Lemony Zest Pancakes

On weekends, we do pancakes.

It's become an easy way to ensure the whole family sits down at the same time for breakfast at least once a week, and I don't mind whipping up a meal when Dad is hanging with Baby A. first thing in the morning instead of me.

A while ago, hubs and I had gone to the Cheesecake Factory in Virginia Beach for brunch. I'd scoped their menu in advance and picked out our meals so that I could try two of the dishes that looked yummy to me- a total order takeover! I don't even remember what the other meal was because the lemon ricotta pancakes we devoured were absolutely scrumptious. I vowed to remake them one day.

I found a good recipe for the lemon ricotta pancakes, but I've since adapted it to account for the fact that we rarely have ricotta on hand. We almost always have a citrus fruit, usually lemons, in the fruit basket, though, which is perfect for this recipe! This recipe also works a little better if you're making waffles instead of pancakes, because the ricotta doesn't survive the waffle iron as well.

The way I make my pancakes call for a bit more flour than the linked recipe above, and I usually only need about 1/4 cup more, just to thicken the batter up the way the ricotta does. I also don't get a perfectly round pancake all the time because I just pour with one of the 1/4 or 1/3 measuring cups I used making the batter, but if you have a pancake pouring utensil or technique, please share!!! Here's what you need and how to do it (adapted from a Chowhound recipe):

Ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for coating the frying pan and serving
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 3 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon packed finely grated lemon zest (from about 2 to 3 medium lemons)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

First, let the butter and milk melt in a saucepan to make the buttermilk. If you have buttermilk on hand, you'd need about 1 1/4 cups. If you're making it from scratch, let it cool while you do the rest of the batter.

Secondly, sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt).

Third, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest together in a big bowl. Slowly add in the buttermilk.

Fold in the dry ingredients until combined but still lumpy. 

Whip your egg whites until you get pretty stiff peaks, and then fold those gently into the rest of the batter.

Now you're ready to fry them up! 

 I hope you have a wonderful weekend full of pancake-happy bellies!

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