Savory Bacon Cheddar Pancakes

Light and fluffy bacon cheddar pancakes are the perfect combo of savory and sweet. Fry the pancakes in the reserved bacon grease to give an even more intense bacon flavor! 

Friends! Exciting things are happening for me and Mr. BB right now! REALLY exciting things! I already announced that my husband and I are moving to Chicago. He has wanted to live there for a really long time now. He has family ties to Chicago, he grew up a Chicago sports fan, he is obsessed with Chicago style pizza. Basically, his life has been building up to this. So an exciting opportunity has presented itself and we are going!

A couple weeks ago we found an apartment in an amazing location in downtown Chicago! We looked at apartments in all different areas of the city and this is the last one we looked at. I don’t know why, but immediately I felt like it was “the one” when we walked in.

It definitely wasn’t the nicest place we saw. And I don’t know why, but it just felt like it was our place so we signed the lease. THEN the very next day I started looking for jobs for me on craiglist in the area and the first job I see is a block away from our place and very intriguing.

Long story short, I got the job and it literally feels like my dream job! I seriously couldn’t have written a better job description for myself if I wanted to! I will be a private chef for an amazing family with a teenager with severe food allergies and very limited food options. The job will entail a lot of food research, recipe development, and of course a ton of cooking and baking.

BUT it also has this added element of feeling really purposeful, which I have missed since leaving my job in healthcare. I will get to know the people I’m making food for and this kid is amazing! I can’t wait to get there and get started!!! I’m not one to really believe in fate, but it just really feels like everything is falling into place perfectly.

Don’t get me wrong, we are sad to leave Philadelphia. It has been a great place to live for the past 2 years and so many good things have happened here. But we have also had a lot of really bad life things happen while we lived here. These could have happened anywhere, but these two years have been both very exciting and very heartbreaking. It is time to move on to a new place with the feeling of a fresh start.

And although neither of us have ever lived in Chicago, being from the Midwest it feels like we are going home. Chicago just has that unmistakable Midwest energy about it that feels so familiar. People are so friendly and welcoming. They know where Kansas is and perhaps have even, gasp, been there!

And we will be so much closer to our families in Kansas which has been a really difficult thing about being in Philadelphia. Overall, we are just so excited to get there and get settled in!

I know I haven’t told you a single thing about these pancakes and have just been rambling on about Chicago. So here’s the quick rundown. They are super fluffy and tender! The key is a little bit less moisture than my typical recipe which helps them stand taller.

I also let the batter sit for about 5 minutes before starting to cook them. This allows the flour to really absorb the moisture, resulting in pancakes that are light and moist, and tall and fluffy!

I added finely shredded white cheddar on top and crisp crumbled bacon. You can save the bacon fat the fry the pancakes in to really give them more of a bacon flavor! I topped with some real maple syrup to give a savory/sweet flavor profile, but hot sauce or salsa would also be really nice.

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Yield: 12 Pancakes

Savory Bacon Cheddar Pancakes

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Light and fluffy bacon cheddar pancakes are the perfect combo of savory and sweet. Fry the pancakes in the reserved bacon grease to give an even more intense bacon flavor!

Ingredients

• 6 pieces of bacon
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 TBSP baking powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or 1 1/2 cups milk mixed with 1 TBSP white vinegar or lemon juice and let sit for 5 minutes)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup melted butter, slightly cooled
• 1/2 cup sharp cheddar, finely shredded

Instructions

1. Cook bacon in a saute pan until crisp. Remove from pan, reserve the grease, and let bacon drain on paper towels. Crumble the bacon and set aside.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and black pepper.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter. Add all of the wet ingredients into the bowl with the flour mixture all at once. Stir together just until combined. The batter will be lumpy. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for just about 5 minutes.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium heat then add a few tablespoons of bacon grease. Once grease is hot, drop about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake into the skillet.
5. Allow bubbles to form on top of the cakes and pop before flipping once to finish cooking on the other side.
6. Top with shredded cheese, crumbled bacon, and real maple syrup or hot sauce.