Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Raspberry Sauce

For the pancakes:

1. Mix the oats and buttermilk in a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes, or, ideally, overnight.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Add the beaten egg and oil/butter to the oat and buttermilk mixture and stir together.
4. Add the oat mixture to the flour mixture, and stir to blend.
5. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and brush or spray with oil. (Tip: To make sure it’s hot enough, wet your fingers under the faucet and sprinkle a few droplets of water onto the pan. If they sizzle, it’s ready.)
6. Scoop the batter, 1/4 – 1/3 cup at a time onto the pan. (This is where I added the chocolate chips—just drop a few onto the top side of the pancake while the batter is still wet. You could also add berries, nuts, bananas, or any other mix-in you’d like at this point.)
7. When the bottoms are browned and the top is set around the edges, flip the pancakes. Cook until the second side has browned.
8. Re-spray/grease the skillet if needed, and repeat with the remaining batter. If the pancakes begin to brown too quickly, lower the heat just a bit.
9. Serve hot, with maple syrup and raspberry sauce.

For the raspberry sauce:

1. Combine sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
2. Let cook until raspberries have thawed and broken down and the sauce has thickened slightly.
3. Serve warm over pancakes, crepes, or ice cream.