One of my favorite things about summer is the huge variety of fresh fruits, berries, and veggies that are available at the grocery store. I love that moment when I walk into the store and am just overwhelmed by produce! I want it all! (Side note: have you walked into the produce section this summer when you’re really hungry? Big mistake! I did that and my tummy was doing the shopping. In about 5 minutes, I had three of everything in my basket.) My family takes advantage of the fresh berries in the summertime and stocks up on strawberries and blueberries. This means two things that get me really excited: homemade strawberry jelly and blueberry pancakes!
Lots of breakfast restaurants offer blueberry pancakes, but that means you have to make yourself presentable to go to the restaurant to eat them…unless, of course, you’re eating at one of those genius restaurants that offer breakfast for dinner because breakfast is always a great idea. But, what if you want some great blueberry pancakes without having to get ready and go somewhere to get them?
Well, another option is to get a pancake mix in a box that just requires that you add water and something resembling pancake battery magically appears in your bowl with little blue things that are advertised as blueberries. But, do you really know what’s in that mix? Or what those little blue things are? If you’re like me, it’s important to know what you eat. So, here’s a super easy blueberry pancake recipe that you can enjoy with your family on a Saturday morning. I am the fourth generation in my family to make this recipe. It is super quick and you can have an awesome breakfast that everyone will love on the table in under 30 minutes.
Blueberry Pancakes
Ingredients:
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup oil
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups blueberries
Instructions:
In a large bowl, combine the flour, eggs, oil, and milk. Stir everything until well blended.
The batter should be fairly smooth. The consistency of your batter is important. If it is too thin, the batter will run on the griddle and the pancakes will be too thin. If the batter is too thick, your pancakes will be really dense. So, how do you know if the consistency is right? When you pick your mixing spoon up out of the bowl, the batter should freely run off the spoon, but it should (for the most part) come off in sheets and not drips. It the batter is dripping off the spoon, you probably want to add some more flour. If it’s coming off in clumps, add some more milk.
Once the batter is ready, add your blueberries.
IMPORTANT: don’t add the blueberries until the batter is mixed and smooth else you will damage the blueberries during the mixing process.
I love to cook my pancakes on an electric griddle. I use the Presto 22 inch griddle because I can cook up to six pancakes at one time which really speeds up the cooking process. My griddle is set to 375 degrees.
Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, begin pouring scoops of batter onto the griddle. After a few minutes, you’ll begin to notice little bubbles in the pancakes. These bubbles are your sign that it’s about time to flip over the pancakes. Once the bubbles are evenly spread throughout the pancake, flip it over. Let it cook on the other side for a few more minutes. Take it off the griddle and start stacking up your pancakes. While you’re waiting for the next batch to cook, you can put a little butter on the hot ones on the plate.
Top it all off with some real maple syrup. I know…real maple syrup costs more. But, here are some things to keep in mind. First, it’s a natural product. You know what’s in it. What is sodium hexametaphosphate? Yeah…I don’t know either, but it’s an ingredient in cheaper ‘syrup’ products. Yikes! Second, I’ve found that the natural sweetness of real maple syrup means that I can use less of the syrup than I would with syrup substitutes. Give it a try and see what you think!
Notes:
- What are your favorite pancake toppings? My mom loves a mixture of sour cream and sugar on her pancakes. Sound gross? It is so good it will blow your mind!
- Want to add some texture to your breakfast? Try adding a cup of chopped pecans.
So, remember my question from earlier about shopping when you’re hungry and how dangerous that is? Well…I made myself hungry with my own recipe. I wrote this while I’m starving and now I have got to have some pancakes. Until next time…