Blueberry Pancakes

My favourite part of the weekend is lazy, Saturday morning breakfast.  Ever day of the week is like a battle, trying to get everyone dressed, fed, and out the door in time for school.  In contrast, Saturday mornings are indulgently languid.  There is nothing as liberating as a second cup of coffee (or tea!) while reading a magazine.   Add to it a big “weekend-worthy” breakfast and you have bliss.

Pancakes are a very approachable family breakfast, but there are actually a lot of tricks to getting the perfect batch of pancakes.  Follow these rules and your first batch will turn out as great as the last:

1. Pancakes cook best over relatively low heat.  If you keep the griddle too hot, the outsides will cook too quickly and the inside will be runny.  I start just below medium heat, but decrease if necessary.  With a bit of trial and error, you will find the perfect spot on your stove.
2. You don’t want your batter to be too thick (or too thin).  I keep the batter itself relatively thick, but after pouring it onto the griddle, I even out the batter with an offset spatula (the back of a spoon works too).
3. When using frozen berries, be sure to add them after you pour the batter so the entire batter doesn’t become purple.
4. If you have a griddle- this is the perfect time to break it out.  If not, invest in a cast iron pan and season it properly!
5. Lastly- do not over-mix!  You want to mix the dry ingredients into the wet just until you don’t see dry flour.  Lumps are ok- in fact necessary.

This recipe is now my go-to pancake batter.  It contains yogurt and a portion of whole wheat flour which makes it feel hearty (in a good way).  If you do not keep whole wheat flour on hand, it works with just all-purpose flour as well.

Eat with a cup of tea and a magazine on hand.  It really improves the taste!

Blueberry Pancakes
Smitten Kitchen

2 large eggs
1 cup plain, full-fat yogurt
4 Tbsp milk
3 Tbsp butter, plus extra for buttering the skillet
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp plus 2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
1 cup blueberries

Melt half of the butter.  Remove from the hear and stir in the remaining butter until melted (note: this keeps your butter from being too hot when you add it to the other ingredients)

Whisk egg and yogurt together in the bottom of a medium/large bowl.  If you are using Greek yogurt, add all 4 Tbsp of milk.  If not, start with 2 Tbsp and add more if it is too thick.  Whisk in melted butter, zest, and vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Stir dry ingredients into the wet only until the dry ingredients are moistened.  Do not over-mix, a few lumps are fine.

Heat the oven to 200 F (to keep pancakes warm).  Heat your skillet or griddle (preferably cast iron) on medium heat.  Melt a pad of butter in the bottom, and once heated, ladle 1/4 cup of batter at a time, leaving space between each pancake.  Press a few berries into the top of each pancake.  Use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to gently nudge the batter until it is flat.  When the pancakes are dry around the edges and you can see bubbles forming on the top, about 3-4 minutes, flip them and cook for another 3 minutes, until golden underneath.

Note: if your pancakes begin cooking too quickly, or if the edges brown but the inside is not set, lower the heat.

Transfer the pancakes to the warm oven as they are done while you cook the remaining batter.