I love waking up about half an hour early on Wednesdays to make pancakes for breakfast. They really take very little time to throw together, and they make a world of difference to my day. I can’t save my pancakes only for special weekend breakfasts. Sometimes (every Wednesday) I need that weekend indulgence before I throw on the chef’s coat and dive into the big kitchen.
Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Pancakes are surprisingly light, healthy, and keep me full well into the afternoon. Drizzled with homemade Vanilla-Brown Sugar Syrup and served with a side of fresh fruit, I can indulge in the comforts of a lazy Sunday morning, even on a daunting weekday.
Treat yourself to pancakes on a weekday. The sunshine and hearty breakfast are well worth the early alarm chime.
Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Pancakes with Vanilla-Brown Sugar Syrup
adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus additional for brushing the skillet
1 1/2 cup whole milk, plus additional if needed
1 ripe banana, diced or mashed
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
Whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl Whisk together yolks, oil and 1 1/2 cups milk in another bowl and add to the flour mixture, whisking until smooth. Let batter stand for 5 minutes to allow flour to absorb liquid (batter will thicken).
If batter is too thick to fall easily from a spoon, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons additional milk.
Fold in banana and walnuts.
Beat egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer at moderately high speed until they just hold stiff peaks. With a whisk, gently but thoroughly fold into batter.
Brush a griddle or 12-inch nonstick skillet with oil and heat over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Reduce heat to moderate. Working in batches of 4, spoon 2 tablespoons batter per pancake into a hot skillet, spreading it if necessary to form 3- 3 1/2 inch rounds. Cook pancakes until bubbles appear on surface, edges are set and undersides are golden, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Flip pancakes with a metal spatula and cook until undersides are golden and pancakes are cooked through. Lower heat if pancakes brown too quickly and insides aren’t set. Transfer pancakes to plate and serve with Vanilla- Brown Sugar Syrup. Brush griddle with more oil between batches.
Vanilla-Brown Sugar Syrup
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups water
3 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine brown sugar, water, butter, and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a oil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil until syrupy and reduced to about 1 1/2 cups, about 12-15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and vanilla, then let cool to warm or room temperature.
April 27th, 2008 at 12:42 am
peek-a-boo, butter! pancakes are my favorite vehicle for syrup consumption, and i believe whole wheat is definitely the way to go. i’m excited by your syrup recipe–the old stand-by maple may just get replaced!
April 27th, 2008 at 12:54 am
ha-i just realized that the butter was a figment of my imagination. peek-a-boo, banana! i guess i’ve just got butter on the brain.
April 27th, 2008 at 11:15 am
I just want to tell you that I’m a huge admirer of your blog - its one of my favorites! Everything looks so good - especially these pancakes! I can’t wait to try these! Thanks for sharing!
April 27th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Just the mention of Bananas and Walnuts is incredibly delicious ! Then you top yourself with Vanilla-Brown Sugar…WOW!…Shopping today…;)
April 27th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Ohhhhh…I love a girl who knows how to indulge mid-week!
April 27th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
[...] Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Pancakes with Vanilla-Brown Sugar Syrup (tags: recipe pancakes breakfast bananas walnuts) [...]
April 27th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Excellent looking pancakes. There is nothing better than bananas in pancakes. I make a quick and super healthy version of banana pancakes as well: Banana Pancakes w/ Maple Peanut Butter. It only uses 4 ingredients for the pancakes and you just throw it all in the blender and voila! I may have to give these a try though, they look outstanding!
- The Peanut Butter Boy
April 27th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
I love your blog! It makes me want to cook all day! Thank you for this recipe!
April 27th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
These are going in my breakfast files of “need to make”! Mmmm.
April 28th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Looks very yummy! Where is the milk!
April 28th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
those look so good!!! and what a great alternative to maple syrup - sounds delicious!
April 30th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
[...] a weekend breakfast, and then freeze well for a mid week breakfast treat. And I sure do like my breakfast treats. I can’t help [...]
May 4th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Those sound delicious! I have a similar pancake I make, but instead of cornmeal I use oatbran, and I use a bit less oil. Mine are super stick-to-you-ribs and don’t turn out as pretty, so I think I’ll try your recipe.
May 10th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
These look AMAZING! My husband wants to make me breakfast tomorrow for Mother’s Day and these are perfect. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this decadent creation. Thank you SO much for the idea!!
May 10th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
I’ve been reading your blog and I love it! I’m going to make these tomorrow for mothers day!
May 13th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
[...] to bore you? Here I am with another pancake post. I would almost feel bad about posting so many delicious pancake treats, but I can’t help myself. I’m serious. I’ll [...]
May 14th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
I have tried a few of your recipes, and must say that you are dead on about a lot of stuff!! Thanks for putting these out there, and sharing! These pancakes are awesome……YUM!!
May 16th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
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May 19th, 2008 at 10:42 am
I tried these too after the brownies.
They turned out great. I love the subtle banana flavour.
MMM. Thank you so much.
May 31st, 2008 at 2:20 pm
I made the pancakes and syrup this morning. YUM! My 4 year old ate 2 and my 11 month old ate 1 1/2! They were great. Thank you for this recipe.
June 6th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
[...] I have a very strong, well documented affection for [...]
January 18th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
These look delicious! I’m a very health conscious person so I’m glad I found this recipe, for most recipes include items like flax seed and other expensive items. These I can make anytime (like I intend to do tomorrow morning!)
But I was wondering if I could substitute blueberries for the banana?
March 21st, 2009 at 11:19 am
Joy!!! These were breakfast this morning… and fabulous!
My friend brought over a dozen eggs from her chickens the other day, so we enjoyed them as an ingredient in the pancakes, and also over medium,and of course… there was bacon!
As luck would have it, we had both bananas over-ripening in the fruit bowl, and walnuts. I only had whole wheat pastry flour in the pantry, but they were still very awesome! The syrup alone is amazing!! You rock out loud, lady!!!
March 22nd, 2009 at 2:18 pm
that syrup sounds wonderful!!! if i don’t use it all up, do you think it’d last from one weekend to another? thanks for all the great recipes!
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:54 am
Just sitting here searching the web and came across this blog…Amazing! Drooling on my desk a little
I’m definitely going to have try out these pancakes they look beautiful!
April 11th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Woooooooooooooah!!! I am not a baker, but I love bake goods and I tired your website mostly by the great photography, so I tried it. Now I am hooked, you are an amazing women with such a wonderful talent. Thank you so much for sharing your gift, it brought joy to my family. The whole wheat banana pancakes where a hit
May 22nd, 2009 at 8:21 am
I love pancakes!!!! I believe I will be making these tomorrow. I have never used cornmeal in pancakes, so I can’t wait to see how these taste!
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:46 pm
how many does this serve???
these are perfecccct =]
May 25th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
This recipe makes about 20 to 25 3-inch pancakes. I’ve found that it serves about 4 or 5 people.
July 2nd, 2009 at 5:06 am
Tried these for breakfast and they went down very well with the whole family, will definately be making them again.