Pancakes for Dinner

Feeling Hungry?

I was, too, when I got home from work. Sometimes there are just those nights when you want something comforting, breakfast-inspired even, for dinner. And it was one of those nights recently. This is what I made.

Banana-Pecan Corn Meal Pancakes

As published on The Daily Meal

Growing up, my family and I would always tweak our favorite pancake recipe from Craig Claiborne's 1961 New York Times Cook Book, adding a little bit of whole wheat flour instead of white flour, and Gray's JonnyCake Corn Meal for added texture.

Living in New York City, it’s hard to find my beloved Gray’s, and I don’t always have flour and baking soda on hand, having recently moved. I developed this recipe for those times when I’m in a pinch. It’s healthy, too—the cornmeal adds fiber, while instead of oil, I use plain or vanilla yogurt to keep the fat down.

Oil, for the skillet

1 1/2 cups corn meal mix, preferably Bob’s Red Mill or Aunt Jemima

3 tablespoons raw granulated brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, plus more for garnish (optional)

2 eggs

1/2 cup yogurt, preferably Stonyfield Whole Milk Vanilla

3/4 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 ripe bananas

1 cup pecan halves

Maple syrup, for serving

Preheat the griddle to 350 degrees, or prepare your skillet with oil (but don't heat yet).

In a large bowl, combine the corn meal mix, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir to combine.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs. Add the yogurt, milk, and vanilla and mix well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently combine.

Preheat skillet over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, slice two of the four bananas very thin and add to the batter.

When your cooking surface is ready, drop pancakes by ¼ cupfuls onto the hot surface. Cook until bubbles begin to form around the sides, and the bottom is golden. Flip and cook until the other side is golden, about a couple minutes more.

While the pancakes cook, toast the pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat or in a toaster oven until fragrant, and heat up the maple syrup in a pitcher in a saucepan of water, or in the microwave (be careful it doesn’t boil over).

Serve with more sliced bananas on top, toasted pecans, and maple syrup. A dusting of cinnamon never hurts.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Serves 4