Not only do pancakes provide a sweetly comforting start to the day, but they have a way of perfuming the house for hours. Maple Walnut Pancakes provide that comforting nourishment with a local Canadian twist.
How Inspiration Works
If you’re interested in a glimpse at how my mind works … A while back, a friend posted a recipe for Maple Walnut Dairy-Free Ice Cream on her blog, so I immediately starting thinking about a recipe for Maple Walnut Pancakes. Same inspiration, different form.
Maple Walnut Pancakes
That idea for Maple Walnut Pancakes danced around in my head for a few weeks, and then one morning I set about transforming my recipe for Marlene’s Healthful Pancakes (perhaps the first recipe I ever created and recorded for myself). All I did, really, was swap maple syrup for the sugar, leave out the bran (likely because I couldn’t find any) and add in some chopped walnuts. Sometimes coming up with a new recipe takes a lot of work, but as you can see, sometimes it’s easy to come up with a new twist on an old favourite.
These pancakes have all the classic, lightly sweetened yet nourishing goodness I treasure, with the added satisfaction of walnuts’ crunch.
Feel free to make the recipe your own. And while I’d like to insist that you use local maple syrup, I know that for many of you that’s not possible. May I suggest using Canadian maple syrup if you rely on imports? I used Ontario Grade A amber maple syrup, from right here in Middlesex County, Ontario. It was produced by Loft Maple Syrup of Ilderton. They don’t have a website, but you can find them on this Middlesex-London Local Food guide.
The Pandemic Pancake Problem
There’s only one problem with making pancakes during a pandemic for those of us isolating alone: eating the entire batch yourself! Now, of course I didn’t eat them all in one sitting. I do have some willpower, sheesh. But I may have had them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Oh well, I’m not sorry. At least not as long as I’m wearing my stretchy pants …
Let’s Make Maple Walnut Pancakes
It's fun to jazz up my basic healthful pancake recipe with new twists. In this case, I've added both the crunch and flavour of walnuts. And I've gone all-maple, using it as the sweetener for the batter, in addition to the de rigueur lavishment of local maple syrup over top.
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup milk (plus more if you like a thinner batter)
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp neutral oil (e.g., grapeseed or canola)
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
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Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
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Measure the milk into a 2-cup or larger measuring cup. Then add the rest of the wet ingredients and whisk together. (This is my method to avoid dirtying any more dishes than necessary.)
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Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a whisk until just combined. Don't overmix or the pancakes will be tough. Then stir in the walnuts.
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Let the batter sit while you heat up your pan or griddle. Oil it according to the method that works best for your pan. (I use a well-seasoned cast iron pan and only need to oil it for the first pancake.)
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Make pancakes of the size you like (I use either a 1/4 or 1/3 cup measure of batter for each). I find that the walnuts stay nicely suspended throughout the batter. If you make your batter thinner and the walnuts sink, just give it a stir before you scoop up each dollop. When bubbles are breaking through over most of the surface, flip them and continue cooking until they're done.
Note: My cooking time of 20 minutes reflects the fact that I make my pancakes one at a time. Also, you’ll see in the photo that some of mine were a little, ahem, dark. I had the heat a little too high under my pan for a while. They were still good, though.
More Pancake Goodness
Pancakes are popular around here. Here are three of my favourite recipes, starting with the most simple that I’ve used as the basis for more extravagant recipes: Marlene’s Healthful Pancakes, Caramelized Apple Sour Cream Pancakes, and Chocolate Buckwheat Pancakes. Get flipping!
