Old-fashioned oatmeal pancakes with butter-molasses sauce

I came across a recipe for Hardscrabble Oatmeal Pancakes in this old Colonial Cookbook recently. Since I love pancakes so much, I had to give them a try - plus I was intrigued by the molasses sauce. 

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These pancakes are "hardscrabble" in that they don't have any bells and whistles - they are just an old-fashioned oatmeal pancake that uses molasses instead of maple syrup. We are trying to eat more frugally lately as sometimes our food bill is insanely high for just two people. So I like meals like these where most, if not all, the ingredients are pantry staples.

So back to these pancakes. This recipe will serve about two to three people. I pretty much always need to have a meat on the side of my pancakes and I highly recommend a few slices of bacon or a slice of thick-cut ham with these because they go very nicely with the molasses sauce.

Old-fashioned oatmeal pancakes with butter-molasses sauce
for the pancakes:
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
butter, for cooking

for the sauce:
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup molasses 

Mix the oats and buttermilk in a large bowl and let stand for 10 minutes. Mix in the remaining ingredients (egg through sugar) and let stand for another 5 minutes. If the batter is too thin, stir in a bit more flour.

Grease a hot griddle with butter and cook the pancakes, about 1/4 cup at a time, over medium heat. When the batter begins to bubble, flip the pancakes and cook until golden on both sides.

Whisk together the butter and molasses in a small pot over low heat until hot.

Serve the pancakes with the sauce and a side of bacon or ham, if desired.