I don’t know if I’ve mentioned our trip out to Sauvie Island from last weekend or not. It’s just a 20-minute-ish drive from our house, and yet we totally escape the city. It’s a little island north of town that’s full of farms where you can “U-pick” just about anything. We’ve done apples, peaches and more, and we go several times a year. It’s something I always look forward to – especially when it’s the middle of the rainy season.

We had our first trip of the summer out there this weekend. Dave and I drove up on Saturday morning and picked about 8 pounds combined of strawberries, blueberries, regular raspberries and golden raspberries. The strawberries were very ripe and went straight into jam. But not before we got a good breakfast in.

I remember loving blueberry pancake syrup when I was little. I’m still not really a maple syrup girl, but this blueberry syrup I will eat with a spoon.

And while we’ve made blueberry pancakes before on the blog, we haven’t made them whole wheat. I love the depth of flavor whole wheat flour brings to any application it’s used in, but especially pancakes and waffles. These pancakes manage to be quite light despite using only whole wheat, as opposed to a combination with AP.

A note on the syrup: ideally it would be made in advance so it can cool and thicken up before use.

For the syrup:
1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 Tbsp. water
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup additional water
1/2 cup sugar
Additional 1/2 cup fresh blueberries (keep separate)

Begin by dissolving the cornstarch into the 3 Tbsp. water. Set aside.

Heat the 1 1/2 cups blueberries, water and sugar in a saucepan until it comes to a low boil. Crush the blueberries with the spoon as they soften.

Add the cornstarch, stir well and bring to a rolling bowl. As soon as the pan reaches the bigger boil, turn the heat back down to medium and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Stir in remaining blueberries.

Allow to cool so the sauce can thicken.

For the pancake syrup:

For the pancakes:

2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 3/4 cups milk
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3/4 cup fresh blueberries

In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the honey, eggs, milk and vegetable oil. Add the liquids to the solids, and mix until just combined, then stir in blueberries (without crushing).

Heat 2 tbsp. butter in a skillet. When the skillet is hot, dish scant 1/4 cup-increments into the pan and cook the pancakes on one side until little bubbles start to come up to the surface. Flip and cook for just another minute or too – you can sneak a peek underneath the pancake to check on how done they are.

Keep pancakes in a warm oven or toaster oven while you finish the batch. Serve with blueberry syrup and more fresh blueberries!