Peach & Walnut Oatmeal Pancakes with Maple Syrup

Peaches are in season and I couldn't be happier. I love them grilled, in yogurt, as an ice cream topping, baked in muffins, as jam-- and now, I love them in pancakes. Two things you won't find in my pantry are boxed pancake mix or pancake syrup. Making my own pancakes is so easy, and I'll bet that you have the ingredients on hand. I have been making a version of these oatmeal pancakes for quite a while, but I had forgotten about them until this morning. I spotted a peach that had ripened yesterday, and I wanted to enjoy it for breakfast. It took about 15 minutes to put the batter together and I cut some caloric corners. Let me show you:

I store my walnuts in the freezer, so that the walnut oil won't go rancid. In a dry skillet, I toasted a small handful (about 1/2 cup) for two minutes, on high heat. You don't have to do this step, but I think it makes them walnuts taste better. Besides, they make good snackin'! Dice a peach. The dry ingredients are unbleached white flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and old-fashioned oatmeal. Don't worry, the printable recipe is at the bottom of this post. The wet ingredients are whole milk, sour cream, eggs and vanilla. However, I used 1% milk and nonfat Greek Yogurt to cut back on a calorie or two.

Toss the dry ingredients together, and make a well. Whisk the wet ingredients and pour into the dry and gently fold-- don't overmix it! Add the peaches...

Add the chopped walnuts (or pecans...or not)...

Melt 1/4 stick of unsalted butter and gently stir that in. Have your griddle hot and ready, and brush with melted butter...

Pour a ladle of batter, which spreads a bit. These are fairly large. I forgot how much this batter can run!

Cook these about 2-3 minutes per side...

They are almost ready. A little bit of butter, then pure maple syrup is what's needed next...

Breakfast is ready, in less than 25 minutes...and it's "from scratch"..

VERDICT: Wow! The cinnamon is not overpowering. I love the texture of the oatmeal, the crunch of walnuts and the sweet surprise of peach. The maple syrup is a perfect compliment to the pancake, which is a cross between fluffy and just a little dense. The Greek yogurt and lowfat milk worked perfectly. This recipe yielded six large pancakes, and I can tell you that two of these makes a very hearty breakfast.