Banana Business Pancakes

July 14, 2012
This morning, I felt really adventurous in terms of food.  I never deviate from recipes so this is a new territory for me... a little scary but exhilarating at the same time.   I had 3 extremely ripe bananas that the fruit flies have not discovered yet.  It was time to use them or lose them to the compost.  So I "made" up my own banana pancake recipe which was successful after a few modifications.  (Successful means, it passed my husband's quality taste control.)  According to him, "It's taste like banana bread.  It's smooth and the tastes all balanced.  It is good."  For me, that is a huge compliment because my husband is very fussy about his pancakes.
Be aware that you can modify this to fit your taste such as adjusting the amount of spice (more or less) and adjusting the amount of soy milk (or milk of your choice) to make it thicker and heavier or thiner and lighter.  I made one pancake and my husband tasted it.  Then I would modify the batter according to his feedback.  My first attempt was reported to be "too heavy."  Second attempt was reported to need more spice and be lighter.  My third attempt was successful!  My husbands denies this, but I think it has a nutty aftertaste.   Since I am currently living in Maine, pancakes are never complete with Real Maple Syrup! Give it a try and let me know what you think.  We made up the name for this pancake recipe.

Banana Business Pancakes

1 1/2 cup Unbleached Flour

1/2 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 to 1 cup soy milk (test to determine how thick you want it to be)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 large ripe bananas, mashed

2 tablespoons appplesauce

2 eggs

In a large bowl, combine flours, baking powder, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Measure out the milk and add the vanilla extract to it. Whisk together the dry ingredients and add in milk-vanilla mixture, applesauce and eggs stirring to combine. Add in mashed bananas and mix. Stir until batter is somewhat smooth.

Heat a skillet or grilled on medium heat. Using a 1/3 cup measure, spoon batter into rounds and cook until bubbles form on top – about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for a minute or two more. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve hot with butter and Maple Syrup.