All photos by Ashleigh Fox/THE CHIMES

In past years, when I was a slightly more broke college student than I am now, I lived on oatmeal. While this may sound like an extravagant exaggeration, I promise you I tell only the truth. I was an intern at a restaurant a few summers ago and I ate the majority of my meals at work. However, when I woke up in the morning before work or had a day off, my very slim paycheck and I had to fend for ourselves. Thanks to the only and overpriced grocery store in the area, oatmeal and I became fast friends. It was cheap, healthy and easy to prepare in the microwave — every college student’s dream. At one point, it was one of three food items in my house; the other two were fresh fruit and raisins that I mixed into the oatmeal. I created various ways to prepare it so meals did not become monotous.

Although I thankfully no longer need to subsist primarily on oatmeal, I still eat it often. I also bake it into cookies or toss it with sugar, butter and flour for a fruit crisp topping. Still, with all my creative oatmeal concepts, it never dawned on me to put it into pancakes. Once again, I must give credit to Pinterest and its millions upon millions of interesting ideas. It was there I stumbled upon this fabulous, rib-sticking, hearty recipe for oatmeal raisin pancakes. Perfect for breakfast or dinner, these pancakes fill you up.

Notes:
If you would rather not buy buttermilk, replace it with two cups of milk and two tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar. Mix together and let sit for five minutes before adding to the batter.

Use real maple syrup in the recipe, not the corn syrup-based pancake syrup. Instead of adding flavor, the fake maple syrup will only make the pancakes too sweet. If you prefer not to use real maple syrup, just replace it with 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and save the pancake syrup for the outside of the pancakes.

Oatmeal Raisin Pancakes

Adapted from: joythebaker.com
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Heaping 1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup raisins
Oil, butter or cooking spray for cooking

Whisk eggs in a large bowl. Add the buttermilk, maple syrup, brown sugar, butter and vanilla extract and whisk until combined.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and oats. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until homogeneous. Add the raisins and mix just until they are well-distributed throughout the batter. Let the batter sit for five minutes before using.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Flick a little bit of water onto the pan to check for adequate heat. If the pan is ready, the drops will dance on the surface. If they evaporate immediately, turn the heat down slightly. Preheat the oven to 200 F and place a cookie sheet or heat-proof plate inside.

Add a teaspoon of oil or butter, or use cooking spray to coat the pan. Drop a large spoonful of batter into the pan and cook until bubbles appear on the surface of the batter and then begin to pop. Using a spatula, flip the pancake over and cook until the pancake is a deep golden brown. Repeat until the batter disappears. If your pan is big enough, you can cook two or three pancakes simultaneously.

Keep the cooked pancakes warm in the oven until ready to smother in maple syrup and eat.