Oatmeal and pancakes are two great breakfast staples. But… have you ever wondered… what would happen if you combined the two? Okay, so probably not, it’s not that exciting sounding, however it does create a really yummy pancake. We’ve experimented with oats in pancakes before and it pretty much just gives that nice, robust, oat-y flavor to the pancakes. And actually they tend to flip better when cooking since the oats bond the batter together pretty well! So not only are they tasty, but also make your life easier, if at least for the few minutes while cooking these guys.

You can actually use instant or quick oats for this recipe too. The high heat of the griddle combined with the moisture in the batter ensures they will cook thoroughly. The combination of apples, cinnamon, and oats simulates the hell out of real apple cinnamon oatmeal. And really for all intents and purposes, it basically is just oatmeal in pancake form. It sure tastes like it.

A word of caution though, which I’ll repeat below: make sure to cut your apples before you start the batter. See, pancake batter needs to remain light and fluffy. When water and flour come together, after like 10 minutes or so, they start to form really tough gluten bonds in the batter. Ever have a rubbery pancake? That’s why. If your batter begins to get glutenous from sitting around too long, it produces dense, heavy pancakes that are chewy and unpleasant.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes

• 1 cup flour
• ¾ cup milk
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp oil

OR

• 1 completed pancake mix batter, single serving
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1 small/medium apple, diced
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• Extra pinch of salt

1. Begin by dicing the apple into small pieces. You must take care of this first, since you won’t have time to do so later.
2. If using premade pancake mix, prepare one serving in a bowl. If working from scratch, combine flour, milk, baking powder/soda, salt, and egg into a bowl and whisk until smooth.
3. Stir the oats into your batter so they’re evenly blended. Add in the sugar, cinnamon, and extra salt. Lastly, add the diced apple pieces in and stir once again until smooth.
4. Place a griddle on stovetop and begin warming on medium-low heat.
5. When griddle is hot, spray with non-stick cooking spray. Pour batter into 5”-6” circles.
6. Let batter cook untouched for approx 1 minute, or until numerous bubbles form and the sides of the pancakes have set and congealed. (These pancakes will actually form fewer bubbles and be trickier to tell thanks to the oats.)
7. Flip pancakes over with a spatula in one motion. After one more minute, press pancakes down lightly. If batter does not run, flip once again.
8. Cook pancakes on this side for 30 more seconds, then remove and place on plate. Repeat for remaining batter, making approximately six pancakes.

Serves 2-3 people.