Sour Cream Pancakes

We cracked open a bottle of wine we bought in Italy for no real reason other than we could. It’s from Celli, a winery in Bertinoro. It was their Solara, which is made from the Albana grape. The flavor is sweeter, with a honey-like consistency and color. It’s not quite a dessert wine, with more acid to balance out the sweetness.

It was love at first sip at the winery, but the first bottle that was opened a couple months ago wasn’t very good at all. Very bitter. I didn’t know if it was just a bad bottle, or my taste buds were just reveling in my first Italian winery on the tour. It could happen. Thankfully after letting this bottle breathe a little bit, it just like I remember it. Fingers crossed the rest of the bottles have equally good luck.

I really have no idea what this has to do with pancakes. I wouldn’t have any qualms drinking wine with these pancakes, though. Classy with a capital C. That’s me.

These pancakes are the pinnacle of all pancakes I’ve ever made. I wasn’t kidding when I said I was a waffle kid at heart who somehow only makes pancakes. The sour cream creates the perfect consistency for these pancakes. For once I didn’t almost burn them or leave them raw in the middle. They take no time to whip up, like most pancakes, so they’re perfect for that impatient starving frenzy where I’m close to just standing with the fridge open eating olives and cheese and mustard straight from the bottle. Yep.

The sour cream virtually disappears in the flavor, leaving only a hint of tartness behind with the smooth texture of the pancake. It’s not every day I have a container of sour cream in my fridge, but I’m glad I did.

Inspiration: Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

• 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• butter

Preparation

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. While it gets hot, whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add the sour cream and stir until just mixed. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla together before folding into the batter. Do not overmix.

Heat a tablespoon of butter in your now hot skillet, when it’s melted pour batter into the pan in 1/4″ increments. Once the batter starts to bubble and the edges dry out, flip. Let it cook another couple of minutes. If you are serving them as you go, that’s peachy. Otherwise, set your oven to it’s lowest setting and keep a plate of them in there while you make the whole batch. I tried this, but didn’t love it. They’re such moist pancakes that some started getting soggy.