Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes

Here is an easy way to fancy-up your regular breakfast fare. Use your favorite pancake recipe and add lemon zest, lemon juice, and a scoop of poppy seeds. I added most of the zest of one lemon as well as the juice, and about 2 heaping tablespoons of poppy seeds. This resulted in 10 lovely medium-sized pancakes.

My favorite recipe is usually what is on the box of Bisquick... shhhh.

My dad taught me to make pancakes when I was pretty little. I was always kind of impatient when it came to flipping, which I later found out is really the key to good pancakes. WAIT to flip them until the edges are set and you have bubbles coming up all over the cake.

Exhibit A: pretty little cake, some bubbles, but NOT ready to flip.

Notice Exhibit A - some small bubbles appearing, but the edges are not really set. 


See when to flip after the jump

Exhibit B: same pretty little cake, slightly puffy, with the edges browning.

Notice Exhibit B - this is the same pour of batter, just about 30 seconds or so later. See how it puffed up and the edges are browned? That is the key. I also cook my pancakes on pretty lowish heat - 4 on the gas burner or med-low (ish) on an electric burner.

Once you flip, it should take another 45 seconds to a minute for the other side to cook. You really are just getting a nice golden brown since most of the batter is cooked through before you flip. My dad also taught me to keep a plate or cookie sheet in the oven on the lowest setting to keep everything nice and warm until you are ready to eat. Pancakes really are better when the butter and syrup can melt into them on your plate. Check out this beauty shot below (next time I won't use a yellow plate, with mostly yellow food).

Tiny specs of poppy seeds and a bright lemony flavor.

I didn't add any extra sugar to the batter to compensate for the lemon juice and zest - I like my pancakes really lemony, and the batter tends to be pretty sweet already. Plus, if you are going the syrup route, you should be all set for sweetness.

So next time you have the urge to flip up a batch of pancakes, go ahead and use this quick stir-in to jazz it up. Be forewarned though - you have to eat them with your pinky out since they are so fancy!