Banana Sour Cream Pancakes

Red and I love banana pancakes. Well, actually this was a tradition that I had carried over from my single days. I had always loved banana pancakes. Not just *any* pancakes. Not buttermilk. Not blueberry.

I loved banana pancakes. As long as I had known pancakes, I always wanted to put sliced bananas in them. When Red and I had just started dating, I decided to make Red a pancake breakfast. I wasn't sure how he felt about banana pancakes, so I went with the more "mainstream breakfast" and grabbed some frozen blueberries from the freezer. This was back in March 2006, so blueberries were not exactly in season.

Little did Red know, I had never made blueberry pancakes before. Or, I have never made pancakes using frozen blueberries. We later found out that I just served my "heart delight" with half-frozen blueberries inside the pancakes.

"I love them, " he said, nodding, and continued licking his fingers. Needless to say, I realized that I didn't have to try to be someone else, even in the kitchen. We have since then shared hundreds of Saturdays or Sundays of banana pancake breakfast. He loves them, and he hasn't really asked for the "mainstream" breakfasts. He lets me "surprise" him with whatever my inspiration may be for the meal(s) that day.

This recipe from Ina was fabulous, because the sour cream and lemon zest really gave it a depth in flavor and took my little old pancake recipe to a completely different height. A little warning: this is very creamy, but fluffy, and definitely rich! Once you take this leap - you will never go back to the regular boxed pancake mix. Trust me. I know Red was licking his fingers, and said, "I really love this recipe!"


Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• Unsalted butter
• 2 ripe bananas, diced, plus extra for serving
• Pure maple syrup

Directions

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat until it bubbles. Ladle the pancake batter into the pan to make 3 or 4 pancakes. Distribute a rounded tablespoon of bananas on each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbles appear on top and the underside is nicely browned. Flip the pancakes and then cook for another minute until browned. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, add more butter to the pan, and continue cooking pancakes until all the batter is used. Serve with sliced bananas, butter and maple syrup.