Foodie Friday: Banana Surprise Pancake Bites

Photo credit: Michelle Loy. Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.

I am no baker, but I do enjoy giving it my best shot on occasion. I was recently browsing a fave baking blog of mine, Bakerella, for some new ideas.  I stumbled upon these pancake muffins, which are the inspiration for my Banana Surprise Pancake Bites.  These are amazingly quick and easy.  I also love that they're light, fluffy, and fun to eat (because of that surprise inside).  My whole family enjoyed these.  I love that they're small, so the portion sizes are more controlled.  They also keep well, so you could enjoy the leftovers for another breakfast or snack.  Try them out, and let me know what you think.  Enjoy!

Banana Surprise Pancake Bites    

Adapted from Bakerella, 9/6/09

{Print this recipe}

Ingredients:

1 cup of whole oat flour (Whole wheat flour also works, too.)

1 Tbsp ground flaxseed (You can try more, if you like. I found this to be just enough so that the texture remains fluffy and light.)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 Tbsp sugar

2/3 c buttermilk (If you don't have buttermilk, you can make your own substitute. Just squeeze 1 Tbsp of lemon juice into a glass bowl. Pour 1 cup of milk into the bowl. Stir and let sit for about 2 minutes.  Then voila, you have a sub for buttermilk!)

1 egg

2 Tbsp 100% pure maple syrup

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1/2 c banana, diced (about 1/2 a banana)

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray 24-cup mini-muffin pan with olive oil spray.

2.  Combine flour, flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Sift together with a wire whisk.

3.  In another bowl, mix buttermilk, egg, maple syrup, and butter until just combined.  

4.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until combined.  Add the diced bananas to the mixture, and gently fold them into the batter.

5.  Spoon the mixture by tablespoonfuls into each muffin cup.  There should be just enough for 24 mini-muffins.

6.  Now for the surprise!  Place 1-2 dark chocolate chips into each muffin cup.  (You can also opt to leave the chocolate out, if you like.)

7.  Bake for 10 minutes.  (Your oven may be different, so I suggest checking on it occasionally during the last 5 minutes.)

8.  Remove from oven and let cool (about 1 minute works for me).  You may need to take a toothpick or butter knife around the edges to remove the muffins from the pan.  Enjoy!

Serves: 4-6 (4-6 bites each)

Nutritional information: (based on 4 pancake bites)

Calories: 165   Carbohydrate: 23 g   Fat:  7 g   Protein: 4.4 g   Cholesterol:  47 mg   Fiber: 2 g   11 g   Sodium: 306 mg

Excellent source of: omega 3 fatty acid

Good source of: calcium