Everyday Whole Grain Pancakes with Strawberry Lemon Syrup

Hearty and healthy whole grain pancakes served with an easy to make strawberry lemon sauce – perfect for brunches or family breakfast.

My love affair with pancakes started back when I first started cooking independently in the kitchen.

I must have been 10 years old or so when I first made pancakes from the Betty Crocker Cookbook (pub. 1970.) I ended up making that recipe so often, it became the most stained, worn-out page in the book.

Fast forward to my single apartment living days where I’d used Low-Fat Bisquick mix to make pancakes for dinner at least once a week.

And to this day, pancakes are pretty much what I’m ordering when I’m out to brunch or at a really good diner.

These days, I’m still making pancakes every week only now for my family -my tricky eater husband does eat these and the 8 year old loves hers with maple syrup.

This recipe is the main reason I always have buttermilk in the house. (Side note: recently I’ve been making McKenzie @NourishRDs 15 Minute Ricotta Cheese – so good- and I’ve used the leftover whey in place of buttermilk which makes the pancakes taste bit like ricotta – yum!)

And in all honesty, these should be called Half Whole Grain Pancakes. I love many whole grains and try to eat a variety of them but like with my pasta, I can’t quite go 100% whole wheat with pancakes so I do a mix.

Here are the tweaks over the years to result in my everyday go-to-pancake batter:

• Added in whole wheat pastry flour (which makes a lighter pancake compared to regular whole wheat flour)
• Added in ground flaxseed for extra fiber
• Cut back on some of the butter and salt
• Used almond extract instead of vanilla (much MUCH less – it’s potent!)

I freeze any extra pancakes and pop them in the toaster for quick weekday breakfasts. But for lazy weekends, brunches or overnight guests, take the extra 20 minutes to make this strawberry lemon syrup – especially now since strawberries season is here.

The original syrup recipe (I got from a family cookbook) called for 1 cup of sugar (gah!!) I only used 2 tablespoons in this version and it was still plenty sweet.

Everyday Whole Grain Pancakes with Strawberry Lemon Syrup

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• Yield: 8-10 pancakes. 1x

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Description

Hearty and healthy whole grain pancakes served with an easy to make strawberry lemon sauce – perfect for brunches or family breakfast.

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Ingredients

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For pancake batter:

• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the strawberry lemon syrup:

• 3 cups sliced strawberries
• 1/4 – 1/3 cup water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Juice and zest from one large lemon

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Instructions

1. For the batter, in a large bowl, whisk together flours, flaxseed, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, butter and vanilla.
3. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just incorporated.
4. Coat griddle or frying pan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat.
5. Pour about 1/2 cup of batter for each pancake. Let cook for a few minutes until bubbles form. Once a few bubbles pop, flip pancakes and cook for another few minutes before removing from griddle. Repeat with remaining batter.
6. For strawberry lemon syrup, add 2 cups strawberries, 1/2 cup water and sugar to medium pot and just bring to a boil, whisking often. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes until syrup thickens, stirring frequently. (Note: if you want a thinner syrup, add another few tablespoons of water.)
7. Remove from stove and mix in remaining strawberries, lemon juice and zest.

Recipe note: This is a thick pancake batter – if you want thinner pancakes, whisk in a little more buttermilk, milk or water.

And here are some more pancake recipes previously featured on Teaspoon of Spice:

Triple Chocolate Whole Wheat Pancakes

Roasted Bananas Foster Pancakes

Cardamom Pear Pancakes

So, are you a pancake lover like me or you can take them or leave them? What do you top them with? Yes or no to pancakes for dinner?