Bridge Creek Heavenly Hots

About 8 times out of 10, if you asked me to choose, I'd probably pick waffles over pancakes. But occasionally I'm in the mood for pancakes, especially when homemade, as they're so much easier to make than waffles (in my opinion). I'm also a fan of things in miniature. So when I saw the recipe for silver-dollar pancakes in the latest issue of Gourmet, I was tempted.



Then I read this description of them in the magazine, and it sealed my fate: These are the lightest sour cream silver-dollar-size hotcakes I've ever had -- they seem to hover over the plate. They are heavenly and certainly should be served hot. So light they hover over the plate? Surely an exaggeration.


Shown here next to a head of garlic so you can see the hotcakes' silver-dollar size -- or close enough, anyway.

And while okay, they didn't literally levitate, they really were the lightest, most wonderful little hotcakes I've ever had. It finally gave me a good excuse to drag out my Black & Decker griddle, which has gotten far too little use. The batter is quite thin and will spread, so use less per cake than your instincts tell you. "Serve hot" also seems to be a tall order, given how small these are and how many you'd likely have to make, but depending on the size of your griddle, you can make several at a time. I was able to fit 8 of them on mine, and if I had really tried I probably could have made it 10. Stacking them immediately after they're done will help insulate the heat between them, as well.



Also? I haven't purchased maple syrup in probably years, and I must say I was simply shocked by the prices. I had read something at some news source about maple syrup costing an arm and a leg these days, but I didn't pay that much attention since I rarely buy it. But wow -- I'm sure glad pancakes are a once-in-a-while treat in my house rather than a regular staple!



I had these for breakfast this morning, and just in case, I had them again for dessert after dinner. You know, for the sake of science. I wanted to make sure the first batch wasn't a fluke of "heavenliness."



Bridge Creek Heavenly Hots (from The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham)

Makes 50-60 dollar-size pancakes

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup cake flour
• 2 cups sour cream
• 3 tbsp sugar

Method

1. Put the eggs in a mixing bowl and stir until well blended. Add the salt, baking soda, flour, sour cream, and sugar, and mix well. All of this can be done in a blender, if you prefer.
2. Heat a griddle or frying pan until it is good and hot, film with grease, and drop small spoonfuls of batter onto the griddle -- just enough to spread to an approximately 2 1/2-inch round. When a few bubbles appear on top of the pancakes, turn them over and cook briefly.

My note: If you have a nonstick griddle, as I do, you may be able to skip the "film with grease" step. They are very obedient on my griddle and slide off easily. I certainly don't need the extra calories from the grease, given the amount of sour cream that goes into these!