The Mija Chronicles

Mexican food and culture, on both sides of the border

Hearty corn and oatmeal pancakes

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Last Friday morning, still snuggled in my bed, I suddenly had an intense desire for pancakes. But then I realized I had no flour. My rolling pantry (really a bunch of Elfa drawers from The Container Store) can only fit small packages of flour, and I’d used mine up to make these chocolate and ginger tarts. Whole wheat flour would’ve worked okay. But whole-wheat oatmeal pancakes… ugh, that sounded too dense. (Are you seeing what a picky person I am to live with?)

So I brainstormed alternative pancake flours. Garbanzo… no… semolina… no…. Maseca… hmmm. Yeah. Maseca is a corn flour that most people in Mexico use as a shortcut to make tortillas. I’d bought Maseca to make nicuatole, and it seemed like it was light enough to work in a pancake. To quote Crayton: What’s the worst that could happen?

Oatmeal and corn don’t sound like they go together, and I was expecting them to taste a little strange. But the pancakes actually turned out really well. They didn’t taste overwhelmingly of oatmeal, or of corn, instead rounding out into this generally hearty, grainy taste. I used a combination of plain yogurt and milk, which made them moist. And they were fluffy, too. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Except maybe a mimosa.

Maple syrup seemed odd in this case, so I slathered them with butter and drizzled on honey. If you have any Maseca in your pantry that you’ve been wondering what to do with, this is a perfect recipe. I made them over the weekend for Crayton — okay, technically he made them, since I was on the phone with my mom — and they got his seal of approval.

Recipe below.

Hearty Corn and Oatmeal Pancakes
*Perfect for a weekend when you realize you’ve got no all-purpose flour
Makes six 4 to 5-inch pancakes

Note: These freeze well, wrapped in plastic wrap and then foil. Warm them up in a 350F oven until the outsides are crisp.

Ingredients

Wet
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/2 to 3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. plain yogurt (about 2.5 ounces)
1 large egg

Dry
1/2 heaping cup of oatmeal (2 ounces)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons Maseca flour (2 ounces)
1 teaspoon baking powder
scant 1/4 teaspoon salt

Melt the butter in the microwave and set aside. While the butter is cooling, grab a medium mixing bowl and whisk together the dry ingredients. When butter is cool, add milk, yogurt and egg, stirring until it well-combined. Then, add your wet and dry ingredients together and mix only until you don’t see any dry floury parts. (You don’t want to overmix.) The batter should be thin, but not watery — basically thin enough to pour directly into the pan. If you can scoop it with a spoon, you need more milk.

Heat a skillet over medium-low heat, and spray with nonstick cooking spray, or melt a pat of butter. Using a 1/4 c. measuring cup, scoop up the pancake batter and pour into pan. The pancake is ready to be flipped when bubbles pop up on the surface, and the edges look dry. Note: If the pan is smoking, you’ve got the flame too high.

Serve pancakes with warm butter and honey.

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Comments

  1. Those look really good!
    But this morning, we need to eat up the leftovers of Bob’s Red Mill 10-Grain Cereal and of the Nora Mill Yellow Corn Grits that are sitting in the fridge. I usually fry the leftovers with some beaten egg. Maybe a small amount of baking powder would be a good idea.

    Saludos,
    Don Cuevas

  2. We have MASECA in the cabinet always but I can’t imagine making pancakes with it… they seriously tasted okay?

    • Señora: I promise they’re good. They really don’t taste overwhelmingly of corn or masa. The trick is to mix it with the oatmeal! And having yogurt on hand helps — I think it gives them just the slightest tang, and it makes them really moist. Like buttermilk. You should make them for yourself one day and see what you think. The recipe’s a cinch to pull together.

  3. VERY BASIC OAT JOHNNY CAKE – Add one cup warm water to 1 cup oatmeal and 1 cup ordinary corn meal. Wait 5 minutes or soak over night. This prevents the cornmeal from being gritty. Add 1-2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 tablespoons brown sugar. No milk or fat is necessary.You may wish to add 1-2 beaten eggs for extra nutrition. Bake on a griddle. I use an old fashioned round cast iron griddle on a gas stove. Wipe with a little corn oil to prevent sticking. These take a bit longer to cook than most pancakes.
    Some recommend maple flavoring, but I don’t see any maple sugar trees in Scotland or Mexico. I am lactose intolerant. So I substitute water, orange juice or chicken broth when milk is asked for. All of the above work with the above recipe.

  4. I forgot the 1/2 salt. I also went the store and I think you could substitute fast rising yeast for the baking powder. Mixing the eggs into the warm batter can be, well, a problem, so let it cool and stir quickly. I eat these as finger food. Sweet enough and filling without any fat or sticky stuff involved.

  5. Just made these, and loved them! I had to use quite a bit more milk than 3/4 cup to get the batter thin enough, but they came out fluffy and delicious! You could substitute a GF grain (buckwheat, millet, quinoa, ect.) for the oats to make these truly GF.

    What’s funny is that I had the same problem as you! I was out of flour, had maseca on hand, and in researching recipes for maseca pancakes, yours looked like the winner. I was SO right. Thanks for the recipe!