When it's 3° F out, there's only one thing to do: MAKE PANCAKES!

From Sunday, January 23, 2011.

Well, I didn't get to breakfast for dinner this week but I suppose breakfast for breakfast is a close second. After spending the past 5 days transcribing interviews for my thesis to the point of finger cramping and typing failure, I decided that it was time to reward myself.  I was super excited to see a plethora of pancake recipes last week in Mark Bittman's NYT post:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/dining/19mini.html. What got me in even more of a pancake craving frenzy was that there was a recipe for cardamom pancakes!  Cardamom, my friends, is one of my two all time favorite spices (the other one is cumin). Call me a food nerd, geek, foodie, whatever, but, spices make me inexplicably happy.

After receiving some valuable input from Miriam, cherry pie baker extrodinaire, I decided to alter the recipe and use cherries instead of apricots and to use a bit of almond extract instead of the nuts.  

Diagnosis: Delicious (and a bit gooey)!
Here's the altered recipe:

Cardamom Pancakes with Dried Cherries

Yields 6-8 pancakes

1/4 c whole-wheat flour

1/4 c all-purpose flour

1/4 c rolled oats

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cardamom

3/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 c milk

1/8 tsp almond extract

2 c cooked oatmeal

1/3 c chopped dried cherries

Butter, for frying

Honey or Maple Syrup, for serving.

Combine the flours, oats, baking powder, cardamom and salt in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and almond extract; stir in the cooked oatmeal and the cherries until just incorporated. Add the oatmeal mixture to the dry ingredients and stir gently; don’t overmix. The consistency should be that of thick pancake batter; add a little more milk or whole-wheat flour as needed.

Put a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. When a few drops of water dance on its surface, add a thin pat of butter and let it become hot. Spoon out the batter, making any size pancakes you like. Cook until bubbles form on the top and pop. Carefully flip the pancakes and cook until they’re browned on the other side, a couple of minutes more. You may have to rotate the cakes to cook them evenly, depending on the heat source and pan. As they finish, transfer them to a plate in the oven while you cook the remaining batter. Serve with honey or maple syrup. (Note: These pancakes took a while to cook all the way through. I think it's because of the oatmeal. Try making them not too thick.  Adding extra flour and less oatmeal might also help as well. Let them cook slow and make sure they're done all the way through).

Enjoy!