Bright and Sunny Lemon and Ginger Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

I can’t think of anything that puts a spring in my step more than these blueberry buttermilk pancakes.

Normally I hate pancakes. I find most batches to be dull and dense and only palatable when soaked in heaps of salty butter and an avalanche of sticky maple syrup.

These buttermilk pancakes, on the other hand, are something else.  This breakfast recipe of fluffy buttermilk flapjacks are full of life.  They taste like a sunny Spring or Summer day when the sun is shining, the birds are chirping and everything is going my way.

Growing up, I loved blueberry pancakes.  My grandmother grew the fruit on bushes in her garden which she tasked us grandchildren to pick for her.  Our reward for our hard work was making pancakes with handfuls of blueberries thrown into them.

For me, nothing is better than fresh blueberries that burst in your mouth when you bite into them and bleed into beautiful purple pancake puddles. That addition alone was something that made pancakes (something I typically refused as a child) palatable for me.

As an adult, I now indulge whenever I can with fresh blueberry pancakes.  Only now I spice it up a bit with some fresh lemon and ginger thrown into the buttermilk batter.  The ginger spices it up and the lemon zest complements the tartness of the fresh blueberries, so it’s a good time all around.

Nothing is more of a bummer than dense and dull pancakes for breakfast.  So how to remedy this sad state and add a little fluff to flapjacks?  The solution is simple-always go with a buttermilk pancake batter.

The buttermilk not only provides a little tang to the pancake but also chemically reacts to the baking soda and baking powder resulting in fluffy little creations on your plate.

If you don’t have buttermilk on hand like I sometimes do, no problem!  Just mix 1 tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar with 1 cup of milk, stir together and wait 10 minutes. It’s a great buttermilk substitute if you ever find yourself suddenly in need.