Whole Wheat Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes

As I mentioned in my previous post, my husband and I have resolved to eat lighter. Since giving up my Saturday morning pancakes is not an option, I whipped up this healthier version last weekend. They turned out fluffy and flavorful; I highly recommend this recipe, slightly modified from one on Cooking Light.

printable recipe

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes

yield: 12 pancakes (6 servings)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon (optional, recommended if using blueberries)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (optional)

Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups, level with a knife. Combine flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Combine buttermilk, oil, egg, and egg white, stirring with a whisk; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

Heat a nonstick griddle or nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto griddle. Sprinkle each pancake with a handful of blueberries, if using.

Turn pancakes over when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Serve with butter and syrup.

Linking to Fresh, Clean and Pure Friday.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Pancakes

Last night we put our children to bed at 8 as usual then enjoyed some popcorn and a movie downstairs. When we headed upstairs to bed, I noticed that Nathan's bedroom light was on. Opening the door, this is what we found:

I guess he had gotten up to play and fallen asleep on the floor. We had a good chuckle and put him back to bed, but I would not have been as amused if I had realized how many more times throughout the night he would be getting up. Our friends gave him a train table that their boys have outgrown and Nathan loves it so much that he apparently decided it was playtime at 3, 4, and 6 AM this morning. Needless to say, as the parent who is the lighter sleeper, it was a little bit of a rough night for me.

Fortunately, I have an amazing husband! In the morning, he got up with the kids and let me sleep in. Pure bliss. On top of that he made me these fantastic pancakes AND took notes on how he did it so I could post it for all of you. I hope you all enjoy these as much as I did!

There are three parts to this recipe:

1.  Cream Cheese Sauce

         4 oz Cream Cheese, softened

         1/4 C Milk

         2 T Sugar

2.  Blueberry Sauce

         1 C Blueberries, rinsed and drained

         1/4 C Sugar

         1/4 C Water

         2 t Corn Starch

3.  Blueberry Pancakes

         Use this Pancake Recipe

         1/2 C Blueberries

Cream Cheese Sauce

Mix the cream cheese and milk together in a mixer until combined.

Add the sugar and mix on high until combined.

Pour the sauce into a bowl and refrigerate until the pancakes are ready.

Blueberry Sauce

 Rinse and strain the blueberries.

Place the blueberries and sugar into a saucepan.

Smash the blueberries and mix with the sugar. Turn the burner on low and let sit for several minutes. This is an excellent time to start the pancakes.

Once the berries have warmed up add the water and bring to a boil.

Once the sauce is boiling add the cornstarch and whisk until slightly thickened.

Set the sauce aside until the pancakes are ready.

Blueberry Pancakes

Mix the pancake batter according to the recipe and pour the batter out onto a griddle. While the pancakes are cooking drop the blueberries into the batter. Mixing the berries with the batter can result in broken berries, this way keeps them whole.

Once the pancakes are done arrange on a plate and top with the cream cheese sauce.

Add the blueberry sauce and enjoy! These are very rich, I would say 1-2 pancakes per serving, the recipe yields 8 pancakes total.

Pancakes a la Betty Crocker

I love making pancakes from scratch. They are so quick to whip up with ingredients I always have on hand, and they are so much better than pancakes from a mix! When we first got married I shared this recipe with my husband and since then he has made pancakes so often for me that he has the recipe memorized. What can I say, he loves me and I love pancakes.

I have gotten a couple of requests for my pancake recipe recently. It is just a basic Betty Crocker recipe but I thought I would share it with you today, as well as my trick for freezing the leftover pancakes so they don't stick together. Have I ever mentioned how much I love leftovers? Well I do, and leftover pancakes are no exception!

Two variations on this recipe:
1) if you have buttermilk, by all means use it! However, you'll need to decrease the baking powder to 2 tsp and add 1/2 tsp baking soda.
2) for a very hearty meal, use whole wheat flour (I do about 1/3 cup and use all purpose for the rest so they don't get too heavy) and spread peanut butter on the cakes instead of butter. Sounds gross, but it tastes great and is very filling. This breakfast got me through many a Saturday 12 hour serving shift at Applebee's when I was pregnant with my daughter.

Pancakes a la Betty Crocker

printable recipe 

1 egg

1 cup flour

3/4 cup milk

1 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp oil

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

In a bowl, beat the egg until fluffy. 

Add the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.

 Pour about 3 Tbsp batter onto hot griddle (drops of water should skitter when the temp is right). If you are going to add blueberries (or chocolate chips if you want to be really health conscious), now is the time to sprinkle them on. I prefer this method over simply mixing them into the batter because it doesn't crush the berries and ensures even distribution. I am an equal opportunity pancake maker.

When edges are starting to dry and the pancakes are bubbly and puffed, it is time to flip. These are exactly how you want them to look. Ready for the perfect flip?

Beautiful! If you use buttermilk, your pancakes may be a bit darker even though they aren't overcooked. That's just how buttermilk rolls.

My husband likes to keep me fat and happy by adding a little pat of butter to melt onto the top of each pancake while the second side is cooking. Only add the butter to the pancakes you are going to be eating fresh, though.

Serve in a stack with hot syrup poured on top. Yummy! Wasn't that easy? Please pretend not to notice the chip in my plate. This is our life, flaws and all.

Bonus: my trick for freezing pancakes without having them all stick together (this works for cookies too).

Let pancakes cool to room temperature. Place in a single layer on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper and stick in the freezer for 20 minutes to an hour. Or forget about them all day like I did. When you finally do remember them, pull them out, place in a freezer bag, and put back in the freezer. They will not be stuck together when you pull them out for breakfast tomorrow next week.

Pumpkin Pancakes with Cinnamon Syrup

 

This is the stuff that great breakfasts are made of. I had pumpkin left over from making pumpkin bread and buttermilk from breakfast that we made for some family that visited last weekend, so I decided to try to find a recipe that incorporated both. I'm so glad I did as these pancakes are superb. The pumpkin flavor gives it a nice seasonal touch without being over-powering. 

This recipe is modified from one found here.

Pumpkin Pancakes with Cinnamon Syrup

printable recipe

Makes 14-18 pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
dash of ground cloves
dash of ground nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 2/3 cups buttermilk
6 Tbsp packed brown sugar
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp butter, melted

Mix first 8 ingredients in medium bowl to blend.

Whisk buttermilk, sugar, pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter in large bowl until well blended.

Add to dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.

Spray a griddle with cooking spray. Drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto griddle.

Cook pancakes until bubbles form on top and bottoms are golden brown.

Turn pancakes over. This is not a perfect flip, but look at the beautiful color on top of the pancake. Buttermilk, baby.

Cook until bottoms are golden brown. Repeat with remaining batter.

Cinnamon Syrup

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup water

Stir together dry ingredients in a small saucepan.

Then add water and vanilla.

Bring to a rolling boil, stirring often.

Continue boiling and stir until mixture starts to thicken, about 5 to 8 minutes.

*Note: if you half the syrup recipe like we did, your cooking time will be shorter, 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and let stand a few minutes before serving. It will continue to thicken as it stands.

 Serve pancakes hot with cinnamon syrup and a dusting of powdered sugar.