So my sister, my mom and I all have very different styles of cooking. Mine is very straightforward you find a recipe you like, and then follow it to a T. If it calls for 1/2 teaspoon of something, I’m measuring that baby with a flat edge.
Shana, on the other hand, is all about the creation of something…recipes, schmecipes — she just haphazardly throws things together and, maddeningly, they all taste delicious.
And then, there’s my mom. She is always on the quest to create the perfect recipe — for any and all things. She scours the internet comparing recipes, taking notes, and then pretty much applies the Scientific Method to each of her dishes before sharing the end result with us. And I’m not kidding about the science. She spends most of her time in the experimental phase but the end result is always 100% worth it. Take her Blueberry Crisp Recipe or Chex Mix Recipe (and I apologize in advance if that Chex Mix post is a little heavy–it was written right after my dad died). Then there’s also THIS….
The Most Delicious Homemade Pancakes Ever
The most recent example of a recipe perfected by Mom is her Cottage Cheese Pancakes. My daughter, Greenlea, loves pancakes…but she pretty much only ever wants to eat some version of white flour and sugar. So my mom set out to create pancakes that had a little bit of protein, but were so delicious that Greenlea would still love to eat them. Aaaand…she nailed it.
This pancake recipe was SO delicious that Zack and I scarfed down the entire batch she had made and asked her to make another one. Like, omg-what-is-in-these??? kind of delicious. It wasn’t until after we had gone on and on about how good they were that she told us the “secret” of cottage cheese. (I wouldn’t have been able to guess by tasting them at all).
Tina’s Cottage Cheese Pancakes Recipe
| Ingredients | Ingredients in half |
| 2 cups all-purpose flour | 1 cup flour |
| 2 teaspoons baking powder | 1 tsp baking powder |
| 1 teaspoon baking soda | ½ tsp baking soda |
| 1/2 teaspoon salt | ¼ tsp salt |
| 3 tsp sugar | 1 tsp sugar |
| 2 large eggs, lightly beaten | 1 large egg, lightly beaten |
| 1 ½ cup buttermilk & 1 ½ cups cottage cheese | 1 cup buttermilk & ½ cup cottage cheese |
| 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1/2 teaspoon for griddle | 2 T butter, melted, plus ½ teaspoon butter for griddle. |
Cottage Cheese Pancakes Directions
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Add buttermilk, cottage cheese and 4 tablespoons butter (2T for half); whisk to combine. Add eggs last, and mix just until lightly mixed but still runny. Batter should have small to medium lumps. (Never overmix the batter.)
Heat oven to 175 degrees. Heat frying pan or griddle and test by sprinkling a few drops of water on it It’s hot enough if the water bounces a bit. Melt a pat of butter on the pan to coat it before frying.
Use a ¼ cup measure to pour pancake batter on pan. I can usually get two to three pancakes on the griddle. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, flip. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.
Pancakes can be kept warm in oven while making the rest of them. Serve with warm syrup and applesauce.*
*If you’ve never tried pancakes with warm applesauce on top (followed by warm syrup), you’re missing out. Growing up this was the way we always ate them; I thought that was just the norm…until Zack looked at me like I was nuts for suggesting it. But it’s so good!
Enjoy!!
XOXO,
Scotti
