Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes with Banana "Frosting"

My kids love pancakes. My daughter would eat homemade pancakes every day if I made them. And she always, always wants butter and syrup on top. I try repeatedly to get her to replace the syrup with fruit, especially during the summer, but this rarely works.

So I put on my thinking cap and tried to come up with a new way of selling fruit as a pancake topper. I looked at the brown, spotted banana on my counter and said, "Aha! Banana frosting."

So I mashed up some banana "frosting" in between pancake flips and asked the Pancake Princess to try a bite. Her response, "Mmmm....yummy! Can I have more??" Of course you can, my dear.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes with Banana "Frosting"
(Pancake recipe adapted from Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook)
1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
1/2 Cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 Cup milk (plus more, if needed; skim milk is fine!)
2 Tbsp cooking oil (I use canola or light-flavored olive)
1/3 Cup quick oats

Combine dry ingredients (this includes the brown sugar).

*Note: I like to use a fork for mixing batters like these.

Place egg in a separate bowl, beat until yolk and white are combined. Add 1 cup milk and oil; mix together. (I do this all in my liquid measuring cup, because I'm lazy and don't like to get extra dishes dirty. Just make sure you account for the measurements of present liquids when adding others. For example, one large beaten egg is about 1/4 cup. When I add the 1 cup milk, the entire level must rise to read "1 1/4 cups." It probably helps that I'm not a fanatical measurer.)

Pour egg mixture into dry ingredients. Stir just until moistened. Add quick oats and stir until combined. Add extra milk, one tablespoon at a time, if needed to thin the batter to your preferred consistency.

Y'all know how to cook pancakes right? If not, email me or leave a comment and I'll get back to you lickety split.

Banana "Frosting"
3 small very ripe bananas
3 tsp pure maple syrup*

Mash bananas in a bowl with a fork. Add syrup and stir. Yep, that's it. Now spread it on your kids' pancakes...yours, too.

*Now, I'll admit, sometimes pure maple syrup is lovely. However, I find it to be too thin, a little pretentious, and not syrupy enough for these hearty pancakes. If you want to use pure maple syrup, be my guest. Otherwise, use your favorite maple-flavored HFCS. Mine is good ole' Mrs. B's.

In other news from the pancake front, I just made these Mini Maple Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins from Bakerella. They are too precious for words and very yummy! You should make some today. They're so easy! I can't wait until the Pancake Princess gets home from school to try them.