Weekend Buttermilk Pancakes

I’ve always been a pancake eater, and I’m especially fond of a “table pancake” at a diner. My recipe for at-home pancakes is a combination of everything I like in a pancake-eating experience. I like pancakes to almost be the size of a dessert plate, I like pancakes to have a lacy, crispy edge, I like thinner pancakes, I like a buttery taste, I like pancakes to have a tender interior, and I like mine to be topped a simple slather of room-temperature butter, maple syrup, and seasonal fruit. I like no more than three in a stack. I sometimes like mashing a banana into the batter, but please, no whole slices. I am an adult. I am actually not a fan of chocolate chips in pancakes or whipped cream. I never want them to be dessert, I want them to be breakfast!

Some recipe notes:
- Buttermilk: This recipe stems from my newfound desire to have buttermilk in our fridge at all times. Since coming back from Ireland in April, it’s become a pantry VIP. After testing out a few brands, Kate’s is the best.
- Flour: All-purpose is great! Especially if it’s from King Arthur Baking Company. But if you can, I highly recommend a whole wheat flour like Brooklyn Granary & Mill’s Renan flour. It’s what we’ve been using and it pairs wonderfully with buttermilk.
- Clarified Butter: I also, perhaps obnoxiously, call for clarified butter. Again, this is an ingredient I learned the virtues of during my time at cookery school in Ireland, and I must admit that it does make for better pancakes. I’ve made hundreds of pancakes in my life with regular, unsalted butter, vegetable oil, cooking sprays, the whole nine, and clarified butter is really the best for the uniform cook I’m looking for. Clarified butter is butter without the milk solids. Milk solids are what burns faster, so removing the milk solids creates a more heat-stable butter. There are two ways to quickly make clarified butter for pancakes. 1. Heat up 1 tablespoon of butter in your prepared pan, when white particles start to appear, take off the heat and skim the butter. What remains should be a thin layer of clarified butter, which should be enough for the recipe. 2. Microwave a few cubed tablespoons of butter for 30 seconds at a time, until a distinct white fat layer appears. Skim that off, and what remains is the clarified butter that can be used for pancakes!
- Hot Pan: For the type of pancakes I’m going for, preheat the pan while preparing the batter. It’s really important to have a hot pan ready for the pancakes as they only need 1-2 minutes per side. A preheated pan cooks the batter quicker for a thinner pancake.
- Syrup: My dad is a fan of bosenberry syrup, a fruit I am still not sure where it grows or comes from or why this was a pantry VIP in my childhood home. Use real maple syrup or another fruit syrup!
- Butter: Have nice slices of room temperature salted butter ready to slather onto to pancakes.

Makes 6-8 pancakes

Ingredients:
2 large eggs
1 cup -1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons salted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup all-purpose or whole grain flour, sifted
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch kosher salt *if using unsalted butter
Neutral Vegetable Oil or Clarified Butter

Toppings:
Maple Syrup
Butter, at room temperature
Seasonal Fruit

How To:
1. Make clarified butter (details above; for real instructions, check out Serious Eats).
2. Preheat a large cast iron skillet or cast iron griddle.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk. Then whisk in the melted butter. In another medium bowl, whisk together the sifted flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, if using. Then add to the large mixing bowl with the buttermilk mixture and whisk all together until just mixed. A few lumps in pancake batter is okay! If the mixture feels a bit thick, feel free to gradually add up to a half cup more of buttermilk until the batter is smooth.
3. In batches, add about a teaspoon of clarified butter or vegetable oil to the preheated cast iron skillet. Pour in about a 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook on one side until bubbles appear on the surface, about 1 minute. Feel free to lift the edge to check the coloring, it should be a golden-dark brown. Flip and cook for 1 minute on the other side. Repeat process. Serve with seasonal fruit, dollops of butter, and maple syrup.