Receta Buttermilk Pancakes, for Two
On weekends, I like to treat my men to homemade pancakes with pure maple syrup. Oh, wait! I'm now living with my one man, now that my son has flown he coop and is living (quite happily) in Texas.
I've posted many recipes for pancakes, but I'm always game to try new ones. I especially like recipes that have been adjusted for just the two of us. I think it'll take time for me to wrap my head around my son's absence, and I do miss that. But, as long as he is happy and enjoying his new career, this Mama is cheering him on!
You will see me posting, often, from this cookbook. I've said it many times. and I will continue to say, that I really like the cookbooks from the America's Test Kitchen (who also own Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country). They test their recipes over and over again, until it's just right. I can, pretty much, know that as long as I follow their recipe-- I'm going to like it. I particularly like to read the preface to each recipe about "WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS".
The day that I received this cookbook, I bookmarked a lot of their recipes. I've already shared the secret to their "Perfect Fried Eggs" recipe. So, now I'll share their recipe for perfect buttermilk pancakes.
First, WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
..."We loved the tangy flavor that the buttermilk imparted, but too much made our batter runny; we found the supplementing the buttermilk with sour cream gave us the tang we were after without diluting the batter."-- "America's Test Kitchen"
There's more about why this recipe works-- from adding a little sugar for the perfect balance of sweetness, to a reminder not to over beat the batter--lest you get tough pancakes.
A combination of baking powder and baking soda gives the pancakes a perfect rise.
Of course, pure maple syrup is the perfect finishing touch for homemade pancakes. It costs a lot more than pancake syrup, but there isn't any artificial flavor or icky ingredients. Plus, I use maple syrup for so many recipes-- so it's always in my pantry.
TASTING NOTES: You might wonder if you can make your own buttermilk with milk and vinegar or lemon juice. I've posted a recipe like that here that works just that way. For this recipe, I wanted to stick to real buttermilk. Since I'm a baker as well, I use buttermilk often-- so I always keep a quart on hand.
The pancakes were, indeed, tender. You can't taste the sour cream, and these were a success. Best of all, we each ate three pancakes and weren't tempted to go for more-- because there weren't any. Perfect!
I recently posted these Cornmeal Pancakes, that are also really REALLY good. I just need to work on scaling the recipe down to make just six pancakes.