To say I love breakfast foods would be a major understatement. I’m SERIOUSLY crazy about them. It doesn’t matter if it’s sweet or savory, I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, or brinner. As a former Jersey girl, I have a fondness for diners- but really only because I can get breakfast all day. In fact, I’m not sure if I’ve ever ordered anything other than breakfast food at a diner. Back on topic, I made delicious spiced banana pancakes the other morning. The recipe comes from Joanne Chang’s Flour Too cookbook. Flour Bakery is one of my favorite sweet treat and sandwich spots in and around Boston. Sadly there isn’t one that close to my home or work, so I’m happy she has two cookbooks so I can make it at home!
These pancakes were incredibly moist and spiced really well. I was a little disappointed that they didn’t taste more like banana bread, so next time I’d add cinnamon and decrease the black pepper and allspice.
Spiced banana pancakes
Makes: 7-8 pancakes. Adapted from Flour Too, by Joanne Chang
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 1/2 tsp. ground allspice (I would decrease this next time and add cinnamon instead)
- 3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (I would decrease this to 1/4 or 1/2 tsp)
- 2 Tbs. packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup milk (the recipe calls for whole milk but I used 1% and it was still great)
- 2 Tbs. vegetable oil
- 4 medium ripe bananas, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 to 3 Tbs. unsalted butter for cooking pancakes, plus more for serving
Preheat the oven to 200°F, and place a rack or baking sheet in the center of the oven.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, allspice, pepper, cinnamon (if using), and brown sugar. In another bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and vegetable oil until blended; add about 3 of the sliced bananas. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined. Don’t over mix, it should be a lumpy batter.
Melt about 1 tsp. of the butter over medium heat in a skillet or griddle. Sprinkle a few drops of water into the pan; if the water sizzles on contact, the pan is ready. Pour 1/3-1⁄2 cup of batter into the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the edges of the pancake start to brown and small bubbles begin forming along the edges and in the middle of the cake*. With a spatula, carefully flip the pancake over; the first side should be golden brown. Cook slowly for another 4 minutes*. Gently press the pancake in the middle with the spatula to flatten it out a bit and make sure the center is cooked through. Adjust the heat as needed so the pancake browns nicely but doesn’t burn on the second side. Remove the finished pancake from the griddle and place it in the oven to keep warm.
Cook the remaining pancakes the same way, adding another 1 tsp. or so of butter before adding the batter each time. Serve immediately with butter, maple syrup, and the remaining banana.
*NOTE- Joanne Chang says to cook these for ~3 minutes a side, but that was not nearly long enough for me. Use your best judgment on cooking times for your stove.