long weekend = pancakes

>>> my favorite pancake recipe

With a long weekend around the corner, I figured it was a good time to dust off the recipe for my favorite pancakes — the Sour Cream Pancakes from my first solo cookbook Small Victories (which is nearly 7 years old!). In the book, I did them with a roasted blueberry sauce, but they’re equally good with butter, maple syrup, sliced banana, and a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt (pictured below, with some bacon, too):

SOUR CREAM PANCAKES

From Small Victories !

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 4 eggs, beaten together

• 2 cups sour cream

• Butter for cooking + serving

• Maple syrup, for serving

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt and whisk to combine. Add the eggs and sour cream and stir until just combined.

Set a large cast-iron skillet, a griddle, or your largest nonstick pan over medium heat and add a tablespoon of butter. Once the butter melts, swirl the pan or brush the griddle to evenly coat the surface. Pour the batter into the pan in 1⁄4-cup [60-ml] increments to form pancakes that are roughly 4 in [10 cm] in diameter; cook only as many pancakes at a time as can fit comfortably in your pan. The minute that pancakes become too precise is the minute they become no fun, so don’t stress over this—it’s okay if they’re not all the same size. Cook the pancakes until small bubbles appear on the surface and the undersides are nicely browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes over and cook until the second sides are nicely browned, another minute or so. Transfer the pancakes to plates and continue making pancakes, adding more butter as you go, until you’ve used up all the batter. Serve with more butter + maple syrup.

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NOTES:

• Want to do Greek yogurt or cottage cheese instead of the sour cream? Go for it! I’ve done both and they work beautifully.

• If you make these blueberry pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes, etc. — you can either mix about 3/4 cup of berries or chocolate chips or whatever you want into the batter and proceed, or you can make the batter plain, get the pancakes in your skillet, and then sprinkle the pancakes with those things before flipping the pancakes over.

• Cooking pancakes is a lesson in adjusting the heat on your stove as needed. It’s a great way to build cooking intuition. Don’t be afraid to adjust! If things are going too quickly and your pancakes are on the verge of burning, turn the heat down. If they’re pale and nothing is happening, turn the heat up. The heat is a volume button You’re in control!

• I haven’t made these with all-purpose gluten-free flour but I’ve heard from many who have and they tell me it works.

• Looking for great maple syrup? I love Tree Juice! (NOT SPONSORED! just a fan!). I also think a bottle of maple syrup is the absolute perfect thing to bring if anyone invites you over for a meal — it’s a similar price point as wine, but a bit more unexpected and who doesn’t love it??

This Sunday! I am SO EXCITED!!! about this FREE class with Rahanna Bisseret Martinez. She will be teaching all of us (me included!) a recipe from her brand new book Flavor+Us. »» ALL INFO + SIGNUP HERE!!! YES, THERE’S A VEGETARIAN ALTERNATIVE! ««

And here’s the lineup for all of my June classes (after the final June class on Sunday 6/25, I will be taking a summer break from teaching — classes will resume in September — so come join a class soon!)

All June class info can be found right here, along with FAQs about classes.

• Sunday June 4th at 2pm EST: Kids Cooking!

• Sunday June 11th at 2p EST: Breakfasts to Freeze

• Friday June 16th at 4p EST*: No Judgment with Food Heaven’s Wendy + Jess! *this is a sliding scale class!

• Sunday June 25th at 2p EST: Summer Picnic Salads

Thanks for being here! Happy pancakes! xo, Julia