Barefoot Bloggers-Banana-Sour Cream Pancakes

I was excited about this month's Barefoot Blogger's pick because it gave me a chance to use the new griddle I got for Christmas. I have to admit between the griddle and Ina's delicious recipe, I made some really good pancakes. Another plus, these were actually picture-worthy! The lemon zest in this recipe enhances the flavor of the banana and pancakes nicely. My all time favorite pancake recipe is still this one, however, I would not hesitate to use Ina's recipe again as my go to for banana pancakes. Thanks to Karen of Something Sweet by Karen for a great recipe to kick off 2009! As a side note, I'm a little remiss in that I haven't yet made the Pappa Al Pomodoro from December but I'm hoping to make and post about it very soon.

Banana-Sour Cream Pancakes
Makes 12 Servings

1 1/2 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
2 extra-large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Unsalted butter
2 ripe bananas, diced, plus extra for serving
Pure maple syrup

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat until it bubbles. Ladle the pancake batter into the pan to make 3 or 4 pancakes. Distribute a rounded tablespoon of bananas on each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbles appear on top and the underside is nicely browned. Flip the pancakes and then cook for another minute until browned. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, add more butter to the pan, and continue cooking pancakes until all the batter is used. Serve with sliced bananas, butter and maple syrup.

Source: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Family Style, Clarkson Potter, 2002.