Recipe: Strawberry Banana Sweetheart Pancakes

I just love Valentine's Day. It is such a great reminder to show the people we love how much we care about them. To kick off February, I wanted to make a special Valentine's breakfast for my family. I made some changes to my favorite pancake recipe and came up with these Strawberry Banana Sweetheart Pancakes. I love to incorporate fruits or vegetables into baked goods to add nutritional content. These pancakes turned out great and my girls gobbled them up.

 

Strawberry Banana Sweetheart Pancakes

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon White Sugar
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Egg (Beaten)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 Cup Milk
2 Tablespoons Oil
2 Ripe Bananas (Mashed)
1/2 Cup Diced Strawberries

Directions (makes 12 pancakes):

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
2. Make a well in the center and add egg, vanilla, milk, oil, and bananas.
3. Stir and combine ingredients. Batter will be lumpy.
4. Heat griddle over medium-high heat. Lightly oil griddle.
5. Pour pancake batter onto griddle (approximately 1/4 cup per pancake). Sprinkle diced strawberries on top of pancake batter.
6. Cook until bubbles start to form on top. Flip pancake and cook until golden brown.
7. Serve hot!

My girls enjoyed these without syrup because of the natural sweetness, but my husband and I added a bit of syrup and they were delicious. If you are looking to make these dairy free, you can substitute the milk for a non-dairy alternative such as almond, soy or coconut milk.

What is your favorite Valentine's meal to make?