My friend Andrea was in the city visiting for a few days last week and I miss her already! We had such a great time. We went to Central Park, the zoo, the Brooklyn Flea (with Kramer’s sister, Rachel, of course), the Museum of Modern Art, and made sure to run around taking plenty of fun pictures. Kramer was a great sport about it all, as usual. We made sure to eat at plenty of great places, too. We had amazing Malaysian food at Nyonya, delicious sushi at Bozu, breakfast at the Brooklyn Flea, barbecue at Mable’s Smokehouse, and drinks at a number of places, from ‘Ino Cafe to Harefield Road to The Roebling Tea Room. It was so much fun and I hope that she is able to come back soon!
When Andrea was here, I wanted to make sure that we ate at as many of my favorite places as possible, so that didn’t leave much room (or time) for me to cook at home. I did, however, get to make breakfast one day, so I decided that blueberry pancakes were the perfect choice. I found some huge blueberries a few days before she got here and I couldn’t wait to use them! These are the perfect basic pancake recipe for any Saturday or Sunday morning, and if you are only serving a few people but want to make this whole batch, not to worry, because they freeze really well! I added a bit of lemon zest, to bring out the brightness of the blueberries, and I really think that helped to bring some sunshine to what has been a pretty gloomy week in NYC. My secret to fluffy pancakes, though, is to not level off your measuring spoon when adding in the baking powder, as well as whisking the egg whites separately and folding them into the pancakes. Don’t ask why, because I don’t fully understand it, but believe me when I saw that this extra step is well worth the effort because these are some of the fluffiest, most delicious pancakes that I have ever had. What can I say? I love making pancakes, and these are my favorite ones yet.
Your ingredients.
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Separate your egg yolks and egg whites.
Whisk your egg whites until foamy.
Whisk together your egg yolks, milk, vanilla, olive oil, and lemon zest, then whisk in the egg whites, separately.
Toss your blueberries with some flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom of your batter, then fold them in.
Use about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook over medium-high heat until bubbling, then flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until golden and cooked through.
Serve with lots of syrup and enjoy!
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 4 heaping teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 egg whites
- 2 cups milk (if you have buttermilk, great, but I just used 2% milk)
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup olive oil (or vegetable oil, but I liked using the olive oil)
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- ⅔ cup blueberries, plus more for garnish
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, for the blueberries
- Combine your 2¼ cups of all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside. Separate your egg yolks and egg whites. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, milk, vanilla, olive oil, and lemon zest. In a small bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy, about 5 minutes, then fold them into the egg yolk mixture. Whisk the wet mixture into the dry mixture quickly, until just combined. Toss your ⅔ cup of blueberries in 1 tablespoon of flour, and add them to the batter. Fold to combine.
- Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with a clean cotton cloth. Place about a teaspoon of olive oil in your pan, then heat over medium-high. Use a paper towel to wipe the oil around the surface of the pan, so that there is a very thin layer of oil without being any large pools of it in the pan. Pour about ¼ cup of batter for each pancake. Sprinkle a few more blueberries onto each pancake, if you like, for an even layer, and cook until bubbling, then flip, and cook for another 2 minutes or so, until cooked through. The blueberries might spurt some juice out as they cook, but don't worry about that.
- Place each cooked pancake onto your baking sheet, and when the sheet is full, fold the towel over the pancakes and put them in the oven to keep warm. Keep cooking until you have used all of your batter. Serve with lots of maple syrup and a little butter, if desired.
You always come through for me! Perfect for my weekend brunch with the family!
@Dena: I would have to agree! I just know that they’ll love it! I’ve never used powdered buttermilk but that’s a great idea!
@Emily: Also be sure that your pan is nice and hot before putting the batter in! Best of luck to you!
I hit return before I finished.
I would waste copious amounts of buttermilk because I would have to buy a half gallon for one recipe (and no one will drink it afterwards), so if I didn’t need it again right away it would sit until it spoiled. But I found a solution thanks to getting a bread machine… powdered buttermilk! Since I use it in my bread machine I think it would probably work in this recipe, too. Have you ever used it?
I always ruin the my first batch of pancakes I cook… either burnt or undercooked! I will have to try the thin layer of oil like you suggest!
I’m ready for breakfast now
Those look amazing. I make some wonderful fluffy pancakes, but I’m always looking for delicious new recipes to try and these are going on my list!
