Sweet Potato-Pecan Pancakes

These are SO awesome, for breakfast, brunch or dinner. The original recipe, from March 2001 Cooking Light, called for all purpose flour. I increased the fiber by subbing oat bran and whole wheat pastry flour for most of the white flour. Those commercials for how hard it is to get fiber in your diet make me laugh. Who'd want to choke down some giant pill when getting fiber is this easy and delicious?

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1⁄4 cup  oat bran
• 1⁄2 cup  chopped pecans, toasted and divided
• 2 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1  teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1  cup 1% low-fat milk
• 1⁄4 cup  packed dark brown sugar
• 1  tablespoon canola oil
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2  large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 (16 ounce) can sweet potatoes or 1 (16 ounce) can  yams, drained and mashed (about 3/4 cup or equivalent amount mashed roasted sweet potatoes)

Directions

1. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, level with knife.
2. Combine flour, 1/4 c chopped pecans, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a large bowl.
3. In another bowl, combine milk, sugar, vanilla, oil and eggs and whisk until sugar is dissolved.
4. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until blended.
5. Stir in sweet potatoes.
6. For each pancake, spoon about 1/4 c batter onto hot nonstick griddle or skillet.
7. Turn pancakes when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked.
8. Sprinkle pancakes with remaining pecans and serve with maple syrup.
9. Banana Walnut Variation: This recipe is also delicious subbing bananas for the sweet potatoes, walnuts for the pecans, and either leaving out the spice or subbing cinnamon.
10. Also try subbing rum flavoring for the vanilla.
11. Leftover batter keeps well refrigerated in an airtight container.
12. Pancakes aren't just for weekends!
13. NOTE: any excess sweet potato left over makes a great addition to a protein shake.
14. Add 1/4c to 1/3c sweet potato to a vanilla shake, along with a 1/4t pumpkin pie spice and 1T honey or frozen apple juice concentrate.