Sour Dough Pancakes

I must be on a breakfast kick or something this week because that is all I can think about posting. Well these top the list of my favorite breakfasts. These pancakes have been in my life for as long as I can remember. As kids my mom used to make them for us every Sunday. After a while we decided to branch out and on sunday we would either have crepes, french toast, dutch babies, or these sour dough pancakes. As years went on my dad and I took over the task of making breakfast on Sundays. With this particular recipe I remember pouring in the melted butter as he whisked the batter and we tried not to splatter the butter everywhere as we mixed it in. I have so many fond memories of my family and these pancakes!

I actually hadn't made these pancakes in years. I have been out of the house for over 10 years (wow I can't believe how time flies) now and I just haven't had a starter for this recipe. Recently I decided I was going to make a sour dough starter the old fashioned way. I figured since I had the starter sitting around I might as well make some sour dough pancakes for my hubby. In all the time that I have known and been married to my husband he has never had sour dough pancakes. In my book this was practically a crime and had to be remedied. I am happy to report that he loved them almost as much as I do!

*Note: These pancakes do take a little bit of thought before hand since you have to start them the night before. If you don't have a sour dough starter on hand you can find many recipes for them on the web. I wanted a sour dough started that didn't call for yeast (just because this is an anomaly to me since I just figured out sour dough didn't have store bough yeast in it) I used a recipe similar to this but you are welcome to use any sour dough starter you like. The great thing is once you have a sour dough starter you can keep using it forever!

Sour Dough Pancakes

Night before:
4 tbs sour dough starter
2 cups flour
2 cups milk warmed for 2 minutes in the microwave

In the morning:
3 eggs
3 tbs sugar
3 tbs melted butter
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Directions:

The night before warm milk in a medium sized microwave safe bowl for 2 minutes. Mix in flour and sour dough starter. Cover with lid or plastic wrap and leave out on counter over night.

The next morning take out 4 heaping tbs flour mixture for your new starter. Place in a jar or tupperware and store in the fridge until the next time. To the rest of the flour mixture add eggs, sugar, butter, soda, and salt. Whisk quickly and thoroughly to combine all ingredients. The baking soda will react with the rest of the mixture and the batter will bubble up a little bit. Once everything is combined let is sit and bubble for a few minutes while your griddle is heating up.

Heat griddle to 375 degrees or until a drop of water when dripped on it will bubble and dances across it. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until the edges appear to be dry or until the bubbles in the center pop and stay open.

These pancakes are not a fluffy pancake and they aren't supposed to be. If you must have fluffy pancakes you are welcome to add a little extra flour to the batter but trust me when I say that these pancake are perfect just the way they are!

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

I absolutely love breakfast! I am the type of person that must eat breakfast or I think I might waste away in those few short hours before lunch.  Really lets be honest, with my love of all things sweet why wouldn't I like something that you get to pour sugar/syrup/fruit all over? Well these bad boys fit that requirement quite well. These pancakes are sweet, cinnamony, and you get to pour frosting all over them. This is the true meaning of pancake.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Yield: 4 servings (4 pancakes)

Prep Time: 25 min

Cook Time: 10 min

An absolutely decadent morning treat...

Ingredients:

PANCAKES:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
 
CINNAMON FILLING:
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
 
CREAM CHEESE GLAZE:
4 Tablespoons butter
2 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Prepare pancake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk, oil and egg, just until batter is moistened (a few small lumps are fine).
2. In a medium bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a small zip baggie and set aside. You don't want this to remain super-liquidy. It's best if it becomes a consistency similar to toothpaste.
3. In a medium, microwave-safe bowl- heat butter and cream cheese until melted. Whisk together until smooth; whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla extract; set aside.
4. Heat large skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with nonstick spray. Scoop about 3/4 cup batter onto the skillet. Snip the corner of your baggie of filling and squeeze a spiral of the filling onto the top of the pancake. When bubbles begin to appear on the surface, flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a baking sheet or platter and keep in a warm oven until ready to serve.
5. When ready to serve, spoon warmed glaze onto the top of each pancake.

Tips:

*Keep the heat low or your pancakes might cook up too quickly. Don't flip them until you see those bubbles starting to pop on top. Flip them with a wide spatula so you can grasp the whole thing without batter and filling dripping all over the place!
*It's best if you pour the batter onto your skillet, wait a minute or so and then swirl the cinnamon onto the batter. That'll give it a chance to set a little before you add the swirl.
*If your baggie of filling begins to get too thick, just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it up again. On that same note, it shouldn't be too runny. The consistency of soft toothpaste is perfect. If it's melty and runny, it will tend to run all over your pancakes. Once you micro it, let it sit on the counter at room temp for a while until it thickens slightly.

Recipe Source: Recipe Girl