Rachael: Glad to hear it!
What a fun visit! These pancakes look amazing.
@Lauren: It really was! And thank you!
@Jen: You are too nice to your bf and his roommates – I hope that they return the favor!
These look dreamy, and I will definitely have to try the very thin layer of oil to get them so perfectly cooked (I grew up with an electric griddle, and am now pretty much impaired from making pancakes on a stovetop, haha). Maybe I’ll make them this weekend for the boyfriend and his roommates. You can definitely tell that you and Andrea had a ton of fun, too, great pics!
And Dena, I’ve used buttermilk powder before (same problem, I never went through it quickly enough) and my grandma uses it in everything. I wouldn’t think that it would really severely impact the pancakes, but there might be a slight difference. I still think things turn out better when I actually use buttermilk, but that might be just me.
Can you bring me some of these now ? Oh they look dreamy!
@Tina: Name the time and place!
@Chris: Thank you so much!
@Kramer: This comment made my day – I always try to make food look slightly anthropomorphic for you.
Sunday mornings are usually the pancake/waffle morning in my house. I won’t lie, more often than not I just go with a ready to go mix. But these look delicious enough to warrant the extra energy. Thanks for another great looking recipe Sydney!
Looks like a pancake monster.
A delicious pancake monster.
Yum! I’ve had a blueberry craving for ages, so will have to try these. You don’t happen to have a favourite blueberry muffin recipe as well, do you? *goes to look*
The only thing I would probably do differently in to make up the mix without the blueberries, then drop them into each pancake once they’re on the pan, before you flip them over. I’ve just got in the habit of doing that; it means that they never get crushed in the mixing and you get an even amount per pancake (plus if you’re of a really OCD personality, you could even get a consistent pattern of them, ha).
@Laura: I did both, just because!
@Michelle: I hope you get a chance to go, it’s so much fun!
@RSA Now: Thankyou!
@Christine: Aw, thank you!
Brooklyn is a great summer spot!
@Fatma: Strawberries, bananas, raspberries…whatever you like!
@Okechukwu: Thank you very much!
@Jen: We love breakfast for dinner, too! Who has time to make a big breakfast most mornings, anyway? I’m glad that you liked them and thank you so much for commenting!
Oops, sorry, I just realised that in the written recipe, you do sprinkle extra on anyway!
You went to so many fun places. I really want to get to Brooklyn Flea at least once this summer!
These pancakes look awesome. I’ve also heard that whisking the egg whites separately is the key to fluffy pancakes but I don’t quite know why either. But hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Gosh they look so fluffy! Yum
You two are just too adorable. And those pancakes look unnnnnbelievable! I’ll add your suggestions to my Brooklyn adventure list… It just keeps growing. It’s going to be a busy summer
These pancakes looks awesome. Unfortunately, I don’t have any chance to find fresh blueberries in here. Do you have any other fruit advice? Maybe I can try them with strawberries. Pancakes are not so popular in my country, so finding syrup will be difficult too but I guess I will use jam. What a shame, I changed all the recipe :p
i like this website because it gives much informations and i think that i will keep coming here so that i can get more informations and i can help in making this for my familys/friends like when i first came to this website i decided to try and get informations on how to make pancakes
I made these for dinner, my husband and i love doing breakfast for dinner every once in awhile. They were amazing!!!! Everything you post on your blog taste fabulous, please dont ever stop blogging i love following what you cook.
I tried the recipe with strawberries last night. My strawberries were very juicy. There was a lot of burnt and strawberry juice on my pancakes :p They didn’t seem like yours. But my husband still loved them. He ate them with Nutella and asked me why I didn’t cook more. Tonight, I’m gonna cook them with banana puree
Thanks for the great recipe…
Fatma: Pancakes and Nutella? Count me in!
You’re invited
Can you tell me how you get your pancakes to brown so evenly and beautifully? Mine always get rings around the edges and in the center … yours look picture perfect!!! now pleeeaseee share your secret
thanks !
It may be time for a new pan, to be honest, but there’s no secret! It’s just practice. I always flip them a minute or two after they look ready, just to be sure they brown evenly.
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Hi Sydney
Can I use frozen blueberries in this recipe.
Hi Jackie – definitely! They will be a bit soggy, but still delicious!