Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes: Light and Fluffy Comfort Food

A few years ago, when a friend was visiting, I offered to make her chocolate chip pancakes the morning that she was leaving. But I am terrible at making pancakes.

Of an entire bowl of batter, I think we ended up with two.

The rest of the batch were either burnt and charred or worse, still goopy inside, wet and uncooked. It’s a good thing there was also cereal around or, frankly, we’d have starved.

I probably don’t have to tell you my problem was timing: Over and over, I’d leave the batter on the skillet too long, or not long enough. I am fairly terrible at timing, and I think it’s safe to say this is not just with pancakes.

You may be aware that Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras also tends to fall on the same date as National Pancake Day.

The origin of this connection goes back to England, when people prepared for Lent by clearing out their pantries of all dairy products (butter, eggs, milk) which would be forbidden during the 40 days until Easter.

Again, I’m a little off with my timing when it comes to the post date of this recipe.

The truth is, I’ve been wanting pancakes since I saw a picture of these, piled high and drenched in syrup and butter. Last Saturday, it was time to try this thing again.

A few initial findings:

• When you put the batter on the skillet or on an electric griddle, you really have to leave it there for a few minutes. No nervous peeking underneath to see how it’s coming.
• If you do things right, small air bubbles will appear on the uncooked top of the batter that’s facing you, about three minutes after you put it on there – and that’s how you know when to flip.
• Because I am just one person, it’s a good idea to cut any pancake recipe in half if I’ll be breakfasting alone.

(Of course, attempting to divide things in half in your head, especially while you’re also watching TV online, can be problematic. I ended up creating a full batch of the dry ingredients and sectioning off half to use next time. Maybe this will turn out to be a good thing?)

But here’s what really matters: it worked.

After three minutes on each side on the hot, oiled skillet, the lumpy batter turns smooth and golden brown, with beautifully darkened edges that are just slightly crispy.

Buttermilk adds a rich, subtly sour flavor to the pancakes, complemented by the tartness of the fresh berries, which is especially nice topped with real maple syrup.

And the soft texture, creamy and warm as it dissolves on your tongue, at once acidic and also sweet, makes a great start to your morning – any morning, anytime.

The Recipe

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

Votes: 4 Rating: 4.75 You: Rate this recipe!

Print Recipe

These fluffy pancakes include buttermilk, which adds a rich, subtly sour flavor, complemented by tart, fresh berries and topped with real maple syrup.

Servings	Prep Time
8 "big" pancakes	10 minutes

Cook Time

10 minutes

Servings Prep Time 8 "big" pancakes 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes Votes: 4 Rating: 4.75 You: Rate this recipe! Print Recipe These fluffy pancakes include buttermilk, which adds a rich, subtly sour flavor, complemented by tart, fresh berries and topped with real maple syrup. Servings Prep Time 8 "big" pancakes 10 minutes Cook Time 10 minutes Servings Prep Time 8 "big" pancakes 10 minutes Cook Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly (1/2 stick)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh Blueberries
• vegetable oil for the skillet
• maple syrup for serving

Servings: "big" pancakes

Units:MetricUS Imperial

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt with a whisk.
2. Beat the eggs in another mixing bowl and while continuing to whisk, add the buttermilk and butter. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the bowl containing the dry ingredients and stir just until blended. It's okay if the batter is a little lumpy. You do not want to overmix.
3. Fold in the fresh blueberries and gently stir to combine.
4. Heat an electric or stove-top griddle or nonstick skillet to medium heat. Add a bit of oil to the skillet. Pour the batter onto the griddle, using 1/2 cup each for larger six-inch pancakes (makes 8) or reduce to 1/4 cup for smaller ones (makes 16). Be sure to leave a little space between them. Cook for about 3 minutes on the first side until some bubbles form on top and leave little holes on the surface along the outer edges.
5. Flip the pancakes and cook on the other side until golden. Serve with fresh berries, butter, and maple syrup.

Nutritional Info*

Cooking by the Numbers…

This recipe makes 8 large six-inch sized cakes or 16 smaller pancakes, so don’t be afraid to halve it if you need to. Of course, you could keep the batter raw in the refrigerator and make a couple of meals out, of it or even cook all of it and freeze the leftovers for later use.

Step 1 – Organize and Prep

Measure out and organize all of your ingredients.

Step 2 – Mix the Dry Ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients including the sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

I used a balloon whisk but you may want to choose a different style, as you will see below.

Step 2 – Mix the Wet Ingredients and Blend

In a separate medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, and then add in the buttermilk and butter and whisk until everything is incorporated.

Pour the buttermilk mixture into the bowl containing the dry ingredients and stir just until blended. It’s okay if the batter is a little lumpy. You do not want to overmix.

Note that I wasn’t overly fond of the wire balloon whisk in blending in the batter. Portions congealed on the insides of the wire cage and it took some digging to get it removed. An easy-release silicone whisk would have been better for this.

Do not over blend the batter. Over mixing encourages the formation of gluten strands, which would make the pancakes too chewy and more like homemade bread.

Step 4 – Fold in the Blueberries

At this point I switched to an OXO flat whisk as I needed to mix in the blueberries without crushing them, and that balloon-style version would have pulverized them.

Step 5 – Pour and Cook

Heat an electric or stove-top griddle or nonstick skillet to medium. In this case, I’m using a Cuisinart GR-4N 5-in-1 Griddler. Add a bit of oil to the skillet.

Pour the batter onto the oiled surface. If you want large six-inch cakes as shown here, use 1/2 cup of batter for each. For smaller sizes, reduce this to 1/3 or 1/4 cup each.

Allow to cook until you see bubbles forming and leaving craters like the surface of the moon on most of the cake. The top can still be a bit runny with bubbles forming, popping, and refilling.

Step 6 – Flip and Brown

At this point you’ll want to flip the the pancakes and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes until they become golden.

Remove from griddle as soon as they’ve browned, plate up, and serve. Add some more chilled fresh blueberries for an added burst of sweet flavor to counterbalance the sweetness if desired (plus, they make a nice garnish).

You really don’t need any extra butter added to these. They are so good served warm right off the griddle. Serve with a natural maple syrup and watch as sheer joy appears on the faces of friends and family when they try a bite.

About Shanna Mallon

Shanna Mallon is a freelance writer who holds an MA in writing from DePaul University. Her work has been featured in a variety of media outlets, including The Kitchn, Better Homes & Gardens, Taste of Home, Houzz.com, Foodista, Entrepreneur, and Ragan PR. In 2014, she co-authored The Einkorn Cookbook with her husband, Tim. Today, you can find her digging into food topics and celebrating the everyday grace of eating on her blog, Go Eat Your Bread with Joy. Shanna lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with Tim and their two small kids.

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