Yogurt Pancakes — January’s Taste of August

August. Blueberry month. I didn't go picking this year — the trail is too far to go alone, and Sven can't hike it, and the picking was Paul's and my thing and going without him would be picking berries in a different universe. But Elsa went. Saturday morning, early, she drove to Silver Bay and hiked the Superior Hiking Trail section and picked five quarts of wild blueberries from the same bushes, the same ridge, the same place where Paul carried the buckets and I picked and the sun was on our necks and he hummed. She brought them to me at three PM. She walked in the door with the berries and her hands were stained purple and she said, "From the ridge, Mom. Same bushes." I held the berries and they were warm from the car and heavy in the container and I said, "Thank you, Elsa." She said, "The berries were good this year. Big ones." I baked four pies. Mamma's crust (Pappa's mother's, actually — the family crust, the lineage crust). Wild blueberries, sugar, lemon, cornstarch. I baked and the kitchen smelled like August and I stood at the counter waiting for the oven timer and I cried — not the ocean crying, not the grief crying, but the smaller crying, the crying of missing a specific thing: Paul's quarter-pie, eaten before the pie was fully cool, the burned tongue, the "best batch yet." I ate a slice. It was the best batch yet. I said this to the empty chair. "Best batch yet, Paul." Sven wagged his tail. I froze three quarts of berries. January pancakes. February muffins. The taste of August stored against the dark. I brought a pie to Mamma (doorstep delivery). She ate a slice through the window and said, "The berries are good this year." The same words. Every year. The berries are good. The pies are good. The ritual is good. I brought a pie to the Damiano Center on Thursday. Gerald ate a slice and said, "Linda, this is the best pie I've ever eaten." The same words he said last year. And the year before. And the year before that. "Every year it's the best," he said. Every year. The best. The same. Different hands picking — Elsa's now, not Paul's. Different mouth eating — mine alone, not ours together. But the berries are the same. The pie is the same. The best is the same. Every year. Always the best.

Every August I freeze three quarts of berries — not for any complicated reason, just because January is long and dark and a handful of wild blueberries folded into batter can put you back on that ridge for a moment. These yogurt pancakes are what I make on the gray Saturday mornings when the kitchen needs to smell like something good: the batter comes together fast, the yogurt makes them tender all the way through, and when those frozen berries hit the pan they bleed purple into the edges the same way they stain Elsa’s hands every August. Paul would have eaten four of them before I sat down. I eat mine slowly now, and they’re still the best batch yet.

Yogurt Pancakes

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4 (about 12 pancakes)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup fresh or frozen wild blueberries (do not thaw if frozen)

Instructions

1. Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar until evenly combined.
2. Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt, milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla until smooth.
3. Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined — a few lumps are fine. Do not overmix or the pancakes will be tough. Fold in the blueberries last with a light hand.
4. Rest the batter. Let the batter sit for 5 minutes while you heat the pan. This gives the baking powder time to activate and makes the pancakes fluffier.
5. Cook the pancakes. Heat a griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium heat and brush lightly with butter. Pour about 1/4 cup batter per pancake. Cook until bubbles form across the surface and the edges look set, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook 1 to 2 minutes more, until golden on the bottom. Adjust heat as needed between batches.
6. Serve. Serve warm with maple syrup, a pat of butter, or a spoonful of blueberry jam. They are best eaten right off the griddle — tender, a little tangy from the yogurt, with berries that burst when you press them with a fork.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 11g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 44g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 480mg