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, really thoroughly! 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' and despite turning their backs on me after their son simply split one day, I 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 mean I needed something good from that effort right? And these are that!
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 and totally boring town in Indiana), I'm thinking that except for the occasional forays to my Grandma's house for a weekend visit that my pancake experience throughout my childhood and in my own young adult kitchen had been Bisquick centric. Now, I must have thought they were good because I kept making them until that day. That one day when those simple ingredients displayed above changed everything. Love at first bite!
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 but nothing quite as memorable as those 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 snow days with all of the friends who have been inundated with snow this past week; 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? I just want the occasional snow day with my girls...is that too much to ask?
I think now I need to make a new tradition; the first big snow we have and snow day I'm going to invite my new 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!
The BEST Buttermilk Pancakes
Join my friends and I for a whole bunch of great pancake ideas and follow along each Thursday for our Food Network Series #ComfortFoodFest.
The Lemon Bowl: Peanut Butter and Jelly Pancakes
Dishing with Divya: Grain Free Pancake Muffins
Taste with the Eyes: Savory Korean Breakfast Pancake
The Mom 100: Pumpkin Pancakes
Dishin & Dishes: Red Velvet Pancakes
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Sweet Potato Pancakes with Chipotle Drizzle
Red or Green: Cornmeal Pancakes with Gingered Berries
Weelicious: Whole Wheat Pancake and Waffle Mix
Haute Apple Pie: Healthy Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
The Wimpy Vegetarian: Spinach & Garlic Chickpea Pancakes with Sriracha Yogurt
Domesticate Me: Ricotta Pancakes with Maple-Bourbon Whipped Cream
Creative Culinary: The Best Buttermilk Pancakes
FN Dish: A Short Stack of Perfect Pancake Recipes
