Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

I discovered vegan buttermilk as the secret to super-fluffy pancakes about 2 years ago. The blueberries in this version give you a nice dose of fresh fruit and antioxidants.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon vegan sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 cups vegan buttermilk*
• 1/2 cup plain non-dairy milk
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 Ener-G egg
• Cooking spray
• 2 cups blueberries

1. Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups and level with a knife.  Combine the flour in a bowl with the sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.

2. In a second bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, milk, canola oil, and Ener-G egg.  Add to the flour mixture and stir until smooth.

3. Heat a griddle coated with cooking spray, and add 1/4 cup pancake batter per pancake.  Top each pancake with 2 heaping tablespoons blueberries.

4. Cook until the tops are covered in bubbles and the edges look done (about 4 minutes), then flip over and cook for about 2 minutes on the other side.  Repeat with the remaining batter and blueberries to make 12 (5-inch) pancakes total, working in batches to avoid overcrowding the griddle.

Here's a nice view of the underside, once you've finished cooking:

 And here's a blueberry-filled bite: 

*To prepare the buttermilk, place 1 and 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup, and fill with non-dairy milk to equal 1 and 1/2 cups.  Let stand for about 5 minutes to clabber (sour) the mixture before proceeding with the recipe.  Don't skip this step; the acidity from the lemon juice reacts with the baking soda to make the pancakes as light and fluffy as they are. 

Nutrition Info:
6 servings (2 pancakes), Calories 261

Tasting Notes: 
This was a nice, standard blueberry pancake recipe, producing fluffy pancakes, although the taste of the flour was a bit noticeable. Not, ultimately, as good as my Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes, but I enjoyed that the blueberries provided natural sweetness. For that reason, I served them plain, but would probably rate this recipe even higher if I had used maple syrup or powdered sugar on top.

Rating:
3

Update:
A couple recommendations for this recipe based on trial and error. I tried making the pancakes in a skillet, but it a) took way longer than the griddle since I could only work in batches of 2 at a time and b) seemed to result in pancakes that were less fluffy and rather sad looking:

So stick with a griddle.

I also tried a batch with frozen blueberries, since it's the middle of winter after all, and fresh blueberries are decidedly out of season.

Unfortunately I don't recommend it. If you cook the pancakes while the blueberries are still frozen, you'll have to cook considerably longer on each side, but if you try to thaw them first, you'll wind up with blue-stained pancakes. So stick with fresh no matter the time of year.

Still, you can't go wrong with pancakes once you've got maple syrup drizzled over them: