Blueberry Pancakes to Soothe the Soul

Rich had a long, hard day at work yesterday and I decided to make a comfort food dinner. The original plans had been for broiled fish, which I knew wasn’t going to be the topper he needed on his day. We had blueberries and part of a package of bacon in the fridge, along with a wonderfully fragrant cantaloupe. Menu change – blueberry pancakes, bacon and fresh fruit coming up.

I discovered a few years ago that it was easier to make blueberry pancakes if I added the blueberries to the pancakes while they were on the griddle instead of stirring them into the batter. They don’t make blue streaks in the batter, even when you are using frozen berries, which tend to bleed their color. Side note – I made bright green pancakes once when I experimented with cornmeal pancakes and then decided to throw frozen blueberries into the batter. Not repeatable.

Rich was happily surprised to come home to the aromas of cooking bacon and pancakes instead of fish. “Comfort food” is an over-rated phrase these days, but it has its place. Here’s to comfort food at its finest.

Blueberry Whole Wheat Pancakes
from The Cook’s Life
Makes 8-12 pancakes, easy to double

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk (see note)
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil (not olive oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
Milk or water

Start heating a lightly greased griddle or skillet over medium heat. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients all at once and stir gently, but thoroughly. Don’t try to get all the lumps out, but make sure there aren’t any dry pockets of flour. If batter is too thick to pour, add milk or water, a tablespoon at a time until batter is thinner.

Drop batter onto the hot, greased pan or griddle with a spoon, ladle or measuring cup. Or use a mixing bowl with a spout and pour the batter onto the griddle. Scatter blueberries over the top of each pancake. Leave the pancakes alone until the edges look dry and there are bubbles over the whole surface. Flip over and cook about the same length of time, or a little less, on the other side. Serve as they are cooked or keep hot in a 250 degree oven or toaster oven.

If you have any left over, they can be cooled on racks and then kept in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or two, or frozen for several months. Warm in a toaster oven or toaster just until hot, not crunchy.

Note: Buttermilk comes in 1-cup cartons at the grocery store, and really makes a wonderful pancake. It also keeps for weeks in the fridge. But, if you don’t want to buy buttermilk, you can use about ½ cup plain yogurt and ½ cup regular milk in place of the buttermilk. Or you can measure 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar into a measuring cup and fill it the rest of the way with milk. Stir and let sit for 10-15 minutes to let the milk sour.  

Download recipe here.