Cornmeal Pancakes with Rasperry Compote

By Foodiewife

I haven't made pancakes from a boxed mix in years, because scratch pancakes aren't all that difficult to make. I saw this recipe on the Food Network show "The Pioneer Woman" and I loved the idea of adding cornmeal to pancake batter. Ree makes hers with a blueberry syrup. I much prefer raspberries, so I adapted that recipe to have a mound of beautiful red berries. My husband absolutely loved these pancakes. They are fluffy and tender, with a nice subtle crunch from the corn meal. The notes of vanilla adds just the right amount of sweetness. Of course, using pure maple syrup is an added bonus. This is a keeper recipe!

Ingredients

• RASPBERRY COMPOTE:
• 1 pint fresh raspberries (frozen works too, no need to thaw)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon clearjel*
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• PANCAKES:
• 1 1/2 cups heaping cups yellow cornmeal
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 1/4 cups whole milk, plus more if needed for thinning
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted, plus additional melted butter for the skillet
• Pats of butter, for serving
• Maple syrup, for serving, optional
• NOTE: You can easily cut the ingredients in half, if you are cooking for two (as we are) This yielded 9 pancakes, using a 1/4 cup measure per pancake.

Preparation

Step 1

For the compote:

*Clearjel is a product that I buy either on the King Arthur Flour website, or Amazon carries it. I use this for making my berry pie filling. I whisk 1 tablespoon to every cup of sugar before adding it to my berries. Clearjel always gives me perfectly thickened and well set fruit pie filling, without clumping-- and, like the name says, my fillings are clear and not cloudy (as cornstarch tends to do). You can use cornstarch, but I tend to whisk it into some water to remove all lumps before adding to my fruit.

Wash and drain raspberries. (If frozen, I still rinse them with warm water to separate them) Place in a saucepan on medium-high heat. Bring to a gentle boil, and reduce heat until just simmering.

Gently crush the berries to break them up a bit (I use a potato masher). Simmer until the fruit has thickened. Remove from heat allow to come to room temperature.

Note: You can easily cut the ingredients in half, if you are cooking for two (as we are) This yielded 9 pancakes, using a 1/4 cup measure per pancake.

Cornmeal pancakes:

Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, vinegar, vanilla and eggs.

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring gently.

Stir in the melted butter.

If the batter is overly thick, splash in a small amount of milk.

Heat 1 tablespoon melted butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. When hot, drop in 1/4 cup batter per pancake and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side.

Remove from the skillet and keep warm. Continue with the remaining batter, using more melted butter as needed

Stack some pancakes for each serving, placing a pat of butter on top. Drizzle raspberry compote over the top.

Note: Yes, you can substitute blueberries or blackberries, if you wish. Any leftover compote should be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated up to a week.