You have heard of one-pot meals, but how about one-meal pancakes?
Rather than making pancakes and bacon, I am saving us some plate real-estate and putting the bacon right in the center of my very favorite sour-cream pancakes.
A friend of mine texted me a picture of a stack of bacon waffles several weeks back and the idea was planted.
I have a picture in my mind of romantic Saturdays. Me, in a perfectly imperfect messy bun, a charmingly facetious graphic sweatshirt, and a cute husband french-pressing while I flip bacon & brown sugar pancakes.
In reality, Mr. Pedantic flees the kitchen every time I brew coffee because he positively cannot tolerate its fragrance, Sabine bites at my feet while I hop around with a hot pan of bacon, and the soundtrack is far more likely to come from the beeping of the dishwasher and the spinning of the laundry rather than a perfectly chosen vinyl. Nonetheless, even in an “unfiltered” world, bacon & brown sugar are a perfectly attainable reality.
I decided to go the extra mile with these pancakes and throw together a simple infused syrup. A couple of handfuls of smashed blueberries and the tiniest pinch of cinnamon bring new life to the richness of maple syrup. It is the kind of fancy that takes five minutes to materialize and makes you feel really wonderful about your kitchen prowess.
When I am making pancakes, crepes, waffles, or even toast I always take advantage of my oven’s “keep warm” setting and store my finished offerings in the oven until I have completed all of the necessary frying/cooking. If your oven does not have this feature, simply preheat your oven to 200 degrees F prior to cooking, then turn off the heat just before placing the first pancake on the plate. This will ensure that every serving is piping hot and spare someone the dreaded fate of being met with a soggy pancake.
Avocado toast is a wonderful thing, but bacon pancakes are awfully tough competition.
Sincerely,
Pedantic Foodie
BACON & BROWN SUGAR PANCAKES
with BLUEBERRY CINNAMON MAPLE SYRUP
makes six large pancakes
FOR THE PANCAKES
6 rashers bacon, cooked and cut into thirds
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
softened butter, for cooking
*Cook’s Note: I like to cook my bacon in the oven for easier clean-up. Simply set your oven to 400 degrees and lay the bacon rashers on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes; until crisp.
Preheat your oven to the warming setting.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar.
Combine eggs and milk in a large measuring cup and whisk thoroughly. Whisk in melted butter, sour cream, and vanilla. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until completely smooth. Allow the batter to rest for five minutes.
In the meantime, place a nonstick skillet over medium heat and coat with 1/2 teaspoon of the softened butter. Once the butter has melted and has just begun to simmer softly, pour 1/3-1/2 cup of the prepared pancake batter into the center of the pan and lay three pieces of the bacon in the center.
Fry the pancake slowly, until it has small bubbles all over the surface of the pancake and all of them have stopped popping. Flip the pancake and cook on the opposite side for about one minute. Transfer the cooked pancake to a heat-proof plate and place in the oven to keep warm while you cook the remaining pancakes.
While the pancakes cook, prepare the syrup.
FOR THE SYRUP
1 cup fresh blueberries (plus extra for garnish, if desired)
1/2 cup amber grade B maple syrup
pinch ground cinnamon
Place berries into the bottom of a small saucepan and use a potato masher to roughly mash the berries. Cover with maple syrup and cinnamon and place the pan over medium high heat.
Bring the syrup to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer to a small pitcher.
Drizzle the syrup over warm, buttered pancakes and serve immediately. Sprinkle with fresh berries, if desired.
Enjoy!
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