Pancakes and Butter

Lest you think I’ve gone around the bend, this was a surprisingly easy and fun project. I did NOT have to milk a cow, let the cream separate, skim the cream, sterilze all my pans and churns, then sit and churn for a long time. Or have some little kid sit and churn for a long time.

I DID find that this was delicious – so much better than store bought.

Makes about 1 pound of butter

1 qt. heavy cream – room temperature for 30 minutes

Salt, optional

Food processor: pour the cream into the bowl fitted with either the plastic or the metal blade.

Electric mixer: Pour the cream into a deep bowl and beat with the wire whip attachment.

At first the cream will thicken and be whipped into soft peaks, then firm peaks.

Then the cream will begin to get grainy.

Finally a liquid will be released so that you have lumps of butter in a milky colored liquid. The entire process should take 5-20 minutes depending on the method used. I don't think it took more than 5 minutes total.

Pour the liquid through a strainer into a bowl. Voila! Buttermilk. Reserve for another recipe, or the pancakes below.

The next is the fun part – actually, it was all really fun to do – place the butter in a bowl and knead with your hands to squeeze out any more buttermilk.

It kneads easily.

Use immediately or refrigerate to use later. If you are storing it for later, “wash” the butter in cold water. Add ½ cup of ice water to the butter in the bowl. Continue kneading. Pour off milky liquid.

To keep the butter for baking – unsalted butter is great for this – wrap in parchment paper and then plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 weeks, or freeze for 6 months.

Or, while it’s still soft, add salt, if desired. Or you can add other flavors – honey and cinnamon for toast or pancakes, or herbs and garlic for garlic bread or for on meat.

Or try this:

PUMPKIN BUTTER

½ c. softened butter

½ c. pureed pumpkin

¼ c. powdered sugar, or honey

½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice 

Beat together. Chill at least 3 hours. Let soften 20 minutes before serving. Makes about 1 cup.

And on what should we put this yumminess? You can add 1 c. pumpkin and a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice to your favorite pancake mix. However, I tweaked this recipe. This is one of Ree Drummond’s recipes (see blog at right) and makes fabulous pancakes.

PANCAKES

3 cups Plus 2 Tablespoons Cake Flour

½ teaspoon Salt

3 Tablespoons Baking Powder

2 Tablespoons Sugar

2 cups Milk

2 whole Large Eggs

3 teaspoons Vanilla

4 Tablespoons Butter

Extra Butter

Maple Or Pancake Syrup

Mix together dry ingredients in large bowl.

Mix together milk, eggs, and vanilla in a separate bowl.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, stirring very gently until just combined.

Melt butter and add it to the batter, stirring gently to combine.

Cook on a greased skillet over medium-low heat until golden brown. Serve with an obscene amount of butter and warm syrup.

But, being the whole wheat flour and flax seed fanatic that I try to be, I did this:

PUMPKIN PANCAKES

1 ½ cups Cake Flour

1 ½ cups Whole Wheat Flour

½ cup Flax Seed (this adds a wonderful crunchy texture)

1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice

½ teaspoon Salt

3 Tablespoons Baking Powder

2 Tablespoons Sugar

1 ½ cups Milk (I used the buttermilk from making butter)

2 whole Large Eggs

3 teaspoons Vanilla

1 cup Pureed Pumpkin

4 Tablespoons Butter

Pumpkin Butter

Chokecherry Syrup 

Mix together dry ingredients in large bowl.

Mix together milk, eggs, pumpkin and vanilla in a separate bowl.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, stirring very gently until just combined. You may have to adjust the milk quantity to get the batter as you like it.

Melt butter and add it to the batter, stirring gently to combine.

Cook on a greased skillet over medium-low heat until golden brown.

Slather with pumpkin butter, or plain butter and syrup.

I tried to eat hundreds of these; I wanted to.