I was completely psyched when I came across this recipe for oatmeal buttermilk pancakes at this fun food blog, Cooking the Books. I love buttermilk pancakes but usually stick to my favorite, based upon one published in Eating Light magazine in 1992. Though ever since we went to Mabel’s Just for You Bakery and Café and tried their divine oatmeal pancakes, I’ve been looking to upgrade my tried-and-true.

Cooking the Books-style vanilla oatmeal buttermilk pancakes

Cooking the Books comes closest to Mabel’s that I’ve made so far. I tried a few earlier recipes but was sort of disappointed, either because the great oatmeal texture wasn’t right (one recipe called for blending the batter before cooking, or more commonly, the texture was too dry and undercooked) or the flavor wasn’t especially exciting.

This version is intensely sour, I have to believe due to the prolonged soak that the oats undergo in the buttermilk (up to overnight!) That is not how they serve them at Mabel’s. Nevertheless, they’re rather thrilling for it.

I measured things in volume after weighing them to approximate the C-the-B version. I like vanilla so put some in here. Also, I didn’t recognize some of the things in the original recipe (e.g. “kitchen roll” to grease the skillet: is that porkfat?) so I improvised with butter and vegetable oil. I was surprised that the recipe didn’t call for the addition of any oil. Mine stuck a little, so next time I’ll add a tablespoon or so.

Cooking the Books-style vanilla oatmeal buttermilk pancakes

2 cups rolled oats
2 cups plus buttermilk
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
½ tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
butter and vegetable oil for cooking

Mix oats with buttermilk. Let soak in refrigerator for an hour or two, up to overnight.

Mix dry ingredients together. Beat eggs. Fold eggs and flour mixture into soaked oats. Add more buttermilk if needed to get a consistency somewhere between runny and thick.

Heat skillet (I use two at a time to make things faster). Grease with butter and/or vegetable oil. Lower heat to medium to medium high. Pour a ladle of batter into center of pan. Allow to cook and bubble (a minute or two) then carefully flip to cook reverse for a few minutes more. Cooking pancakes is truly an art so don’t be discouraged if they turn out irregularly shaped, splatter or are over- or underdone. Just keep at it. Mine are always funny looking.

Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Thanks so much Cooking the Books for this fine recipe!