Can you believe that Memorial Day is just a week away? The official start of summer is just around the corner, so what are you going to do with this nice, long weekend? Sometimes the best holiday weekends are the ones that require no travel or extra effort, just some lazy mornings to sleep in and a little extra time to cook something special. I used to make blueberry pancakes with vanilla ice cream for my girls on weekends like this. It may not be the healthiest breakfast, but it’s a special treat on an easy day when nobody has to be dropped off or picked up, and there are no pressing chores to be done. Blueberry pancakes are nice; ice cream is nice; but put them together and suddenly it’s a party! And for Memorial Day, what’s a more all-American breakfast?
This pancake batter is simple to throw together, and using fresh blueberries instead of canned makes all the difference in the flavor. When you add the cold ice cream to the hot pancake, it melts all over the place in an oozing, rich mess that combines with the maple syrup (of course, there has to be maple syrup, but less than you usually use), into a perfect dipping sauce for the pancakes. I thought this would all be too sweet, but it’s not. It’s just right, because the fresh blueberries have a tang to them that cuts the sweetness of the ice cream.
This is also a great birthday breakfast, with a candle sticking out of the top of the ice cream. Who wouldn’t want to wake up to that? I hope you have something – or nothing – special planned for this Memorial Day weekend!
Blueberry Pancakes with Vanilla Ice Cream
Serves: 4
Prep time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour ½ tablespoons baking powder
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 ¾ cups milk
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- vegetable spray for cooking
- 1 cup fresh blueberries, washed and drained
- 1 pint vanilla ice cream
- maple syrup, to taste
Directions
- Combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add eggs, milk and melted butter, and whisk together. The batter will be a bit lumpy, but don’t overmix because it will make the pancakes tough. Add milk if the batter seems too thick.
- Pour blueberries into batter and mix in gently.
- Heat a nonstick pan to medium heat and spray with vegetable oil. Using a large spoon, drop about ½ cup of batter onto hot pan.
- Cook until bubbles begin to form in the batter and bottom side turns golden.
- Flip pancake and cook until also golden. Wipe down the pan between pancakes.
- Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and serve with maple syrup.
