Whole Wheat Apple Pancakes

Happy Mardi Gras! Happy Shrove Tuesday! Happy Fat Tuesday! Happy Pączki Day! Happy Pancake Day! Pączki Day? Pancake Day? Wait, what?

So, Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday… all pretty common names for the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of Lent and is 46 days before Easter [40 if you don’t count Sundays]. Most people have probably heard of them and celebrate them by indulging in favorite fried foods that traditionally were abstained from during Lenten fasting.

You’re probably wondering what Pączki Day and Pancake Day have to do with all of this. Well, pączkis and pancakes are two of the best ways to celebrate the day before Ash Wednesday!

Pączkis are Polish doughnuts and are so delicious! They don’t taste like regular doughnuts and I highly recommend that you hightail it to the grocery store or bakery if you’re lucky to pick up some before they’re gone til next year! We bought ours yesterday and enjoyed them while watching the final episode of LOST [again]. I’m sure you could make them, but they seem pretty difficult to make.

In the meantime though, these Whole Wheat Apple Pancakes are calling your name. I know I say this frequently, but these are some of the best pancakes I have ever tasted! Whole wheat is often stereotyped as dense and hard, but these pancakes are anything but. Ben and I literally inhaled about 3-4 big pancakes each last week after a hard workout and they totally hit the spot. Each pancake is chock-full of cinnamon apples and buttermilk goodness. Sweetened only by honey, these pancakes aren’t so over the top sweet that the apple gets lost. For a little something different we topped our pancakes with honey instead of syrup. These pancakes will definitely be making an appearance on my plate soon–maybe on Saturday after my 20 mile marathon training run! Woohoo!

Whole Wheat Apple Pancakes [from Ellie Krieger’s So Easy]

Ingredients:

• 1 medium apple, chopped [Golden Delicious is suggested, I used Pinata]
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoon honey
• cinnamon
• olive oil

Directions:

Put the apple in a microwave safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high until softened, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with cinnamon [if desired] and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flours, powder, soda. In a small bowl, whisk together milks, eggs, and honey. Fold wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Batter will be lumpy.

Heat a large skillet drizzled with olive oil. Once hot, scoop batter by 1/4 cup increments. Top with about 1 tablespoon apple. Cover with a little more batter. Cook until golden brown on each side, about 4-5 minutes total since these are thick pancakes. Serve with butter and honey, or maple syrup if that’s more your flavor!

Click here for the printable version: Whole Wheat Apple Pancakes

***Don’t forget to enter my giveaway by Sunday, March 13!

Question of the Day: Do you have any Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday/Fat Tuesday/Pączki Day/Pancake Day traditions?