Sour Cream Blueberry Pancakes

Three Cheers for the Red, White, and Blue

Recipe Tweaked from Advertising Flyer

According to Ma in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books, no great evil occurs without also bringing some bit of goodness. Thus, when one autumn I mail ordered frozen blueberries that arrived rotten and smashed, I was also graced with this recipe. Sort of. The recipe left out important ingredients and steps, but gave me the idea of adding yogurt or sour cream to pancakes. This makes the pancakes light and fluffy, and makes it easier to tell when to flip them. With the wonderful local blueberries that are available for the near future at the farmers’ market, plus a few seasonal strawberries, I whipped up a brunch that was fun, satisfying, and patriotic.

The All-Blueberry Option

I used a combination of half and half and soymilk for the liquid. The half and half adds richness to the pancakes. You can use any type of milk. The key is to add enough to make the batter thin enough to pour. Otherwise, it will be too thick to make nice flat cakes and it will be difficult to tell when to flip them.

A word about pancake turners: they can make or literally break your cakes, as well as your mood and motivation to pancake-make. After trying many brands, I discovered the Good Cook Epicure Square Turner. It’s small enough to maneuver between the cakes, flexible enough to get under the cakes, and stiff enough to support the half-baked cakes while flipping. It also seems quite indestructible. Bonus: currently it costs just $4. I paid $6 for mine and consider it one of my better investments.

Happy Independence Day to all US readers! It’s a great country, a beautiful summer, and life is good.

Independence Day Breakfast Bar

Blueberry Pancakes

makes about 12

1 cup sifted flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

2 tsp. sugar

¼ tsp. salt

1 egg

½ cup sour cream

½ cup milk or soymilk plus extra as needed

1 tbsp. melted, cooled butter

¾ - 1 cup blueberries

1 – 2 tbsp. organic canola, peanut, or other high-temp cooking oil

Blueberries for garnish

Strawberries for garnish

Real maple syrup for topping

Sift together dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Set aside.

Beat egg until light. Beat milk into egg. Beat in cooled melted butter.

Start heating griddle or electric skillet (350 degrees).

Mix together wet and dry ingredients, stirring vigorously. Do not overbeat, lumps do no harm. Batter should be thin enough to pour. If it’s too thick, stir in milk by the tablespoonful until it can be easily poured from a measuring cup.

Fold in blueberries.

Add about 1 tbsp. peanut or other high-temp cooking oil to the frying pan, and distribute evenly—I mop it around with a paper towel.

Pour batter onto frying pan using a ¼ cup measuring cup. When you see bubbles covering the entire surface of the pancake, lift the edge of a pancake with turner to see if under surface is lightly browned. If so, flip over and lightly brown on other side. Remove to platter.

Continue to make batches of 4 pancakes (or whatever number fits in your pan). Add a little oil for each new batch. (I swish the oiled paper towel over the griddle surface between batches.)

Serve pancakes with warmed maple syrup, extra blueberries, and/or sliced strawberries. Add a dollop of whipped cream or yogurt for Independence Day red, white, and blue flair.

Sour Cream Makes Bubbly Batter = Light, Fluffy Pancakes

 

The Strawberry - Blueberry Option