The Best Buttermilk Pancakes
Don’t take my word for it…everyone I know agrees these are The BEST Buttermilk Pancakes. Perfect texture, light and fluffy and so easy to make; really the perfect pancake!
I mean it. Seriously. I can look at this recipe and wonder what is so magical about it but maybe that’s the magic. Nothing especially unique but when all brought together the magic does happen. It flies in the face of most pancake conventions too since the mixture is not only made in a blender but it is blended thoroughly, not excessively but until it’s all mixed well.
Yet, time after time, year after year, dare I say decade after decade, it is hands down just the best. Just the right texture, just fluffy enough but with some substance and just the right amount of tang to actually deliver a flavor, not simply a vehicle for a bunch of syrup! They really are the BEST Buttermilk Pancakes. Ever. Evah.
I have never and won’t start now to dredge you into the details of my marriage or my totally cantankerous divorce except I will say this. It was a long time ago. The woman who decided that my husband was fair game will always be on my shit list no matter that my children think I should ‘let it go.’ I long ago decided that the one thing I would hold onto as a legacy of those 20 years would be my father-in-law’s recipe for Buttermilk Pancakes; I needed something good from that effort and these are that!
My pancake experience throughout my childhood and in my own young adult kitchen had been Bisquick-centric. Until the weekend that I traveled to my then boyfriend’s parent house for the first time (me from St. Louis and he from a tiny town in Indiana). That one day when those simple ingredients displayed above changed everything. Love at first bite!
And it wasn’t just the pancakes. Accompanying them was a homemade syrup that my father-in-law called Mr. Butterworth’s. I’m not sure what I expected but I didn’t really expect to like it. They were such frugal people that I expected it was made because it was cheap but I never expected it to be good. Uh oh…wrong. Butter, sugar and vanilla cooked just long enough to start to caramelize? So good.
I should have known better; I loved the foods that came from my in-laws kitchen and except for the lack of a dishwasher and their very archaic notion that no man should ever wash dishes I enjoyed spending time cooking there.
Love my original recipe card? It was BI – Before Internet, and I’ve kept that one book all of these years with some old handwritten recipes. I don’t keep a lot of ‘stuff’ but that little book will be buried with me!
I’m sure that over the course of almost 20 years that I had many meals I loved when we visited but nothing quite as memorable as those Buttermilk Pancakes. My girls are lucky that they are all they’ve ever known and looked forward to them each and every time.
I can’t help but recall our snow days when I read of all of the friends on the East coast who have been inundated with snow recently; those days were especially geared towards these Buttermilk Pancakes. It would be impossible to imagine during a regular school day so they were always requested when we had an unexpected day to just play.
A long leisurely breakfast, some time outside clearing the driveway and sidewalks and then the fun part. Snowmen, sledding and pelting each other with snowballs. Am I the only mom that misses those days; you know with the luxury of forgetting how hard it was day-to-day to do that job? I still want the occasional snow day with my girls…is that too much to ask?
I think I need to make a new tradition; the first big snow we have (already March and none yet!) I’m going to invite my neighbors and their kids down here for breakfast and these pancakes…trust me they will devour them and best of all…maybe they’ll also remember them forever.
In the meantime, I had company this past weekend and I let little Violet choose what she wanted for breakfast. ‘Pancakes!’ was her request and I delivered. Of course then she wanted buttermilk pancakes for every meal…really, they are that good! I posted this recipe a few years ago but after this weekend I realized I need to share it again; they truly are the BEST Buttermilk Pancakes!
PIN ‘The Best Buttermilk Pancakes’
The BEST Buttermilk Pancakes
Ingredients
For the Pancakes:
- 2 Eggs
- 1 ½ C buttermilk If you don't have buttermilk on hand you can also add 1 Tbsp of lemon juice to regular milk and let it sit for at least 5 minutes as a substitution.
- ¼ C oil
- 3 Tbsp. sugar
- ¾ tsp. salt
- 1 ½ C sifted flour
- 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
For homemade syrup (We always called it Mr Butterworth's Syrup!):
- ¾ c Buttermilk
- ¾ c Butter
- 1 ½ c Sugar
- 1 t Vanilla
- 1 ½ tsp Baking Soda
- ¼ cup maple syrup optional
Instructions
- To Make the Pancakes
- Combine half of milk with rest of ingredients in blender (or mixer) and mix until well blended, approximately 1-2 minutes.
