Whole-Grain Nectarine Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole-grain pastry flour
• 3 tsp granular sugar substitute
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup 1% or fat-free buttermilk
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup trans-fat-free margarine, melted + 1 tbsp unmelted
• 1-2 medium nectarines, sliced (1 cup)
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground star anise

Makes 4 (4-pancake) Servings

1. Heat oven to 200 F
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, 2 teaspoons of the sugar substitute and baking soda.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs and melted margarine. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix just to combine; do not overmix.
4. Coat a large skillet or griddle with cooking spray and heat over medium heat until hot enough to  cause drops of water to scatter over the surface, about 3 minutes. Working in batches if necessary, spoon a heaping tablespoon of batter onto the griddle to form a 3-inch pancake (you will be making 16 pancakes). Cook pancakes until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a heatproof platter and place in the oven to keep warm until ready to serve.
5. In a medium skillet, beat remaining 1 tablespoon margarine over medidum heat until melted. Add nectarines, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, star anise and remaining 1 tsp granular sugar substitute. Cook, stirring occasionally, until nectarines are soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Remove pancakes from the oven and divded among 4 plates. Spoon nectarine slices over pancakes and serve.

WW POINTS VALUE: 6 pts

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook. This is a great meal for breakfast, lunch or even dinner for this summer. Nectarines are in season and they were absolutely declicious spiced up on top of these pancakes. You can make the batter into waffles if you'd like and they will still be delicious. I added the nutmeg, ginger and star anise with the cinnamon to spice up the nectarines and it was worth it. Cooked fruit with the right spices makes the whole dish taste better but may affect the point value. I do highly recommend separating the egg yolks and egg whites and mixing them separately because they make the pancakes fluffier.