Lemony and Summery Berry Pancakes

Ahhh, the joys of living alone! I get to have pancakes for dinner! :) Hope you don't mind two breakfast recipes in a row, cause I certainly don't. I love breakfast food!

As a kid, pancakes were never really a norm for me, nor were they ever considered "special". I'l confess that it was maybe because I didn't really like them as a kid. I liked French toast and I liked waffles...but wasn't really a fan of pancakes. They were mushy and didn't hold up to maple syrup like crisp waffles, and got too soggy and sloppy to eat. But these were amazing! And let me tell you why:

They're refreshingly light lemony pancakes, studded with colorful summer berries. So girly. :) And there's something about the blend of whole wheat flour and oat flour that just fits! The texture is just so right! Please tell me that I'm not the only one that thinks whole wheat and whole grains just tastes better in food?! The original recipe from Novice Chef uses some vegetable oil and honey as a sweetener, but this recipe omits both and uses applesauce. It works perfectly! You can use any of your favourite small berries, I used raspberries and blueberries!

Lemony and Summery Berry Pancakes makes 8 to 10 pancakes, 2 per serving

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• zest of one lemon
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup of your favourite berries

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (optional) it is just to keep your pancakes warm while others are cooking.

In a large food processor, pulse flours and oats until the oats are ground. Add all the other ingredients except for berries and process until smooth (or you can mix by hand).

Heat a pan or skillet over medium heat and lightly grease with non-stick cooking spray or margarine. Drop batter by 1/4 cup (standard ice cream scoop works the best!) and arrange 6-8 of your berries on top of the pancakes. When you start to see bubbling, flip and cook another 1-2 mins until both sides are browned. Transfer onto a cookie sheet into the oven to keep warm if you wish. Repeat process until you have used up all the batter!

You can also freeze the pancakes! Just allow to cool completely, and then put it in a Ziplock bag to freeze. Just stick it into the toaster oven or microwave to reheat! Enjoy cause I certainly did!