I’ve made my fair share of pancakes but these guys are the.best.ever. Seriously, they are even better than Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes. Now you really know that I mean business because there aren’t many things better than streusel in my book.
I know buttermilk pancakes may seem humble and even a bit boring to most but sometimes it’s nice to just keep things simple and perfect. Like cheesecake for example, why all the crazy mix-ins? I like mine plain with a little fresh strawberry sauce…no need to be adding peanut butter, chocolate, cookie dough, pretzel madness for me. Sorry for the rant but some things are just better left alone. Anyway, back to the pancakes…
I don’t mean to go overboard here but it was like I had entered a dream world as I watched these pancakes puff up to incredible heights while cooking on the griddle. I mean, look at them!
I’ve never made or eaten such fluffy pancakes. And I will never, eva make any other version of buttermilk pancakes. Just a bit of butter and a pool of pure maple syrup atop these bad boys. Heaven.
Buttermilk Pancakes
recipe from America’s Test Kitchen
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
2 large eggs
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1. In a medium bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. In a second bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, eggs and butter. Make a well in the bowl with the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid mixture. Carefully fold wet and dry ingredients together being careful not to overmix the batter. It will be lumpy. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, preheat a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Spray the griddle with non-stick cooking spray. Drop batter by 1/4 cupful’s and watch for bubbles and for the edges to set. Flip then cook for another minute or two, until golden brown. Enjoy!
These are simply amazing. Definitely not the pancakes you make every weekend but a great occasional recipe to break out for special celebrations. Pancakes are usually for special occasions around here anyway. I don’t know why I don’t make them often because we love them…just don’t think about them I guess. And I don’t have a griddle so I basically make them one at a time which can take quite awhile if I’m cooking for a crowd.
Obviously, it’s the cinnamon streusel that puts these pancakes over the top. I have made these pancakes twice, the first time with the full amount of streusel and the second with half the amount. I found that the full amount was of course amazing but they were still really great with only half of what the original recipe states. I didn’t miss the extra streusel too much so I think I will halve it in the future. I left the recipe at the full amount so you can go ahead and make your own decision (sugar overload or just short of it?).
We just love these pancakes. Noah enjoyed them as his second breakfast. Second breakfast you ask? Well, Noah usually gets up around 6:30 or 7:00 and eats Greek yogurt and Cheerios. On Saturday, Joel gets up with Noah so I can sleep in then once I wake up (usually around 8:30) I try and make a yummy, homemade breakfast. When we sit down to eat and put Noah in his highchair he thinks he needs to eat again. And it’s just mean and torturous to eat in front of him without sharing. Alas, second breakfast. I know this blog is all about food but I couldn’t help but share this picture and video of Noah enjoying his pancake.
Streusel mixture:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
10 Tbsp cold butter
Pancake mixture:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk (I substituted sour milk see note below)
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1. Prepare the streusel mixture by mixing the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Then using a large shred cheese grater, you grate the butter into the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon mixture. Grate a little and then stir it in and continue until all the butter has be grated. You want a nice crumbly mixture. If you don’t have the cheese grater you can cut the butter into small pieces and use a fork or pastry blender, but I love to use the cheese grater method.
2. In another bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients for the pancake mixture together.
3. Add all wet ingredients (eggs, buttermilk, and oil) to a separate bowl and stir just until blended.
4. Add the wet ingredient to the dry ingredients just until combined. Do not over mix, batter will be slightly lumpy.
5. Lightly coat skillet with oil. Heat to medium low (I do one notch below medium).
6. Drop 1/2 cup of the pancake batter onto heated skillet. If needed, use the back side of a spoon to help even out the batter. Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp of the streusel mixture.
7. Cook on first side until bubbles begin to form on surface and underside is golden, about 2 minutes. The pancake with be puffy and the streusel mixture will have dissolve into the pancake.
8. Flip over and sprinkle the now cooked side of the pancake with 3 Tbsp of the streusel mixture. You want it nice and even on the pancake. Cook for 2 minutes until golden brown and the streusel is nice and melted on the top of the pancake.
9. Serve warm with maple syrup and butter. Makes 8 large pancakes.
Note: If you don’t have buttermilk just add 1 Tbsp of vinegar or lemon juice to your liquid measuring cup. Then add enough milk to make 1 cup. Allow to sit for 5 minutes and you have a substitute for 1 cup of buttermilk.
Happy early Mother’s Day to all the momma’s out there! This is my first Mother’s Day and I am very excited to spend it with my boys. This recipe would be great to make mom for breakfast in bed! It’s easy, uses ingredients most have on hand and tastes soo good.
The addition of strawberries is great but the cinnamon really put these over the edge for me. I love anything cinnamon or strawberry so they were pretty much a dream come true. This is a great base batter too if strawberries aren’t your thing. Blueberries, chocolate chips, bananas, apples…go crazy!
The strawberries give a sweet punch and a unique texture to the pancakes. I’m sure these would be delicious and decadent topped with some whipped cream and a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips.
1. In a bowl, add the first 6 ingredients and stir to combine.
2. In another small bowl, add the buttermilk, eggs, and butter. Stir to combine.
3. Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients; stir just until combined.
4. Gently fold in the strawberries.
5. Spray a large skilled or griddle with non-stick cooking spray.
6. Pour enough batter into the skillet to make a 5-inch circle; cook the pancakes until the tops are covered with tiny bubbles, then flip them over and finish cooking.
