Breakfast! Making Buttermilk Cornmeal Pancakes

It’s hard to argue with a good pancake. Whether you like them rubbed with lots of butter and drenched in syrup, or you spread your favorite jam on top, having a good pancake is a sure-fire way to start the day. But then, how fun is it to have pancakes for dinner? Sometimes pancakes and sausage taste even better at the end of a long day.

There are also a lot of bad pancakes out there. They are dry, dense and hard. Once, I used such a pancake to keep a table from wobbling by placing it under one of the legs. One can also find a lot of pretty good mixes in the market that just require adding milk, eggs, and oil and giving it a stir. The truth is it’s not that hard to make really good pancakes from scratch. Better yet, by making them yourself you can change it up every now and again – make some with whole wheat, blueberries, nuts, etc.

Here is a recipe that works cornmeal into the pancake batter. We love cornbread and corn muffins, and sometimes have them for breakfast. But here we get the sweet corn flavor plus a little of the nice texture of the cornmeal, along with the fluffiness of a good buttermilk pancake.

This recipe makes 18-20 four inch pancakes – good if you are feeding a crowd (or a few good eaters). If not, you can cut the recipe in half. I love to use my electric griddle for pancakes, but a large skillet will work fine, too. Enjoy!

Buttermilk Cornmeal Pancakes

2 cups buttermilk (at least room temperature – I slightly warm mine)

1 ½ cups cornmeal

3 TBSP melted butter (unsalted)

1 cup flour

2-3 TBSP sugar (to suit)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 eggs (room temperature)

In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, cornmeal and melted butter together. Stir well so there are no lumps – mixture should be smooth. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and soda and salt. Set aside.

Gently whisk two eggs together in a small bowl and stir into bowl containing buttermilk/cornmeal. Then add the contents of that bowl into the large bowl of dry ingredients and mix together until incorporated. Set bowl aside and let mixture rest for 10-15 minutes.

Heat your griddle or skillet to 375-400 degrees. If it has a non-stick surface, these should not stick, otherwise you may want to coat with a non-stick spray. Drop batter onto surface and flip when underside begins to turn golden (there will be some bubbles on the wet top part of the batter). Serve warm with butter, your favorite syrup or jam.