Oatmeal Pancake Mix

These are my favorite pancakes. They are full of oats and whole grain flour and make for a super easy breakfast. My kids love them too. (Confession) we usually add chocolate chips.

Oatmeal Pancake Mix 

(Source: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2009/09/oatmeal-pancake-mix.html)

Yield: Makes 10 cups of dry mix. One cup of mix usually makes enough for me and the kids. We usually do 1 1/2- 2 cups of dry mix for the whole family.

Mel generally uses 100% whole wheat flour (five cups total, instead of using 2 cups of all-purpose flour) and so do I. You really cannot tell a significant difference and it's healthier, win-win. I always use white whole wheat flour though, I like it SO much more Also, Mel suggests grinding up the oats before adding them to the mix. I have tried it both ways and like it better without blending the oats but you could try it both ways. Lastly, if you don't keep buttermilk on hand you can always sour milk with lemon juice or vinegar (1 Tbsp lemon juice/vinegar and 1 cup milk).

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups rolled (quick) oats
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 cup vegetable or canola oil

Directions

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixer with a paddle (or by hand). If desired, grind the oats in a blender or food processor before adding to the other dry ingredients for a smoother mix. With mixer on slow speed (or gently by hand), drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of mix in your hand. If it stays together, it is just right. If it is still crumbly, add another tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct (I’ve never had to add additional oil). Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.
2. To make the pancakes: whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1/2 to 1 cup buttermilk* (depending on how thick you want your batter), and 1 egg. The mixture may seem thin at first but the oats will soak up the milk as it stands while the griddle preheats. Heat a griddle and drop the batter onto it. (This is when I add the chocolate chips so I can better gauge how many go in each pancake). When the edges look dry and bubbles come to the surface and don’t break, turn the pancake over to finish cooking on the second side. As a sidenote, buttermilk can be frozen indefinitely for future batches of pancakes, so it’s worth keeping it around!

Carrot Cake Pancakes

I think Sandy ate like 10 of these when they were visiting, yes they are that good.

Yield: About 12 to 16 3- to 4-inch pancakes

Pancakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional, I skipped them)
2 tablespoons golden raisins (optional, I skipped them)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk (can make your own by mixing lemon juice or vinegar with milk)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups finely grated carrots (I run them through my food processor twice, once on grate, once to mince)
3 tablespoons butter, for griddle (sometimes I just use Pam)

Cream cheese topping
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Dash of ground cinnamon

Place a rack in the upper third of your oven and preheat to 200°F. This will keep the pancakes warmed as they’re fried in batches (or just eat as you go, that's what we do)

To make the pancakes: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and, if using, nuts and raisins. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, buttermilk and vanilla. Stir in carrots. Stir carrot mixture into dry ingredients, stirring until just Incorporated. Let rest for five minutes while you make the cream cheese topping.

To make the cream cheese topping: In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy and lump-free. Whisk in powdered sugar, two tablespoons milk, vanilla and cinnamon. If you’d like the mixture thinner, add the remaining tablespoon of milk.

Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a cast-iron skillet or griddle pan. Spoon 2 tablespoons batter into the hot pan per pancake, flipping once, until pancakes are golden on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer finished pancakes to a serving dish or tray in the oven, to keep warm while you repeat the process with the remaining batter, adding more butter as needed.

Serve warm with cream cheese topping.

Applesauce Bread or Muffins

Adapted from a recipe for Applesauce bread from Grandma Ev's collection (clipped from a newspaper). 


Original Recipe: Mom's Applesauce Bread


Combine:
2 C flour
3/4 C sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon


Mix together:
1 egg
1 1/2 C applesauce
2 Tbs oil


Add wet ingredients to dry and mix. Add chopped nuts if desired. Bake in loaf pan at 350 for 1 hour. 




Linda's Applesauce Muffins


Ingredients: 
1 C wheat flour
1 C oat flour (grind quick oats in blender)

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbs powdered egg 

1 1/2 C applesauce

1/2 C + 1 Tbs honey (more or less to taste)

chopped nuts

Combine dry ingredients. Add applesauce and honey. Mix. Add chopped nuts if desired. If you are not used to the whole wheat taste, you may want to add 1 Tbs orange juice instead of an extra Tbs honey. Also, I used powdered egg because I had a can I needed to use. If you use a regular egg, add it with the wet ingredients and decrease liquid by 1 Tbs (experiment with decreasing applesauce or honey). Makes enough for about 18 muffins. Bake at 325 for about 20 minutes. If you try to fit all the batter in 12 muffin cups, you will need to increase baking time and cover with tinfoil about half way through so the tops don't burn before the inside is baked. 

Overnight Apple Oatmeal

*Note: Steel cut oats are essential in this recipe. Quick oats or regular rolled oats won’t hold up to the long cooking time in the slow cooker. Also, the liquid measurement completely depends on how you like your oatmeal. My sister, who gave me the recipe, cooks her oatmeal in the slow cooker with 8 cups water to 2 cups steel cut oats but she doesn’t add any milk or liquid in the morning when serving. I, on the other hand, like a sturdier oatmeal consistency because we pour a bit of milk on ours when serving, so I use 6 cups water to 2 cups steel cut oats. Judge the liquid-to-oats ratio based on how you like to eat your oatmeal.

INGREDIENTS:
6-8 cups water (see note above)
2 cups steel cut oats
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup dried apples (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Lightly coat the inside of a 4-5 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker and stir. Cook for 7-8 hours on low. Stir thoroughly before serving with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Serve immediately.