Let’s face it. Most breakfast foods are ridiculously unhealthy. Which is why our weekend breakfasts at home usually, anymore, consist of eggs and fruit and not much else. But this weekend I had a little extra time and my kid looked at me with those irresistible baby blues and said, “Pancake?” What’s a mom to do?

I decided that if he was going to have fried dough for breakfast, I was at least going to make it contain some sort of nutritional value. Also, I had a bunch of black bananas that seemed to be multiplying in my freezer, so it was a good opportunity to use some up. I figured I’d inject some fruit into the flapjacks, and then I ran across the peanut butter, and thought, “Why not. Elvis would be proud.” A little protein in there as well, and suddenly the pancake, while still not exactly “health food,” at least housed some desirable attributes and was no longer just empty calories.

I am the first to admit that I love a good baking mix. Like I love cake mixes, I also love Bisquick, or, more accurately, its store-brand knock-off equivalent. So I started with that, and went from there. This was simple, and it made a lot. So much, in fact, that I put the leftover batter in the refrigerator and was able to make pancakes for my family on Sunday as well.

Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes

2 1/2 cups baking mix
2 over ripe bananas
1 egg
1/3 C peanut butter
1 1/2 C milk (possibly more)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Beat the bananas, brown sugar, egg, and salt together until smooth, then add the peanut butter, and alternate adding baking mix and milk, mixing until everything is well combined and sans lumps. If the batter is thick, add extra milk. Pancake batter should be rather runny so as to avoid brown outsides and raw insides in the finished product.

The trick to frying a good pancake is really in the oil. Make sure you have enough (it should stand a tiny bit in the pan, not just coat it). I turn my burner to medium high, wait for the oil to “shimmer” and pop if I toss a droplet of water on it, and then I do my test pancake. Usually the first pancake is either too greasy or just some how “off”, so I make it small and then adjust my heat to ensure the rest come out golden brown and perfect.

I use a 1/4 measuring cup to ladle the batter into the hot pan, and I use the spatula to thin it out if it is too thick. A shallow spread of batter is what you are looking for. When it’s bubbly around the edges and starting to bubble in the center, it’s time to flip. Then, about 30 seconds on the other side, and you should have a perfect flapjack.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2012/jun/25/236780/

These cakes are extra good if you serve them with coconut syrup, but all I had this time was regular maple and dang if that wasn’t delicious too. I don’t think these cakes even need a pat of butter, but heck, if we’re going, go big. I added a little light butter to the top and wow. Out of this world. The peanut butter helps the pancake to be even crispier on the outside and soft on the inside. It is exactly, to me, what a decadent breakfast should be.

And, my kid ate four. My picky, picky kid. That is ringing endorsement enough for me.