It has been brought to my attention that my children are shamefully hard-done-by: most weekday mornings they must suffer through the burden of torturous breakfasts consisting of cereal, granola, porridge, toast, French toast, eggs, bacon, and occasionally, even English muffins. Oh, the horror! 

a weekday luxury: blueberry oat pancakes drizzled in molasses... gobbled up, lickity-split.

The messenger of this injustice, was (of course) my four year old daughter, who is somehow under the illusion that my mother serves blueberry pancakes each and every morning at her house. This earnest belief is due to the fact that almost any morning (or even afternoon) my wee ones visit my parents’ home, their grandmother reliably whips up a batch of buttery blueberry pancakes on her counter-top griddle.

I’ve tried to explain Grandma’s pancake fests are special occasions which coincide with the arrival of the seven grand-progeny each week chez “Grandma-and-Poppy’s” (all one word). That I, too, endured dry breakfasts drenched with non-dairy milk alternatives on a regular basis growing up with her grandparents…

But, alas, the myth of the daily pancake breakfast at Grandma-and-Poppy’s persists; as perhaps it should.

Not withstanding the sheer and utter madness that is my house each weekday morn, as I wake, feed, groom and prod my babes into readiness for the day, I do take pleasure in mixing things up a bit with a special “fancy” breakfast every now and then, just to show the kiddies that breakfast at home can be fun, too… that is, if I can manage to wrench myself out of bed a few minutes earlier.

So, puttering through the fridge and pantry this past Tuesday morning, I grabbed a bag of rolled oats to incorporate some stealth fiber into these pancakes, along with the last of an overpriced tray of giant organic blueberries. And the splash of olive oil adds an unexpected, flavorful twist…

The result? They like it, they like it! Yum.

more, please!

Blueberry Oat Pancakes

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup rolled oats
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp granulated sugar
½ tsp salt

2/3 cup blueberries (Preferably fresh; if using frozen, see tip below*)

1 egg
1 ½ cups milk
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted for skillet or griddle

Tip & Substitutions

• The exact cooking time of pancakes will depend on the temperature of your griddle; I find that even small differences in the heat level on my gas stove make a huge difference between perfect pancakes and blackened bottoms (as demonstrated in the photos above). Find the sweet spot for your stove and stick with it.
• You can use whole wheat flour instead of all purpose; just add a little extra milk if you find the batter is too thick.
• Feel free to toss in some extra blueberries; but I prefer pancakes that aren’t completely riddled with millions of tiny blueberries, but instead, lightly speckled with big-ass berries.
• If you’re using frozen berries — which may be a necessity of the season — add the frozen blueberries last, mixing with as few strokes as possible; this decreases the likelihood of ending up with blue pancakes… unless you like blue pancakes, in which case, go to town.*

Directions

1. In medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients — flour, oats, baking powder, sugar and salt.
2. In large bowl, whisk together egg, milk, and olive oil.
3. Add dry mixture to liquid ingredients, mixing just until fully incorporated; disregard small lumps and be careful not to overmix.
4. Heat skillet or griddle over medium heat; brush with melted butter.
5. Ladle batter onto cooking surface using a ¼ cup measure for each pancake.
6. When underside is a light golden brown and bubbles erupt on topside (after roughly 1½ – 2 minutes), flip over and continue baking for a further 30 – 60 seconds, until the second side is golden brown.
7. Wipe the griddle or skillet clean and brush with melted butter between each batch.
8. Serve pancakes hot, with blueberry maple syrup**, (more) melted butter, molasses, jam… or just grab one and scoot out the door if it’s that kind of day.

**I have no affiliation with Acadian Maple Products. They’re local, based in Tantallon, Nova Scotia (very near Peggy’s Cove) and we just really love their syrup.

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