Joy the Baker

Brown Butter Winter Citrus Pancakes

by 87 Comments

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My goodness.  This world has these seasons planned out just perfectly.  Amidst super rain, chilly wind and grey skies, we get blood oranges, tangerines and grapefruit!

Big, bright, cheek puckering citrus is perfect for winter breakfast.  I know… it happened this morning.

I’d also like to thank the good world for creating coffee and hot cocoa and whole milk… and putting them all in my coffee cup this morning.

Just swell.

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You have to treat your citrus right for this breakfast.  That means peeling and segmenting.  Do you know how to do this?

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Cut the bottom and the top off of the citrus, exposing the flesh.  Run a pairing knife down the sides of the citrus, peeling off the skin and white pith.  At a slight angle, slice in between the white lines of the citrus, creating clean little grapefruit flesh slices.

It takes time, but is totally worth the effort.

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See all the brown specks in the blue bowl?  That’s the browned butter.  Ooooh goodness.  So delicious.  It’s rich and nutty and a wonderful balance to the  bright citrus.

These are my new favorite winter pancakes.  Such a treat to my heart.

ps.  If you’re as obsessed with citrus as I am, you might also enjoy this Super Citrus Smoothie.

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Brown Butter Winter Citrus Pancakes

makes enough pancakes for two people, double the recipe for a larger group

Print this Recipe!

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon citrus zest

2 tangerines peeled by hand and separated

1 grapefruit, peeled and segmented

1 blood orange, peeled and segmented

feel free to use any citrus that makes you happy

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  The butter will foam and froth then begin to brown.  When the butter solids begin to brown, keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.  The butter will smell rich and nutty.  Cook until butter  bits are brown then remove from the hot pan and place in a small bowl.

Whisk together egg, buttermilk, vanilla extract and citrus zest.  Whisk in the browned butter.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add the buttermilk mixture all at once to the dry ingredients.  Stir together with a fork until well incorporated.  If the batter is a little lumpy… well that’s just fine.

Let batter rest while you heat up the skillet or griddle pan over medium heat.  Great skillet with a teaspoon or two of oil or butter.  Spoon pancake batter by the 2 tablespoonfuls into the hot pan.  Let cook until browned on one side, flip and brown on the other side.  Place cooked pancakes on an oven-proof plate in an oven heated to 150 degrees F.  This will keep the pancakes warm while you cook the rest.

Arrange the pancakes on a plate, top with segmented citrus and pure maple syrup.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Emily

    I made this recipe (cut in half) for dinner tonight and it’s outstanding! I omitted the citrus (except for the zest) and used up the strawberries I had leftover from Valentines Day sales. I added some almond extract to complement the berries — thanks so much for the recipe…it just may replace my regular (and already memorized!) pancake recipe.

    Reply

  4. Rachelle

    Joy. I made these tonight in a “crap. I haven’t gone shopping so what can I make out of what I have in the fridge?” frenzy (I happened to have a huge basket of clementines on hand because my kids LOVE them). I omitted the eggs because I didn’t have any. I doubled the recipe for the family and it turns out they’ve requested I TRIPLE it next time. The kids (and husband) all but licked their plates. My husband said the only thing that would make them better is if I cooked them on a grill that has been “seasoned” for the past 50 years. Another hit, mlle.

    Reply

  5. Erica Joy Whitson

    I just discovered your blog and I’m addicted. This morning I made these pancakes for my book club brunch. It was unanimous that they were fantastic and it seemed appropriate that we were looking out the window at a beautiful winter snowfall.

    Reply

  9. Lindsay

    I made these tonight and they were awesome. The browned butter is a game changer. I am for sure making these again soon.

    Reply

  10. Sushi Lover

    Yay! I will try ANY pancakes… without maple syrup. Growing up I had to smother my pcakes in peanut butter and jelly to choke them down. Thanks for yet another delicious looking recipe.

    Reply

  13. Erica

    Joy, I didn’t think anything could top the Single Lady Pancake…until browned butter and citrus had a party in a pancake this morning! Thanks for a delicious recipe! Happy New Year!

