Oatmeal cookie pancakes with dried cranberries

Two things you may not know about me.

1. I often don a Susie-homemaker-polka dot-headband when I cook. And 2. I love Saturday mornings. Typically these two come together in some joyous union at the end of each work week. This was one of those weeks.

Depending on the week, I either get up and go to Haymarket early or go for a jog, then treat myself to a big breakfast. Sometimes it's Dutch baby pancakes, other weeks frittatas, or a breakfast burrito (if I happen to have a fiery salsa on hand).

Last weekend, I decided to give Joy the Baker's oatmeal cookie pancakes a try. I, like Joy, absolutely love pancakes of all shapes and sizes, from potato to buttermilk and beyond. I headed to the store to pick up some buttermilk, some eggs, splurging on some turkey bacon as well and headed home.

Now, buttermilk's a strange substance to me. I've never cooked with it before (shh, don't tell) and was really taken aback at the rich buttery smell of it. It makes sense, I realize, for butter-milk to have a buttery aspect to it, I know. I'm not that dumb. It's part of my liquid milk phobia, I swear.

(OK, the milk phobia for those that don't already know. Ever since I stopped drinking milk out of a bottle as a kid, the smell and the taste of liquid milk really give me the heebie jeebies, making me gag. Though I've gotten much better about cooking with it and what not, still, to this day, I cannot drink a glass of liquid milk. Flavor it however you want. I still can't take a gulp. Weird, I know.)

Either way, I gave this recipe a go, subbing in dried cranberries for the raisins. With a side of turkey bacon, this was top notch. Somewhat coma-enducing (even took an hour nap afterwards) but delicious nevertheless, and not overly sweet.

Alright featured ingredient ... let's put you to work.



Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes w/ Dried Cranberries
Adapted ever-so-slightly from Joy the Baker

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon maple syrup
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
cooking spray

In a large bowl beat eggs. Add buttermilk, butter (cooled, or else you'll scramble the eggs), maple syrup and vanilla. Mix, mix, mix. Add flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Mix well until smooth, or as smooth as an oats batter can be. Fold in cranberries and let batter set for a few minutes.

Heat pan over medium heat. Spray the pan with some non-stick cooking spray and cook up the pancakes. It doesn't really get any simpler than that. Though, be careful ... if you're not used to cooking heartier pancakes, be careful the temp on the pan is just right, so that the pancakes don't brown while the middle is still raw.

The result:

Dutch Baby Pancake Bliss

After doing my daily RSS check, scrolling through the latest from my favorite foodie blogs, I stumbled on this. My eyes got all wide, and after a few oohs and ahhhs, I said "WANT" and put it on the weekend docket.

This recipe got tested out yesterday, an eggier pancake batter with butter that then gets poured into a preheated skillet with more butter and popped in the oven. It's incredibly easy, leaves the house smelling like a Saturday morning in a New England bed & breakfast, and just makes me smile.

I sprinkled some powdered sugar and cinnamon on mine after it came out of the oven, reminding me a mix of what my family called "Indian Ghost bread" (it was just thin pieces of fried dough, really) crossed with a crepe. Thin, but doughey and absolutely divine. I had a few mangoes in the fridge, so I added that as my topping, including some of the mango juice from the remaining flesh around the pit.

Opportunities are endless here for toppings, and would be a great brunch food, me thinks. Here are the details:

Dutch Baby Pancakes
adapted ever so slightly from Kitchen Wench

Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 TB of sugar

(I always put sugar in my pancake batter, whether out of the box or not. Usually some vanilla too, though I omitted here)

Preheat an oven to 350 F with a pan inside to heat. Mix together the eggs, milk, melted butter, salt and sugar. Slowly add the flour. Add the unmelted butter and let that coat the pan. There should be a bit more in there than usual pan-coating amount. Don't be alarmed.



Add the batter, pop in the oven for 20-30 minutes. It'll cook up a bit (and in my case fold over a bit, which I don't mind). Take out when browned to your liking.