Blueberry Pancakes

My wife made a request for me to make her blueberry pancakes one Saturday morning.  The only problem was my friend was coming over early to watch an important soccer game. I felt bad, so I bought her a blueberry scone from a coffee shop.  I thought I was being pretty nice -- but a part of me felt guilty. So the next morning I decided to honer her request after all.

I have made waffles and pancakes many times; but I always used an instant mix. Well, we didn't have any in the house. So I got out the old Betty Crocker classic red cookbook.  I figured it couldn't be all that hard, and we had all the ingredients in the pantry.

Combine together 1 egg, 1 cup flour, 3/4 cup milk, 1 Tbsp sugar, 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, 3 tsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp salt until just barely mixed.  You don't want to overwork the batter. This way it will make sure your pancakes are fluffy.  Carefully fold in 1/4 cup of rinsed blueberries.

Next, heat up a non-stick pan over medium heat (or 375-degrees on an electric griddle). You can test it by flicking a few drops of water. They should dance around.  Then spray some butter-flavored non-stick spray down and pour 1/4 cup of batter.  My dad always told me the way to tell when to flip pancakes is to watch the bubbles. When they stop closing in, and instead stay open little wells, it's time to flip.  (You can also carefully lift up the edge with a thin spatula.)

Here's a little trick my wife taught me:

Heat the oven on the lowest setting and keep the cooked pancakes warm in there on a cookie sheet. That way you won't feel rushed. You can make as many as your house guests require and then serve them all together -- nice & warm.

Real maple syrup is expensive; but my wife and my mother-in-law well tell anyone will to listen that it is well worth it.  Spread a little margarine or butter on top while they're still warm. And then if you're lucky enough to have some home made blackberry jam from a co-worker, you can really amp up the berry flavor.

Yum. I think I earned some serious husband points that morning. And I happened to feel pretty proud of myself for making them from scratch.  The pancakes were light & fluffy -- not too dense.  And those warm blueberries provided little pockets of sweet, juicy, and a little acidic bites to break from all the richness.