Blueberry Pancakes

By golly, I think I've done it -- found my perfect pancake recipe, that is. I've gone through so many at this point and haven't yet found a great one; they're too buttery (I'm looking at you, Alton), not fluffy enough, spread out too thinly, etc. This one, however, fits all requirements.

I make pretty small pancakes (not silver dollar-sized, but smaller than average), so this made ~30 for me. If you like your pancakes larger (restaurant-sized), Heidi recommends that this makes ~12. If you have extra, these freeze beautifully. Lay them out in a single layer on a tray and freeze for 30 minutes, then toss in a plastic bag. You can defrost them in the toaster or oven.

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

(Note: Heidi includes what looks like a great recipe for blueberry maple syrup. Click on the link above to check it out!)

Ingredients:

• 2 c. white whole-wheat flour (I used 1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour and 1 c. whole-wheat flour.)
• 1 tsp. aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/3 c. natural granulated sugar (I used turbinado sugar.)
• 1/2 tsp. fine-grain sea salt
• 2-1/4 c. buttermilk (We had no milk in the house, as we just returned from vacation, so I turned 2-1/8 c. half-and-half into buttermilk by adding ~2 Tbsp. lemon juice.)
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 Tbsp. butter, melted (Heidi recommends to melt in the pan skillet you are going to use, but I have a large griddle, so I melted the butter in a separate bowl and sprayed the griddle with Pam.)
• 1 pint fresh blueberries

Directions:

• Heat the pan or griddle over medium-high heat. It will be hot enough to use when a drop of water sizzles quickly.
• Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt) in a bowl.
• Mix the wet ingredients (buttermilk, eggs and butter) together in a separate bowl, then whisk into the dry ingredients (be sure not to overmix; lumps are okay). Fold the blueberries into the batter.
• Drop the batter onto the skillet. I get 2 pancakes out of each ladle of batter. When the pancakes have started to bubble and the underside has turned golden-brown, flip them (only flip them once, as handling them too much will make them tough.)

Time to flip!

• The other side should be finished cooking in 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately or freeze (instructions to do so are above).

Verdict:
I loved these. Loved them! Using whole-wheat flour makes the pancake a bit more flavorful and nutritious, the batter is sturdy enough to hold a ton of fruit (I used the entire pint that came in our Greenling box last week) without ending up with a dense pancake, and they weren't too buttery. The pancake is a great vehicle for fruit and when you bite into them, the blueberries really burst with flavor.