Easy Blueberry Lemon Pancakes

There's something about breakfast making the entire house smell good on a Saturday morning, and I'm all about easy ways to make that happen.  If you're a breakfast lover like I am, Bisquick may be a gal's best friend. It's inexpensive, quick and can be doctored up a million ways with whatever you have handy in the pantry.

Since Costco is one of the only decent places to get groceries here in Billings, I had enough blueberries in my fridge to feed an army.  Blueberry pancakes sounded goooood, and adding lemon sounded even better. These were finished before the coffee maker was done brewing, and the bright flavors were perfect for warm weather!

Get your grinder going and get your Folgers percolating, because these pancakes don't take long!

First I started with the recipe for basic pancakes on the side of the Heart Smart mix:

Stir Biquick mix, egg, and milk together in a bowl.  I used almond milk since we can't handle the moo juice at our house.  Plus, I think the almond milk adds a little something extra.

Next, you want to make the recipe awesome by adding a teaspoon of vanilla extract, the zest of one lemon, a few shakes of cinnamon (my hubby LOVES anything cinnamon, so you can alter this step if you'd like.  Add a little, add a lot, it's up to you.) and add about a cup of fresh blueberries.  I happen to like lots of fruit in my pancakes, so I probably added a little more.

I then used a 1/3 cup measuring cup to spread the batter onto a heated, greased griddle.

Normally, you flip pancakes when bubbles form in the batter and break at the top.  This didn't happen with these pancakes, so I flipped them when they started to puff up a look like this.  Usually you can tell when you slid a spatula underneath.  They should be nice and golden brown on the bottom and slide onto the spatula rather easily.

Try to get as much of the pancake onto the spatula as possible and make a quick flip.  Sometimes that doesn't always happen perfectly, and you end up with a broken pancake.  No worries though, I usually give the little broken pieces to these guys, who circle my feet like sharks while they are cooking:

Once flipped, you can typically tell the pancakes are done by checking the bottom for color, and I always like to press them a little with my spatula.  When they're done, they're kind of springy and resist pressure.  An uncooked pancake will kind of squish when pressed.  When in doubt, make a little cut into one of those bad boys and check the middle.  (More crevices for the syrup to leak into, in my opinion.)  The recipe on the box says that it will make 14 pancakes, but with the 1/3 cup portions, I got exactly 8.


While the pancakes are cooking, I made a quick blueberry lemon syrup.  I know there are ways to make this on the stovetop that are probably a lot more culinary, but we're talking Saturday morning pjs, and a general unwillingness to do anything that takes more than 10 minutes.  Plus, these pancakes were smelling oh-so-fine, and I'm impatient.

Depending on the number of pancakes you're making, and the amount of syrup you like on top, pour regular maple syrup into a microwave safe bowl. (1/4 to 1/2 cup is a good place to start)

Add fresh blueberries (I grabbed a handful and tossed 'em in.  Add a little, add a lot...you decide how intense you want the flavor to be), and a little bit of lemon zest.

Pop it in the microwave until the berries burst.  It took mine about a minute and a half, but I cooked it in 30 second intervals to make sure I didn't end up with a sticky mess in my microwave.

Pour steaming hot syrup on stacks of pancakes and enjoy!  We had ours with turkey bacon and Texas pecan coffee.  Fabulous way to start a summer Saturday!

Freeze these suckas, and pop them in the toaster on mornings where you need a quick breakfast.


Easy Blueberry Lemon Pancakes

2 cups Bisquick Heart Smart mix
1 1/4 cup milk (skim or almond)
1 egg
1 cup fresh blueberries
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
Few shakes of cinnamon

1. Stir all ingredients together in large bowl.
2. Pour 1/3 cup portions onto heated, greased griddle.
3. Flip pancakes when bottoms are golden brown and bubbles have made batter puff.
4. Serve hot with dollop of butter and maple syrup.

Quick Blueberry Lemon Maple Syrup

1/2 cup maple syrup
handful of fresh blueberries
lemon zest

1. Combine all ingredients in microwave safe bowl.
2. Microwave in 30 second increments until syrup is hot and berries burst.

Adjust ingredient measurements for more or less servings.