worked fine. I was short on bowls at that time.) Let the batter sit while you prepare your griddle or pan.

Place a griddle or a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat (350°F). When hot, coat lightly with oil or butter and adjust heat to maintain temperature. Pour batter in 1/2-cup portions onto griddle and cook until pancakes are browned on the bottom and edges begin to look dry, about 2 minutes. Turn with a wide spatula and brown other sides, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes longer. Coat pan or griddle with more oil or butter as necessary to cook remaining pancakes.

Serve the pancakes as cooked, or keep them warm in a single layer on baking sheets in a 200°F oven for up to 15 minutes. Stack and serve with berry coulis or syrup.