Lemony lightness!!

My mother sent me a link to a recipe for Gluten Free Lemon Pancakes that sounded wonderful!! I decided I'd try it out this morning, only to discover that I didn't have enough cornmeal in the pantry and no regular milk in the fridge. Oh the humanity!!! Well, I said to myself, I had the taste for pancakes in my mouth and I was bound and determined to have them!

While most kids were playing or watching TV, I was in the kitchen with my mom. I have so many memories of me standing in a chair so that I'd be tall enough to see what she was doing on the table or kitchen counter. And she was wonderful about it. That's the reason I can say that I baked my first cake at the age of 5! She would line up all the ingredients on the table, stand back and direct me. She wouldn't do it for me, she'd tell me what to do and let my little brain figure it out for itself. I wonder if she knew how brilliant she was being? I'll have to ask her.

One of the many things she taught me was how to "make do". Simply put, if there's something you want to eat and you're missing some of the stuff... chances are you've got some other stuff that can help get you where you wanna go. It looked like I was gonna have to dust off my old skills...

I already had half a box of g-free Bisquick and that makes fairly decent pancakes on it's own. I also had some buttermilk left over, so I decided to "make do", making modifications and additions along the way. As I started to mix the batter, I noticed it was considerably thicker than it usually is when following the box instructions. I think this was likely due to the use of buttermilk instead of regular milk. I added a few Tbsp of water to thin it a touch, but wound up leaving it fairly thick.

When the time came for me to sit down and actually dive in... I thought I had died and gone to heaven! These pancakes had a lightness and fluffiness I've never obtained before! The texture of the actual cakes was so delicate and airy that the lemon flavor was the perfect compliment! I can't wait to make these for my husband some morning!

Naturally... I had to share!!

1 Cup gluten free Bisquick

1 Tbsp Sugar

Zest of one lemon

1 Cup Buttermilk

1 egg

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 Tbsp water*

In a bowl, combine Bisquick, sugar and lemon zest. 

Whisk to mix thoroughly.

Add buttermilk, egg, oil, lemon juice & vanilla extract to dry ingredients. 

Stir to combine.

*Add water in SMALL increments, if necessary, to obtain a good THICK batter consistency.

Pour batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto lightly greased hot griddle or pan.

Cook until edges turn brown and top of pancake has less sheen to it.

Flip pancake and continue to cook until second side is golden. 

If desired, top each pancake with a pat of butter while still hot.

Just before serving, dust with confectioner's sugar, garnish with thin lemon slices.

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This recipe is going into the recipe box as a Go To! I've got tons of ideas swirling in my head already. Serving them with a light glaze or homemade lemon blueberry syrup... Orange pancakes served with mimosas for a Sunday morning brunch...

Happy Sweet Eats...