Sweetheart Pancakes

SWEETHEART PANCAKES

WIth banana, strawberries and walnuts!

Just in time for Valentine's Day! I started with a simple pancake recipe and gave it some extra nutritional tweaks. I poured the batter into metal heart-shaped cookie cutters, added a side of strawberries and Voila! Sweetheart pancakes! 

Ingredients:

1 cup white flour

1/2 cup emmer flour (you could also use whole wheat flour)

1/4 cup ground flax seed meal (extra fiber and Omega 3's!)

3 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp brown sugar

3 Tbsp melted butter

1 egg, beaten

1 1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 mashed banana

1 cup sliced strawberries

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

oil for the griddle or pan

Steps I used:

1. The night before I mixed together all the dry ingredients (except the walnuts) in a bowl, covered it and left it in the fridge overnight. 

2. The next morning I mashed the banana and added the butter, egg, milk and vanilla. I mixed it all together until it was well blended. 

3.I made a well in the dry ingredients and added the wet ingredients. Once well blended, I added the walnuts, then folded in the strawberries. Then it is time to heat the pan or griddle. 

4. I brushed the griddle and heart-shaped forms with oil. I then added batter to each form. Only fill to cover the bottom. The pancakes will rise and get nice and fluffy. Let pancakes cook for a bit and then remove the form. I used tongs to lift them up. 

5. Once the bottoms are lightly browned, flip. Be sure the pancakes are cooked through and enjoy! 

***Note: once the form is removed the pancake might lose some of its heart shape, depending on how full the form was with batter. Do not worry. In my experience, if this happens, the pancake retains enough of its shape that it is easy to clean up with a knife after you take it off of the griddle. Enjoy!!!




These pancakes are healthy and really delicious! Hope they bring a smile to your little loves on this Valentine's Day!! XO