Banana Bread Pancakes With Cinnamon Maple Syrup

These pancakes taste just like banana bread! I adapted this recipe by combining two different recipes for banana pancakes in Marie Simmons' "Pancakes A-Z." Note that for the buttermilk, I just put 1 1/2 tsp. cider vinegar in a measuring cup and then add regular milk to 1 1/2 cup. I almost never have buttermilk on hand, and this is how I get around it.

• Ready In: 25 mins
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 18 pancakes

Ingredients

• 1  cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1  cup whole wheat flour
• 1  tablespoon brown sugar, packed
• 1  teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2  large bananas, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 1⁄2 cups buttermilk
• 1⁄2 cup  vegetable oil
• 3  large eggs, separated
• 1  teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1⁄2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

• FOR SYRUP

• 1  cup maple syrup
• 1  tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, puree the bananas (or mash them smoothly with a potato masher). Add the buttermilk, oil, egg yolks and vanilla. Process or whisk to blend.
3. Pour banana mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until just blended. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form; fold into the batter until just blended.
4. Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet, brush with a thin film of oil or cooking spray. For each pancake, pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter onto the griddle. Cook until tops are bubbly and bottoms lightly browned. Turn and cook until lightly browned on the other side. Repeat with the remaining batter.
5. For the syrup, combine ingredients into a small microwavable pitcher. Heat for 45 seconds. Whisk until combined.
6. Serve pancakes with sprinkled with chopped walnuts, cinnamon syrup and a dollop of whipped cream.