Fluffy Banana Graham Pancakes

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 3 whole graham crackers, crushed (equals 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs)
• 1/2 cup white flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon Splenda sugar substitute
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup diced ripe banana (1 small banana)
• nonstick cooking spray

Directions

1. 1

   Whisk together buttermilk, egg whites, and canola oil.

2. 2

   Crush graham crackers (I pulsed mine in a blender, but they could also be zipped in a freezer bag and crushed with a rolling pin) then soak them for a couple minutes in the buttermilk mixture.

3. 3

   Whisk together dry ingredients then stir into the buttermilk mixture, just until combined.

4. 4

   Dice banana (using diced, not mashed, banana allows the pancakes to cook up nice and fluffy) into 1/4" or so pieces and stir into batter, then adjust batter consistency, if desired, by adding a splash more buttermilk or a little milk.

5. 5

   Spray a large nonstick griddle or electric fry pan with cooking spray and preheat until hot (long ago grandma taught me that the pancake griddle is ready when a few drops of water dance when sprinkled onto it).

6. 6

   Pour about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake (or however much you like) onto the hot griddle and cook, turning pancakes when bubbles form on top sides, and cooking until both sides are golden brown.

7. 7

   Note: You may make your own buttermilk substitute by stirring together 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice.

8. 8

   The story behind these pancakes: On the first morning of our recent once-in-a-lifetime trip to Hawaii, DD and I enjoyed the best pancakes ever! We had a great vacation, then went back on our last day and again enjoyed those awesome banana macadamia nut pancakes from TipTop Bakery & Cafe. This recipe is my way preserving our memories of a wonderful vacation together in Kauai.

9. 9

   The recipe, which I created expressly for the RSC#12 contest, was inspired by those banana mac pancakes. The actual Kauai pancakes could be ordered with any combination of bananas, pineapple, and macadamia nuts. I left the mac nuts out of my recipe in order to keep it accessible to all, but do feel free to add some fairly fine chopped macadamia nuts to your pancakes for a real taste of the islands.

10. 10

    At TipTop the yummy pancakes are served with vanilla syrup and guava preserves. Their coffee was also great while mine is pretty bad. In order to really duplicate the Hawaiian breakfast experience, something would have to be done about that!