- Add remaining milk and mix for another 30 seconds or until smooth.
- Cook on heated griddle. Serve immediately.
- I typically serve with real maple syrup but the following recipe is a good alternative!To Make the Syrup
- Combine butter, buttermilk, and sugar in large saucepan. This mixture will boil up, so make sure you use a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring regularly and let boil on low heat for 5-6 minutes.
- Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and baking soda (this is the fun part...but why you'll need that large pan when you see how it foams up!).
- Add maple syrup if using, stir and allow to cool a bit before serving.
- Will keep in refrigerator for a couple of weeks. We never had it that long...good on ice cream too!
It’s so great. I want to try it
Good to see this recipe resurface! Love pancakes. Almost no snow this year, so fewer pancake eating opportunities. 🙁
Best of the best from the best :). Greetings from Poland
It is a snowy Sunday here in Colorado. I’ve been craving pancakes for several days now, I even tried to buy heavy cream the other day in anticipation of whipped cream for the pancakes, but all of the milk products were wiped off the shelves (why do people buy so much milk when we are going to get a little storm??). I just made a batch of the pancakes and have to say they are absolutely delicious. Nice and fluffy and light, not like the box mix that is sitting around the house. I had some apple cider sauce in the fridge and some bananas that were looking pretty brown so I browned them in butter and we had a great breakfast. Thanks Barb for another great breakfast….
Thanks so much for sharing Jane; having my friends enjoy something I love means so much! And really right? Ansh sent out a photo of totally barren shelves at the grocery. People must have thought we were going to get 4 feet of snow, not 8-10 inches!
Wow, homework pancakes and homemade syrup! Nice! Good idea on the invite people over. I’m in NJ and we’re doing enough shoveling right now. I live on a dead end street and we do share hot chocolate, coffe while shoveling out. I love the pancake idea! Think I’ll try your recipes!
Thanks so much.
Please don’t hate me but it’s 70 degrees in Colorado today. If it hits 72 it’s a record! I feel for you…I’ve been there and I feel a bit guilty that our snow might have forgotten to land and went East. Stay warm and yes, have some pancakes! 🙂
What a gorgeous looking stack of pancakes and a homemade syrup to go with it…wow! I think you really should start that first Snow Day tradition in your neighborhood. Only problem I can see is that your neighbours may not leave your house until Spring 🙂
Luckily we’re all walking distance so we can pretend to be snowed in but not really! 😉
I always seem to mess up pancakes-they come out rubbery and look horrible. I like this recipe and will try it this weekend. Thank you, l am excited (and oh so hopeful).
Fingers crossed…and bet you do fine!
I love pancakes, and they’re wonderful on a snowy morning. Perfect breakfast (or lunch) for after you’ve shoveled out. Great for dinner too — which is when we eat them most often. These look great — thanks.
How did you know leftovers were on my plate tonight? I sometimes will make two batches just so that I have my own frozen pancakes…but good ones!
I love pancakes too. I toss in a few blueberries and tell myself that they are now healthy but I know the truth. Nothing makes me happier than pancakes for breakfast OR dinner.
I love blueberries with them too and like you could eat them for any meal. I call it Brinner. Breakfast for Dinner. 🙂
OMG! I have a very similar ex story! But this recipe – I can’t wait to try the syrup as well as the pancakes!
Good to know I’m not alone…we have a sisterhood! 🙂
I just made a very similar sauce for a holiday dessert. They called it butter sauce but the truth is, it’s sort of an un-caramelized caramel sauce…and yes it is so good!
Maybe it’s because it is lunch time and I’m hungry, but I don’t think that is the reason. This recipe sounds great and I want to try the Mr. Butterworth syrup. How intriguing. I’ve only made crepes in the blender, never pancakes. I know what will be gracing my breakfast table this Saturday.
I love the handwritten recipe card, too!
Wish we were closer or if you’re willing to make the trek I’ll make them for the two of you! 🙂
I should have mentioned and think I’ll go back and include it; but that syrup recipe is listed at All Recipes too; the version that was submitted has some corn syrup but other than that? Identical. Shows how recipes worked their way around without the Internet doesn’t it?