    Reply

  14. Gluten Free Diva

    Hmmm, I’ve never tried browning butter before putting it in my gluten free pancake batter. This sounds fabulous! I think I know what we’re having for supper tonight! After last nights’ indulgence, a simple dinner of pancakes with a touch of citrus sounds perfect. Thank you!

    Reply

  16. Jenna

    I made these for the family for breakfast on new years — such a good way to start the new year! I added chocolate chips to some of them, and it made it extra tasty :)

    Reply

  20. Allison

    I just made your Dad’s clean your plate buttermilk pancakes for supper tonight. This is my second go at it but this time I added strawberries, peaches and chocolate chips as my kids like “stuff” in there pancakes. Super, duper yummy. I guess we will be having pancakes for supper again real soon. I have decided to permantly add buttermilk to my grocery list because of your pancakes!

    Reply

  25. annie

    Just wanted to thank you for all the great recipes you’ve given us all year and to wish you a Happy New Year. I made the cranberry coffee cake to bring as potluck desert, and my chief taste tester (my hubby) gave it 2 thumbs up. Thanks again, Joy.

    Reply

  26. Trevor

    Ohman, if I tried using a paring knife in the morning… buh-bye fingers! Haha, but I like pancakes for dinner all the same! Who said they were only for breakfast.

    I moved my blog to wordpress! I just think it looks more professional than blogger. :)

    Reply

  28. Amber

    Okay so these look freakin’ fantastic and I hate to be a stickler but, you might want to change “angel” to angle. Happy new year!

    Reply

  29. JoJo

    I hope you saved some blood oranges for mimosas tomorrow morning! Delicious!

    Joy, your blog was one of my best discoveries of 2010. Happy New Year from Minnesota!

    Reply

  31. Brittany

    I seriously yelled “AMAZING!” and threw my hands in the air when I read this post. I plan to serve grapefruit at brunch tomorrow and have been wondering how in the world you cut it up.

    THANK YOU!

    Reply

  34. tracy

    i like the sun on that knife in the first photo!
    TEXT! on photos! i like how the pink looks there.

    oh yeah…i have another smoothie recipe that you are gonna love! It’s got KALE in it. Made it this am. Even cooper snarfed it down.

    <3

    Reply

  38. Valerie

    I first experienced limey citrus french toast in the spring and man was that good! It’s not something you see often in Canada (not the part I’m from, anyway). I’m excited to citrify some pancakes now. Thanks!

    Reply

  43. Marina

    Love your blog Joy – it is an endless source of inspiration…. and amusement! Wishing you a superb 2011… may all your wishes come true:-)

    Reply

  47. tj

    …Wholly Moly does that ever look good! Thank you for sharing this, I will def’ be adding this to my cooking arsenal. :o)

    …Happy New Year Miss Joy! And many blessings too… *<:o)

    Reply

  50. Lynne

    Sounds yummy!
    I made your vegetarian chili yesterday and my hubbie said it was the best I had ever made!
    Instead of the steak spice I just used some steak sauce and it tasted great!
    I also didn’t use the beer, just chicken stock ….. yummy!

    Thanks for your great blog; I really enjoy it!
    Happy New Year to you, Joy, from Toronto!

    Lynne

    Reply

  56. annie

    This looks so good, I had to put my coffee down and carry the laptop into the kitchen to show the BF. He agrees, so it looks like I’ll be tackling my fear of brown butter in the new year!

    Reply

  59. kangli

    Oh my, you just transformed normal pancakes into this… wonderful stuff. I would never have thought of combining my fruit with pancakes! Happy New Year!!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  2. […] The first bottle I selected this month is a Prosecco-style American sparkling wine. It’s lightly sweet, bubbly, and pairs well with breakfast foods like French toast and pancakes. On the nose, there are hints of grapefruit, white peach, wet stone, and lemon. I’m planning to save this bottle for a holiday breakfast. I think it will pair really well with something like these Brown Butter Winter Citrus Pancakes. […]

    Reply

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