Lemony Cream Cheese Pancakes with Blueberries

Author Notes

A world without lemons would be a very sad one. The world would be sad without blueberries, too, but this recipe is good with our without. Rather than a griddle cake you need to stack high then load up with butter and syrup, I wanted one that was both light and custardy, rich and reserved -- immediate gratification. This recipe uses cream cheese and egg whites to pull that off, I think. Honey or jam would be just as good as maple syrup. Or you could eat them plain. —EmilyNunn

Test Kitchen Notes

For those who crave the purity of a plain pancake but occasionally find themselves wanting more, ENunn's recipe might be the perfect compromise. Lemon's perfume (from both the juice and zest) permeates these light, fluffy buttermilk pancakes, but the real magic lies in the addition of one key ingredient: chunks of cream cheese are blended into the batter until they are reduced to about pea-size, later resulting in salty, creamy pockets scattered throughout the cooked pancakes. The trio of lemon, cream cheese and tangy sweet blueberries is subtle yet seductive -- a combination that can only be improved upon with a generous slathering of excellent quality maple syrup. - A&M —The Editors