I have a pancake problem.
I can’t seem to stop my mind from wandering to different pancake ingredient combinations, and luckily this idea came to me just as blueberry season was coming to an end.
I found these sweet organic wild Maine blueberries last week at Whole Foods, and immediately tossed them in my cart; I had been thinking about making cornmeal pancakes for a while, but was waiting for inspiration for an add-in to strike. As soon as I saw the tiny blueberries I knew that it had to be blueberry cornmeal pancakes!
It was a good decision.
The cornmeal combined with whole wheat pastry flour resulted in what might just be the lightest and most tender stack of pancakes-for-one I’ve made to date; just be sure to use fine ground cornmeal. If you use coarse ground, the ‘cakes will be gritty.
So, yeah, the cornmeal is one of the best attributes of these pancakes; but the blueberries… oh, the blueberries! They definitely take center stage.
Have you ever had wild Maine blueberries? They put those plump New Jersey berries to shame. Don’t let their diminutive stature fool you – wild blueberries are super sweet and flavorful. In fact, the first time you taste a handful of wild blueberries, you’ll realize that this is how all blueberries are supposed to taste!
If you want to spiff up the batter a bit, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice or a drizzle of either pure vanilla or almond extract would be delightful.
I chose to keep the batter plain and simple, but I did whip together a quick & easy blueberry syrup to top the golden stack of cornmeal pancakes.
St. Dalfour makes a superb all-fruit wild blueberry preserve that is sweetened only with grape juice. If you can find it at your grocery store, I highly recommend picking up a jar (or three). It’s by far my favorite brand of fruit preserves, and it works beautifully in this recipe.
I just combined equal amounts of the wild blueberry preserves and pure maple syrup, heated the mixture until warm, and spooned it on top of the pancakes.
Please.
Please make these delicious cornmeal pancakes before blueberries are officially out-of-season.
If you don’t get around to it, don’t despair. I have another pancakes-for-one recipe in the works that uses season-less ingredients so you can make them year-round.
I told you I had a pancake problem.
Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes for One
Printer-Friendly Recipe
yield: 1 serving
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/4 cup finely ground cornmeal
- 2 tsp cane sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- tiny pinch of salt
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 cup low fat buttermilk, well-shaken
- 1/2 cup fresh blueberries, preferably organic
- canola oil cooking spray
- 1 Tbsp all-fruit blueberry preserves, such as St. Dalfour
- 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup, preferably grade B
Directions:
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, cane sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg white and buttermilk
- Stir dry ingredients into the wet just until moistened. Gently fold in blueberries. Set aside to rest.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat. Coat with cooking spray.
- When hot, spoon the batter into the skillet by the 1/4 cupful.
- When bubbles appear on the surface of the batter, (about 1-2 minutes), the pancakes are ready to be flipped.
- Flip pancakes and let cook for another minute or so, or until golden brown.
- While pancakes are cooking, whisk together the blueberry preserves and maple syrup until well-mixed; heat in microwave for 15 seconds.
- Serve topped with blueberry syrup, as well as additional fresh blueberries if desired.
Nutritional Information:
449.2 calories, 2.8 grams fat, 0.8 grams saturated fat, 8.2 grams fiber, 40.5 grams sugar, 15 grams protein
