Banana Bread Pancakes

There was a time years and years ago when I used to make pancakes every Saturday. It was basically a treat for surviving the workweek and something I greatly looked forward to — I also looked forward to trying various recipes (red velvet, multigrain, snickerdoodle, etc.). I am a pancakes sort of gal. I have been since I was a child. It was then and is now easily my favorite breakfast food. I love trying them at restaurants and when I find a restaurant with a kick-ass recipe I won’t order anything else on the menu.

My dad loves pancakes too. When he visits he likes to have pancakes at least once but I think he and I could eat them multiple times throughout his visit. On a short weekend when he was in town, I decided to make some pancakes to use up a massive amount of severely overripe bananas I had sitting on my counter.

I’ve made countless types of banana pancakes over the years that involved slicing up bananas to place on top the pancake batter once you’d it on the griddle. But this time I decided I wanted the banana to be in the batter and did a quick search for banana + bread + pancakes and found a good recipe to follow at Creme de la Crumb. These pancakes are reminiscent of banana bread with plenty of banana mashed into the batter and finely chopped walnuts.

Eat these for breakfast, brunch or any time of the day. For a real splurge, top these with some ice cream or whipped cream. My dad has declared these pancakes restaurant-worthy. That’s pretty much all you need to know right there.

ingredients.

1 c. flour
1 c. buttermilk or milk
1 egg
½ tsp. vanilla
2 T. butter, melted and cooled
3 very ripe small bananas, plus more for serving
2 T. brown sugar (granulated sugar is fine too)
2 tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. baking soda (omit if using milk)
dash of salt
½ c. walnuts, chopped fine
butter and maple syrup, for serving

directions.

Preheat a skillet, pan, or griddle to medium or medium-low heat (I trust that you know your stove top or skillet best).
In a medium bowl, mix together mashed bananas, egg, buttermilk, butter and vanilla. Add salt, baking soda and baking powder and stir to incorporate. Fold in flour and walnuts until just combined.
Lightly grease your preheated skillet, pan or griddle. I like to use a few drops of vegetable oil or a bit of crisco. Pour batter onto the skillet using a measuring cup or large serving spoon. Cook 2 to 3 minutes until edges begin to look “dry” and bubbles start to form. Flip with spatula, then cook another 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve immediately with butter, syrup, sliced bananas and chopped nuts as desired.

Recipe rating: 