A Delicious Holiday: The Best Buttermilk Pancakes

Holiday mornings with the family - all clad in PJ, bedhead, and quiet smiles - are just some examples of life's wonderful simplicity. What better way to add to these holiday memories like the classic all-American diner breakfast of eggs, griddled meats, and the fluffiest pancakes ever? 

Rainbow slippers make for great breakfast attire. Now just to wait for the butter to melt a little, then I can dig in!

I've been tinkering with the notion of what it takes to make buttermilk pancakes so fluffy that a billowy stack of them could be used as a potential headrest. After a bunch of delicious research, I found a guy who knows a guy who wrote a book that talked about this tasty subject.

With the advice of culinary super-nerd,  J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and his smart book "The Food Lab", I share with you the secret to making THE BEST BUTTERMILK PANCAKES OF YOUR LIFE: Whipped egg white merginues.

Just a small dallop of stiffly whipped egg whites puts so much air into the pancake batter, it's freaking incredible!

Air fluffed through the power of eggs!

If you want to turn up your morning pancake game to 11 (that was for you AC/DC fans), grab some of these goodies and create a pancake mix-in buffet! Let everyone pick what tasty morsels they want to add into the pancake as it's sizzling on the griddle (during step 11 in the recipe).

• Fresh blueberries and raspberries
• Chocolate chips and peanut butter chips
• Sliced bananas
• Chopped up crispy bacon
• Sprinkles (save some for yourself because sprinkles are for winners, and you, my friend...)

Grab your spatula and whisk, and be prepared for bear hugs of happiness from your PJ onesie-d relatives over the delicious buttermilk pancakes you've made ever.

Super Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes
(inspired by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt)
Makes ~12 pancakes

Dry Mix Ingredients
2 cups (10 oz.) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
​1 Tbs cane sugar, granulated

Wet Mix Ingredients
2 large eggs, separated into yolks and whites
4 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Non-stick cooking spray (for griddle if needed)

That little curly-q means that the egg whites are stiff peak ready.

Keep the dry mix and wet mix separate until you're ready to cook the pancakes.

Small clumps of dry mix in the batter is okay. Just make sure to gently stir the big clumps out.

Once the top of the pancakes starts to make little bubbles and the bottom of the pancake is golden brown, it's time to flip!

Let the second side of the pancake cook for a couple minutes until golden brown. See how nice they're fluffing up?

Culinary Dance Steps

1. Preheat a non-stick griddle to medium-high heat (340°F). Make sure the griddle is turned on at least 10 minutes before cooking. (If you don't have a griddle, you can also use a non-stick, heavy-bottomed skillet over the stove.)
2. In a medium bowl, make the dry mix by whisking all the dry ingredients together. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, add the egg yolks. While whisking vigorously, slowly pour the melted butter into the egg yolks. You don't want to pour the butter too fast, or else the egg yolks with curdle from the warm butter. Keep whisking for a minute after all the butter has been added to make sure that all the butter and egg yolks have mixed completely.
4. Pour the buttermilk and vanilla extract into the egg yolk mixture and whisk to thoroughly mix. Set aside.
5. In another medium bowl and an electric hand mixer, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks have formed. Stiff peak phase happens when you can pull the whisk straight out of the egg whites, and a little curly-q "Elvis hairstyle" dallop stands up from where the whisk was.
6. Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the buttermilk mixture. Don't stir too hard, or else the egg whites will deflate.
7. Gently fold the dry mix into the buttermilk egg mixture. Again, be nice and gentle here because we don't want the egg whites to deflate.
8. Keep mixing the batter until all the large clumps of dry mix are gone. Small clumps of dry mix are okay. Don't over-mix the batter!
9. Spray some non-stick cooking spray to the griddle, and spread with a paper towel until no visible liquid remains on the griddle.
10. Using a 1/4-cup measuring cup or ladle, pour the pancake batter into circles on the griddle - careful not to overcrowd the griddle because you need a little room to flip them.
11. If you're add mix-ins, sprinkle the fruits or chips onto the top of each pancake as soon as you pour the batter onto the griddle.
12. Cook the pancakes for ~2 minutes - until bubbles start to appear on the top of the pancakes, and the bottoms are golden brown.
13. Flip the pancakes and cook on the second side for another 2 minutes, until the second side is completely set and golden brown.
14. Serve the pancakes immediately, or keep them on a wire racked baking sheet in a warm oven until it's time to eat!