Whole Wheat Pancakes

Whole Wheat Pancakes

• 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 2 1/4 cups milk
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Heat nonstick skillet.  Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Use a wire whisk to whip together milk, eggs, oil, and vanilla.  Make sure the liquid ingredients are mixed well and pour into the dry ingredients.  Gently mix about ten times then allow the batter to sit for about five minutes.  This prevents over-mixing and will keep the waffles light and airy.  Mix until the batter is moist.  There will still be small lumps.  Add more milk, if the batter seems to thick.  Add more flour if the flour seems to runny.  Cook on a non-stick skillet or frying pan.

These pancakes freeze very well.  For freezing, slightly under cook the pancakes, just until they are light golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack, then store in a freezer bag.  Place two frozen pancakes, for two 15 second intervals in the microwave to reheat.  Adjust time depending on the microwave.  You can also make your own pancake mixes and store in the freezer for convenience.  Just mix the dry ingredients in advanced and place in a freezer bag.  Before to crush any brown sugar chunks as it will dry out in the mix.

Variations: Add chocolate chips to individual pancakes while they are cooking.  Be sure to cover the chocolate with batter so the chocolate doesn’t burn.  Blueberries are also a favorite addition.  Replace some or all of the milk with buttermilk for a tangy flavor.  This recipe is the same as used for Whole Wheat Waffles, except the batter is slightly thicker.