Gluten/Dairy-Free Banana Oat Pancakes

Before I went gluten-free, my husband and I enjoyed a lot of different flavors in our pancakes. We'd have copy-cat Cracker Barrel pancakes one morning, then whole wheat pancakes another, buttermilk pancakes, blueberry sourdough pancakes...on the list went. In order to get a little variety in our GF pancakes, I combined a couple of recipes and came up with this. The quick oats give a nice texture to them, they stay together without crumbling, and they have an egg free option.

Banana Oat Pancakes

1 cup oat flour (or ground up oats)
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp coconut sugar, or brown sugar
1 ripe banana
1 egg, or flax egg*
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup almond or coconut milk
2 tbsp hemp protein powder, optional

*For a flax egg, combine 1 tbsp ground flax seeds with 2 1/2 tbsp hot water. Let it sit 5-10 minutes to gel.

Preheat skillet. If using flax instead of an egg, mix it now so it can be ready to use.

Whisk together flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and protein powder (if using) in a medium bowl. In a smaller bowl, mash your banana with a fork. Add your sugar, vanilla, and almond milk and whisk until sugar is dissolved. Add your flax egg (or chicken egg), and whisk again.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until combined. Scoop 1/4 cup fulls onto your skillet. I have found that oat flour pancakes cook better at a slightly lower temperature than regular pancakes.

Enjoy!