Really? My last post was back in June? Wow. It doesn't seem that long ago. Where did the summer go?
Anyway, I'm back by special request of a friend with some ideas for various fruit-flavored pancakes. I'm a huge fan of breakfast food, especially for supper, and pancakes are the quickest, easiest thing to make for such meals. You can make plain pancakes, of course, but with a little forethought, you can have something a little more special. As always, I highly recommend making the pancake batter from scratch--I use Mark Bittman's recipe in "How to Cook Everything"--but you can use a premade mix if you wish.
For all four of these fruit pancakes, you should add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon to the batter, depending on your taste and how many pancakes you're making. Cinnamon really enhances the flavor of all these pancakes. Also, I prefer to use plain yogurt thinned with a little milk, instead of buttermilk, for pancakes. The cakes are lighter and fluffier, closer to a blintz than a traditional pancake.
First, there is the classic blueberry pancake. These are ridiculously easy. You just drop the blueberries onto the pancakes after you've poured the batter onto your skillet or griddle. Don't mix the blueberries into the batter; the juice will turn the batter a nauseating shade of gray. You can use fresh or frozen blueberries. They're small enough that they will thaw within seconds. I always keep a bag of frozen blueberries on hand for pancakes.
Second, I love making peach pancakes. I always end up buying more peaches than I can handle at the farmers market, and they go bad quickly. For peach pancakes, just cut one into small chunks and add it to the batter. If the peach is really juicy, you might want to squeeze those chunks a little before adding them to the batter, just so it doesn't get too loose and runny. I love how the peach chunks get charred and caramelized in the skillet. These pancakes are wonderful with lemon curd, instead of maple syrup.
Third, apple pancakes are a great way to get the flavor of an apple fritter without the deep frying. Depending on how many pancakes you're making, you'll need 1 or 2 medium apples. Peel them and then grate them on a box grater. Then put the grated apple into a sieve and let the juice drain for at least 15 minutes. The apple will turn brown, but it's going to get brown during cooking anyway, so it doesn't matter. After 15 minutes, press or squeeze the grated apple to get as much juice as possible out of it. Then add it to the batter and proceed as normal.
Finally, my favorite way to use up bananas that are on the brink is to make banana pancakes. Just use a fork to mash up a banana in a bowl and then add the rest of the ingredients for the pancakes. You may need to reduce the amount of liquid slightly, depending on how mushy your banana is. After you've made enough pancakes, you'll get a feel for what the batter's consistency should be. Banana pancakes are AMAZING with Nutella instead of maple syrup. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Enjoy!
Anyway, I'm back by special request of a friend with some ideas for various fruit-flavored pancakes. I'm a huge fan of breakfast food, especially for supper, and pancakes are the quickest, easiest thing to make for such meals. You can make plain pancakes, of course, but with a little forethought, you can have something a little more special. As always, I highly recommend making the pancake batter from scratch--I use Mark Bittman's recipe in "How to Cook Everything"--but you can use a premade mix if you wish.
For all four of these fruit pancakes, you should add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon to the batter, depending on your taste and how many pancakes you're making. Cinnamon really enhances the flavor of all these pancakes. Also, I prefer to use plain yogurt thinned with a little milk, instead of buttermilk, for pancakes. The cakes are lighter and fluffier, closer to a blintz than a traditional pancake.
First, there is the classic blueberry pancake. These are ridiculously easy. You just drop the blueberries onto the pancakes after you've poured the batter onto your skillet or griddle. Don't mix the blueberries into the batter; the juice will turn the batter a nauseating shade of gray. You can use fresh or frozen blueberries. They're small enough that they will thaw within seconds. I always keep a bag of frozen blueberries on hand for pancakes.
Second, I love making peach pancakes. I always end up buying more peaches than I can handle at the farmers market, and they go bad quickly. For peach pancakes, just cut one into small chunks and add it to the batter. If the peach is really juicy, you might want to squeeze those chunks a little before adding them to the batter, just so it doesn't get too loose and runny. I love how the peach chunks get charred and caramelized in the skillet. These pancakes are wonderful with lemon curd, instead of maple syrup.
Third, apple pancakes are a great way to get the flavor of an apple fritter without the deep frying. Depending on how many pancakes you're making, you'll need 1 or 2 medium apples. Peel them and then grate them on a box grater. Then put the grated apple into a sieve and let the juice drain for at least 15 minutes. The apple will turn brown, but it's going to get brown during cooking anyway, so it doesn't matter. After 15 minutes, press or squeeze the grated apple to get as much juice as possible out of it. Then add it to the batter and proceed as normal.
Finally, my favorite way to use up bananas that are on the brink is to make banana pancakes. Just use a fork to mash up a banana in a bowl and then add the rest of the ingredients for the pancakes. You may need to reduce the amount of liquid slightly, depending on how mushy your banana is. After you've made enough pancakes, you'll get a feel for what the batter's consistency should be. Banana pancakes are AMAZING with Nutella instead of maple syrup. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Enjoy!
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