Raspberry Buckwheat Pancakes

A few weeks ago, I had the brilliant idea of putting berries into pancakes. Unfortunately, I had this idea while we were still in the midst of the monsoon rains of a few weeks ago. When I went to the farmer's market that Friday, there were no raspberries to be had. I was told that they didn't get a chance to pick them that morning before the rain, but to try again the next day. So the next morning, as Jeff prepared our pancake batter, I ran back over, intent on berries. No dice. It had still been too rainy.

Ever since then, I've been desperately craving raspberries. I'd seen them at the market for weeks before that, but wasn't inclined to buy them. I enjoyed the few berries we got off of our backyard bushes, and that seemed to be enough. But once this pancake idea got into my head, I had to have them. Unfortunately, as soon as I wanted raspberries, they were unavailable at the market - the berry bushes I'd been waiting for during the rains had finished for the season and the next set of berries wasn't ready yet.

This week, the raspberries are finally back! As soon as I saw them, I pounced, determined to have my pancakes. As it turns out, these were totally worth the wait. The tartness of the berries adds a huge pop of flavor to the nutty buckwheat. Add a little pecan syrup to the mix and you've got yourself an extremely tasty breakfast.

Raspberries + pancakes = deliciousness.

Raspberry Buckwheat Pancakes
Slightly adapted from Simply Recipes.

3/4 c buckwheat flour
3/4 c flour
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 egg
2 c buttermilk, divided
1 c raspberries (or more!)

Preheat a griddle on the stove over medium-low heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, slat and baking soda. Pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients and mix slightly. Measure out 1 c of buttermilk, add the egg and whisk well to combine. Pour into the dry mixture and stir to combine. Slowly pour in the remaining buttermilk, stirring until just incorporated. Do not overmix or you'll get tough pancakes!

Spritz your griddle with a little cooking spray.

Ladle the batter onto the griddle in 1/4 c increments, then sprinkle with raspberries (I fit about 5-7 berries per pancake). Cook about 3 minutes (until the edge of the pancake starts to bubble and can be lifted with a spatula), then flip and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add more cooking spray, if necessary, and repeat with remaining batter.

Serve with pecan syrup and garnish with extra berries.