Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancake Mix

Pancakes. It's rather shocking that this is only my second pancake sharing recipe post given the depth of my love for them. Breakfast is pretty much the best thing that has ever happened to me so it's not surprising that taking me out for breakfast is one of my love languages. This makes me an exceptionally cheap date. (Sorry boys, I'm taken). The perfect breakfast, in my opinion, includes gourmet pancakes accompanied by some sort of protein - eggs, sausage, bacon, anything really that was formerly an animal. Or milked from an animal. My husband and I have this little silent deal worked out that, on those glorious mornings when he takes me out, I order the sweet stuff, fit for a pre-race-carb-loading binge and he is in charge of ordering something with protein. And then we share. It's awesome.

Oh I almost forgot about the coffee. Must. Not. Forget. Coffee. That's the second best part about going out. I don't need anything fancy, just a mug that arrives super hot and as black as night with a splash of cream. There is something about a mug of Joe that is continually refilled that speaks to me. Now that I have 3 kids, drinking a mug of coffee while hot just doesn't happen anymore. Sometimes I feel like my cup spends more time in the microwave being reheated than in my hand. In fact, if ever I lose my coffee mug, you can pretty much guarantee I'll be reunited with it upon opening the microwave. So, when I go out, I feel like royalty when offered a "warmer upper." In fact, there are times when I accept said "warmer uppers" though my mug is nearly overflowing and totally piping hot. A refillable hot beverage is not something a mother takes lightly! 

Anyways, but back to pancakes....pancakes are by far my favorite breakfast and so I'm quick to whip up a batch whenever one of my kids requests them. I do it so frequently that I actually started making my own "mix" a while back because I didn't love the whole wheat mixes out there and I wanted to feel good about what I was feeding my family. 

Most of the time people hear the words "whole wheat pancake" and visions of hockey puck like discs begin dancing in their heads. These puppies defy all prior whole wheat pancake perceptions, partly because they include a mix of whole and regular white flours. I have never had a whole wheat pancake as light and fluffy as these. They actually do puff up significantly, thanks to the buttermilk I think. I have added buttermilk to my regular weekly shopping list so that I always have it on hand when a craving for pancakes hits. I also love "mix-ins" in my pancakes so usually add fun things, my personal favorites being chocolate chips, granola and poppy seeds. And then of course I top them with peanut butter, maple syrups, slices of banana and whipped cream if I have it. Um yeah. So I love pancakes. 

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancake Mix

(adapted from Cooking Light Magazine)

For the mix:

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 cups granulated sugar

3 Tablespoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

To prepare pancakes (volumes range depended on pancake batch size desired):

Buttermilk

Canola oil

Eggs

Assorted "mix-ins" (granola, poppy seeds, chocolate chips, coconut, sliced almonds etc)

To prepare pancake mix, whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Transfer to resealable container or gallon-sized ziplock. 

To prepare pancakes, use a ratio of 1 cup dry pancake mix to 1 cup buttermilk to 1 tablespoon oil to 1 egg and extrapolate from there depending on the number of mouths you are feeding. For my family of 5, I usually combine 2 cups mix, 2 cups buttermilk, 2 tablespoons oil and 2 eggs but sometimes I will do increments of 3 if leftovers to freeze are desired. 

Makes about 7 cups mix