Oatmeal Blender Pancakes

I have mentioned in the past that I have nieces and a nephew who are celiac/gluten impaired and that I try to come up with recipes for them when I can (and bring them over when possible). Lo and behold, another niece has discovered she’s also got celiac. So, yet another challenge to overcome. This recipe for oatmeal pancakes has been percolating in my brain for awhile and while not all oats are gluten free, you can definitely buy gluten free oats and make it so. So I plied DH and my grandson (who’s currently living with us temporarily) with various versions of the pancakes since hey, I won’t post it if I’m not happy with it.

Suffice it to say, I played around with the amount of oats, baking powder, eggs etc. etc. till I was pleased with the fluffier texture and mouthfeel. These are yummy and oaty in consistency, heartier than a flour pancake and super substantial. You eat this pancake and have a great feeling of satiety. Of course, you can do breakfast for dinner with these quite nicely and they freeze well too.

So start by organizing your ingredients.

Now you can probably use rolled oats for this, although I used quick oats, what I had to hand (just don’t use instant oats, consistency will be all wrong!) and take out your blender or food processor. I actually prefer a blender for when you add the wet ingredients and it mixes it all up 1-2-3. In any case, grind 2 cups of the oats in the blender till a nice floury consistency. You will be leaving 1/2 a cup over of unground oats to be added later. There is method to my madness, trust me here.

You don’t have to make it super fine just floury, if you get me. K. Throw in the salt, baking powder and sugar and cinnamon if desired (gives it a nice pop of flavor) and buzz together briefly. Now add your egg, milk and lemon juice and blend just till incorporated with no pockets of oat flour. If there are, use a spatula to mix in. Now! add the additional 1/2 cup of oats. Why, you may ask now? Cuz you don’t want to overburden the blender, for one, and secondly, you will see you have a thinnish batter consistency and it will blend right in perfectly, thickening the batter just right.

Now add the extra oats and buzz till blended.

Okay, it’s all good. Now wait about 5 more minutes and the batter will thicken even more making the pancake making process that much easier and the texture better. So patience, just 5 minutes, really!

Now take out your non-stick pan, lightly coat with oil and wipe out well. The trick to pancake making is not to fry them but rather to “bake” them in the pan so you are only greasing the pan so they don’t stick. Good. Take the whole blender top right out and place next to the pan with a plate at the ready. Heat your pan till hot and then reduce flame to medium. Pour in some batter till a nice circle forms.

Cook on one side about 2-3 minutes or till bubbles form all over top of pancake like so:

With a spatula, gently lift the edge and peek to see if medium brown and if so, flip to other side and cook another 2-3 minutes or till medium brown and turn out onto waiting plate.

Do this till you use up all the batter. Be aware that the batter gets thicker as you go and if need be you might wish to add a teaspoon of milk to thin a drop. I usually don’t bother, it’s just a slightly thicker pancake.

And that’s all there is, folks! Top with maple syrup, fresh berries, honey or eat as is.

Oatmeal Blender Pancakes

2 1/2 cups quick oats (not instant oats!!)
2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2-1 teaspoon cinnamon, if you wish
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Place 2 cups of the oats in a blender and blend until a floury consistency forms. Add the baking powder, sugar and salt and cinnamon, if desired. Blitz again briefly and add milk, lemon juice and egg. Blend till all the oat flour is incorporated, turning off blender and using a spatula to make sure none is stuck. Then take the last 1/2 cup of oats and add to the rather thin batter and blend till completely absorbed into the batter and let sit for 5-10 minutes, Mixture will thicken. The longer the batter sits, the thicker it becomes. I usually don’t bother to thin it but if you wish, add a teaspoon of additional milk if it gets very very thick. Lightly oil a non-stick pan and wipe off excess oil with paper towel (you just want to make it more non-stick rather than oily, not frying the pancakes rather “baking” them in the pan) and heat till hot then lower temp to medium. Add enough batter to form a nice pancake. Batter is thickish and should not spread much. Cook a few minutes till bubbles form all over the top and bottom is medium browned. Flip and cook a few more minutes till cooked through and lightly browned on both sides. Stack on plate and continue till all batter is used up. Serve with maple syrup, berries, honey or as is.