Fluffy Sour Cream Pancakes
Ingredients
- 3 cups (426 g) all-purpose flour (see note for whole wheat flour)
- 2 tablespoons (27 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups (340 g) sour cream
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 3 large eggs (150 g out of shell)
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) butter, melted (see note)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs and butter.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a spoon or spatula until just combined. The batter will be lumpy and it's ok if there are even a few streaks of flour here and there. Don't overmix! The key to light and fluffy pancakes is mixing just until combined.
- Let the batter rest while prepping the griddle.
- Heat a nonstick griddle to medium for 1-2 minutes until a drop of water sizzles (about 300 degrees F on my griddle, but every griddle will be a bit different).
- Pour batter into rounds on the preheated griddle (I use my #20 cookie scoop to portion out the batter which holds about 3-4 tablespoons).
- Cook until small bubbles appear on the surface and the edges are set, 1-3 minutes, depending on the heat of the griddle.
- Flip the pancakes and cook for another minute or so until golden and cooked through. Repeat with remaining batter.
- Serve immediately or keep warm in a 175 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes.
Notes
Flour: I have subbed half whole wheat flour before with pretty good results (not quite as light and fluffy but still delicious). Measure with a light hand if using whole wheat flour and consider decreasing by a few tablespoons and adding more as needed. Whole wheat flour absorbs more liquid than all-purpose flour and you don't want the pancake batter too thick which will lead to dense, dry pancakes.
Butter / Oil: in place of melted butter, you could try subbing in oil. The butter gives the pancakes a bit more flavor, but it's certainly not a deal breaker to use oil.
Cooking Methods: I always cook pancakes on a nonstick griddle (had this one for years and now have this larger one) but you could use a nonstick skillet or cast iron pan on the stove.
Sour Cream + Milk Substitutions: In case you are wondering, buttermilk subs great for the sour cream + milk (might need a few more tablespoons of buttermilk for the batter to be the right consistency). I've even used home-cultured kefir in place of the sour cream + milk - it works pretty well, but like most "baked" goods using kefir, the pancakes are a little more fragile and tender and not quite as sturdy. The way the recipe is written (with sour cream) is our standard way of making them.