Cornmeal Pancakes

My children inhale these pancakes.  I cannot make them fast enough.  My husband has dubbed them "crack cakes", because, well, they're dangerously addicting.  You can't stop eating them.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

A few notes:  Make sure you buy "real" cornmeal, not the Quaker "enriched and degerminated" stuff they sell in the grocery store by the flours (we only use that for greasing and flouring bread pans, coating pizza peels, etc.).  Check at the health food store or head to the aisle with the Bob's Red Mill flours.  You want the "germ" and you don't want it to be "enriched".  Store extra cornmeal in the freezer so it doesn't go rancid.

I usually use the buttermilk I have left over after I make butter from our cream.  You can certainly use buttermilk from the store or even plain milk in a pinch.  It's easy to make a buttermilk substitute.  Simply add one tablespoon of vinegar to a measuring cup.  Now fill the measuring cup up to the 1 cup mark with milk.  Let sit for 5 minutes.  Volia.

You can use whatever type of flour you'd like, but we try to stick to whole wheat around here.  I like using King Arthur's White Whole Wheat flour.  Still whole wheat, but a lighter texture.  If you use whole wheat flours, it is best to let the batter rest at least 10 minutes before you use it.

I like to make this batter the night before and let it sit in the fridge overnight.  My children are so hungry in the morning that they hang on me like little monkeys begging for food, making it really hard to throw all the ingredients together.  This way I'm ready to go and avoid hungry-child meltdown. 

These pancakes freeze well (if you have any leftover!).  We just pop them in the toaster to reheat them. 

Just feast your eyes on those delicious pancakes.  Ignore my hideous countertop.

Cornmeal pancakes - Yield:  about 14 pancakes
- 1 cup boiling water
-3/4 cup cornmeal, medium grind if you can find it
-1 1/4 cups buttermilk
-2 eggs
-1 cup flour
-1 tbsp baking powder
-1 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp baking soda
-1/4 cup coconut oil, melted


1.  Melt coconut oil.  Meanwhile, pour boiling water over cornmeal in a medium sized bowl.  Stir until thick.
2.  Add buttermilk.  Beat in eggs.
3.  Sift flour, powder, salt and soda.  Add to cornmeal mixture.  Then stir in the oil.  Let batter rest before cooking. 
4.  Cook on a hot, greased griddle.  Batter will be thin.  These pancakes are almost crepe-like.  You could fill them with toppings, roll them up and eat them that way.