This post has been brought to you by our friends at Valley Fig Growers.
When you think of meal prep, what comes to mind? Maybe making big batches of whole grains, and chopping vegetables to make last minute assembly a cinch? With a New Year come renewed opportunities to eat well and feel great. Enter #MealPrepMonday.
At Valley Fig Growers, we believe that eating well doesn’t mean sacrificing flavor and partnered with our friends at Bob’s Red Mill to prep for the year ahead through the SMART goal (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-Based) of meal prep. Working ahead sets you up for success during the week. And cooking with nutrient-dense ingredients like our California Mission Figs or their Organic Whole Wheat Flour the idea behind this month-long collaboration came from wanting to get back into gear of healthy eating after an indulgent holiday season in a way that is realistic, totally doable, and delicious. We’ve tapped a few of our favorite home cooks and bloggers to share a different recipe and their meal prep tips each Monday during January, featuring Bob’s Red Mill Organic Farro or Organic Whole Wheat Flour and Blue Ribbon Orchard Choice California Mission Figs from Valley Fig Growers—so stay tuned!
We are always looking for a good hack too—and that’s where our idea for whole wheat sheet pan pancakes come in. Pancakes for us are something usually only relegated to weekend breakfasts when when we can linger at the table with our coffee and not feel rushed to get to work or drop off the kids at school. Could we make pancakes for rushed mornings that would only need a quick reheat and change up the weekday routine? Baking the whole wheat pancake batter in a sheet pan is a quick hands-free way to take care of breakfast for the week (or this recipe would be a winner for large crowd breakfasts). There’s nothing hard about making the fig swirl, just steep, pulverize in a food processor, spoon on, and swirl. You’ll love the natural sweetness of California Figs and honey in a topping that’s really fun to swirl with a chopstick. Come Monday morning, all you need is a few minutes (and maybe a big cup of coffee) to get this breakfast on the table.
Whole Wheat Sheet Pan Pancakes with California Fig Swirl
Makes 15 servings
Ingredients
California Fig Jam
- 2 cups (10.5 ounces) Blue Ribbon Orchard Choice California Figs, stemmed
- 1 1/2 cups boiling water
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Dash of kosher salt
Whole Wheat Pancake Batter
- 2 cups Bob's Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat Flour or Bob's Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
Method
Make the Jam: steep the figs in the boiling water with the honey, vanilla, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt, for 10 minutes, giving the bowl a good stir to incorporate ingredients. Drain and reserve the soaking liquid. Place the figs in the bowl of a food processor and slowly stream in the soaking liquid while the figs are being pureed. You can transfer the fig jam to a squeeze bottle, pastry bag with round tip, or plastic bag (you’ll cut off ¼ inch off the corner for a squeeze bag), or you can use a spoon to decorate with jam. Do a practice run on a paper towel or empty plate to ensure whatever method you chose will work with the vessel and jam.
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line an 18x13 half sheet pan with parchment paper and coat with cooking spray. Whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. With a different whisk and in a separate bowl, beat the eggs and then whisk in the buttermilk and butter. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Don’t over-mix, but instead stir until just combined (it will be lumpy but the flour should be mixed in). Transfer the batter to the prepared sheet pan. Squeeze or spoon small mounds (think ½ tablespoon increments) of the jam 1/2 inch apart, polka dotting the batter. Drag a chopstick through the mounds of the jam to create the swirl.
Place the sheet pan in the oven onto the center rack and turn down the heat to 400°f. Bake for 15 minutes or until the top of the pancake springs back to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean of crumbs. Slice and serve.
