Makeover Monday: Mulberry Pancakes

Last week I shared my recipe for sugar-free mulberry syrup.  I made it several weeks ago, but hadn't been able to actually enjoy it on a hot stack of pancakes because my husband and I have been traveling every weekend.  Although we traveled this weekend for an out of town wedding, we were at least able to spend some time at home Saturday morning.  Finally!  And Saturday mornings mean Saturday morning breakfast. 

I was super excited to try out my mulberry syrup and wanted the perfect pancake accompaniment.  In case you haven't checked out the syrup recipe yet (shame on you if you haven't!) in the process you simmer the mulberries in water until they are soft and then mash them.  When I have made this syrup in the past I threw the resulting mulberry pulp away.  I hated doing that.  It seemed like such a waste of one of my favorite summer treats.  This time I saved the pulp.  I knew I could use it somehow.   And then I realized that the perfect pancakes for my mulberry syrup would be mulberry pancakes.  Turns out mulberry pancakes + mulberry syrup = summer breakfast bliss.  That's math I would go to summer school for!

You know when I do pancakes, I do them the healthy way.  These tasty pancakes are whole wheat, low fat, and packed with mulberry goodness.  Usually I use applesauce instead of oil in my pancakes.  But since I used a cup of mulberry mash, I didn't even both with the applesauce.  I was a little concerned about the mulberry seeds and considered how I might remove them.  But then I decided to just leave them.  That was definitey the right call.  They added a bit of a crunch to the pancakes, similar to the poppyseeds I added to my strawberry poppy seed pancakes.  Plus, removing them would have been a total pain.  I like my breakfast to be as pain free as possible!

I thought these pancakes were terrific.  And they earned my husband's distinction of "positively delightful."  They were thick, hearty, healthy, sweet, and bursting with bright mulberry flavor.  Not to mention they had a little purple tint to them, which is my favorite color!  Then I added my mulberry syrup.  And my world got a little better.  I take that back.  It got a lot better. 

I absolutely love this stuff. I don't think my syrup is going to last me near long enough. I have got to find some more mulberry trees! If you haven't gone mulberry hunting yet, you are missing out. So get off your computer and get searching! Then come back, and make a batch of mulberry pancakes and top it off with amazing mulberry syrup. And savor that summer flavor!

Mulberry Pancakes
Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp Splenda
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1 cup mulberry puree
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
Directions:
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, Splenda, and baking powder.
In another bowl or large liquid measuring cup, whisk together milk, mulberry puree, egg, and vanilla.  Add to dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
Laddle onto hot skillet, 1/4 cup at a time.  Cook until golden brown on bottom, flip, and cook until cooked through.  Serve with butter and mulberry syrup.