I love breakfast for dinner – or “brinner,” as my friend Jess calls it.  It means “very little active cooking and/or prep work” for me and it always engenders happy faces, full tummies, and cheers from my family.

Being a whole-grain girl, I like to use this whole wheat pancake recipe.  But this past time, I wanted something with a slightly more substantial texture.  And voila!  Crunchy oatmeal pancakes fit the bill.  If you read the post on blueberry pancakes, you’ll also remember that I despise (as in “hate, hate, HATE”) standing at a stove and flipping pancake after pancake – and never being able to eat together as a family because the first pancakes are cold and everyone wants to eat before the last one is done.  So this recipe also includes baking instructions.

I also discovered that unlike I remembered, I did *not* have a bottle of HFCS-free pancake syrup in the house.  In the last 6 months, I’ve “lost” (?!) a bag of frozen tillapia, a box of instant brown rice, and now a bottle of pancake syrup.  I remember putting these items in the pantry and/or freezer (as applicable), and Mark remembers it as well.  It’s baffling.  Somewhere, some food-thief is having a very strange meal at my expense.  That’s my only explanation.

Regardless, I discovered that smearing these pancakes with butter and sprinkling brown sugar on them and letting it melt is absolutely DELISH.  It tasted almost like a coffee cake – the oats are a bit crunchy, the sugar is sweet, and the butter brings it all together beautifully.  It’s a great alternative to syrup if you’re out.  These pancakes also reheat beautifully – just put the butter and brown sugar on when you heat it (if using a microwave) and allow the toppings to melt & combine before serving.

Crunchy Oatmeal Pancakes

• 1-½ c quick-cooking oats
• 3 c plus 2 T well-shaken buttermilk, divided
• 1-½ c whole-wheat flour
• 1 T baking powder
• 1-½ t baking soda
• 1 t cinnamon
• ¼ t grated nutmeg
• 1 t salt
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 4 T butter, melted
• 2 T packed brown sugar

Soak the oats in half of the buttermilk for at least 10 minutes.  This will make a very thick paste, but that’s what it’s supposed to be.  Whisk together dry ingredients (flour, spices, etc.) in a large bowl, set aside.  Stir in soaked oats, remainder of buttermilk, sugar, eggs, and butter until well-combined.  Grease a lipped cookie sheet (bar pan), either stoneware or metal, and pour batter in pan.  Bake at 400°F for 15-17 minutes (baked pancake will pull away from edge of pan).  Cut in to squares with pizza cutter, serve warm with butter, syrup, or brown sugar, as desired.